A Quick Fix (Tesco SC356 Slow Cooker)

Member Name: Sarahjh

Product:	Tesco SC356 Slow Cooker
Date:	10/12/08 (390 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A basic slow cooker that offers exceptional value for money

Disadvantages: none

Slow cookers are ideal for people who lead busy lives, juggling family meals when you work work isn't always easy.
If you prepare a stew and cook it on the top of the hob then you have to be there to keep an eye on it, but a slow cooker takes care of itself.


As long as I have a slow cooker that is functional that's all that I ask.
Tesco have a vast range of competitively priced electrical goods and I ordered this slow cooker from Tesco Direct online.
Its not the Rolls Royce of slow cookers but it does the job well, the one little extra that I might have liked would have been a timer and if I had given it a lot more forethought I could have chosen a model that had one.

The cooker has a brushed steel finish and a 3.3 litre capacity, there are two us us and if I fill the pan the stew or casserole will last us two days.
The `pot` can be removed, so its very easy to keep clean and the non slip feet make the cooker sit safely on the kitchen worktop.
The glass lid lets you see the contents of the pot easily and the pot and lid are dishwasher safe.


I generally start my meat and vegetables off in the pan, it seems to work best for me.
After preparing all of the vegetables I toss the meat in some seasoned flour and then add a spot of cooking oil, or olive oil and then seal the meat. Then I add the vegetables and give it all a good stir, lastly I add some hot stock, maybe made from OXO or Bouillon cubes. The stew is already hot in the pot so when the slow cooker is switched on it has a head start. Always remember to put plenty of liquid into the pot, I three quarter fill mine.
The cooker has three heat settings, I use the mid setting.
The stew then simmers away all day and slow cooking makes the meat exceptionally tender and the stew very tasty. After adding my thickening I replace the pot back onto the heat and let the gravy reach the right consistency.

I serve the meal at the table, putting the removeable pot on a melamine board, but there is the option of putting the pot back and keeping it on the lowest heat setting, then if anyone wants second helpings the stew will still be warm. The remainder of the food can be left to cool in the pot and then be stored away for the next day.


This is a basic model, it has no `wraparound` heating (wraparound heating provides a very evenly distributed heat, but though this model only heats from the bottom it is still highly efficient) or timer, but it is does the job well. I have a Tesco clubcard so I had points added for my purchase. I paid just under £13 for this 190 watt slow cooker.


I forgot to mention that soups cook well using the Slow cooker, any odd vegetables added to some stock will soon make a good winter warmer.

For value you would have to look hard to beat the price of the Tesco Slow cooker. When you unpack it you will notice that it has no recipe book with it, but the conventional stew and casserole recipes work well. You might even decide to experiment a little yourself.

Summary: An attractive but basic slow cooker that offers very good value for money