My only niggle is that I’d like a pot durable enough to throw in the dishwasher every time without being concerned I might be shortening its lifespan. When cookers are this good and as easy to use, you might find yourself using your hob only at the weekend. Verdict The pot looks great, and its smaller 5.6L size makes it easy to carry around and place on kitchen surfaces even if you don’t have much space. However, if you’re looking for a slow cooker to make large meals in, you may be better off purchasing other larger models for the same price. The safety lid on the multi-cooker ensures all the pressure is released before the lid is lifted, so even if you try to lift the lid before it’s ready, it won’t budge, keeping you and any curious hands safe… With a 5.6 litre capacity, the bowl is plenty big enough to cook meals for families and dinner parties, as well as batch cook to prep for the week ahead. Remember, it takes hours to cook meals in a slow cooker. You can always freeze the extra. However, if you don’t have extra space in your freezer, a smaller slow cooker may be better.

This exercise also works when determining sizes for saucepans and other cookware or appliances that use capacity for measurement. If you use a slow cooker frequently and have a lot of counter space, you can also opt to leave it out as part of your kitchen decor. Once your food’s cooked to perfection, it’ll automatically be kept nice and warm until you’re ready to eat, so dinner will always be ready when you are. Mid-range sizes can handle most recipes for a small family. Look at models between 4 and 6 quarts, and you’ll get the best of both worlds. Storage Space The sizes I’ve covered so far only indicate the capacity of each slow cooker. To understand the size of the entire appliance, you’ll need to look at the dimensions, which vary by brand.

Let’s look at how a few popular slow cookers compare, by weight, in the following chart: Slow Cooker The recipe online doesn’t give details on using any particular functions as it just says the cooking time is two hours, so I manually set the timer. We all know that cooking from scratch has a multitude of benefits, from knowing what goes into your meal (so no nasty surprises!) and making healthier choices to choosing the flavours you love. But many people associate scratch cooking with long, arduous sessions spent in the kitchen – the Multi Cooker takes away that time and the effort with its pre-programmed settings, so you can reap the benefits of both scratch cooking and fast food. This level of clarity may sound like a no-brainer, but given that multi-cooker buttons can go crazy with colours, symbols and toggling functions, the relative ease of setting a cooker can’t be underestimated during a busy morning.

Think about everyone that frequently eats under your roof, including family and friends. Are you often preparing meals for just yourself? Do you have five or more people to feed? Or are you the go-to chef in your neighborhood? She told me, “Six quarts is ideal for a household of four. Never buy less than four quarts. Most slow cooker meals are great for leftovers, so don’t get one that’s too small. Plus, it takes a while to cook in a slow cooker, so it’s more efficient and cost-effective to cook in larger batches.”I liked the multiple options the cooker has to customise this dish – I could have extended the cooking time, pressure or temperature to customise the recipe, or used the delay timer so it would be ready later on. Again, it took about five minutes for pressure to build and the same to release. The chilli was rich and flavourful, with no burnt chunks of meat or dry beans. Sometimes, you know exactly what you want and how to cook it best. The Manual setting allows you to take control and programme the countdown timer to your desired cooking time, as well as choose between High and Low heat settings, so you can get the best results in a way that you already know works.

If you’re single and don’t often entertain large groups, consider a small slow cooker with a 3- to 4-quart capacity. However, if you have a family of four (or more), you’ll need at least 5 or 6 quarts. The preheat was also handy and is part of all the programmes, turning the display to say Heat before the countdown of actual cooking begins.It’s always better to have too much capacity than not enough. This is especially true if you want to make large batches of food and divide them up for daily meals. Despite my best efforts to eat an extraordinary amount of festive food, I had a lot of leftover turkey to get through. Many turkey sandwiches later, I thought I’d try making a Christmas casserole by adding the remaining meat to the slow cooker alongside vegetables and a tin of tomato. Slow cooker weights differ by brand, model, and capacity. The larger the slow cooker, the heavier it is — especially since inserts are usually stoneware or cast aluminum. Small slow cookers are inadequate for large family meals. Large sizes aren’t ideal for creating small dishes because they use energy inefficiently. If you’re looking for the most versatile option, shoot for the middle. To make enough food for everyone in your home, you must have a large enough slow cooker to accommodate the required number of servings.

While there isn’t a huge amount of difference between electric pressure cookers, it’s worth noting that this one cooks incredibly well, is one of the easiest to programme, and simplest to clean. For when you want to crisp up your cooking to give it that perfect finish, the stoneware bowl and tempered glass lid are safe to pop in the oven. Still, you’ll need to lift it when washing and storing. So, it makes sense to buy a slow cooker that you can lift and maneuver easily.For most households of four or more, I recommend a 6-quart slow cooker. The smallest I’d suggest is 4 quarts because slow cooking is a long process. It’s a waste of time to cook for six to eight hours and only get one or two meals out of it. Next I made chilli, again using the sauté function to brown mince for eight minutes. There’s the option of low or high for this function, but the recipe didn’t specify which to use so I opted for high. After removing the beef, I added other vegetables and sautéed again for a further few minutes, before placing all the ingredients in the pot and topping with the lid. This was cooked on the Beans/Chilli function for 10 minutes.