Crock Pot Buying Guide

Crock pots (or slow cookers) are electrical appliances which cooks at a relatively low temperature compared with ovens or other traditional cooking methods. This means that foods can be cooked over a longer period of time, which is particularly well suited to stews, casseroles and pot roasts, although there are many, many more dishes that can be prepared in a crock pot.

The main advantage to a crock pot is that because of the longer time period, it is possible to put your meal on to cook in the morning, leave it unattended, and come home to a hot meal, ready to serve, in the evening. This is obviously a huge timesaver.

Another advantage is that the slower cooking method is particularly suited to some of the cheaper cuts of meat, such as stewing lamb or beef. This makes a crock pot a great investment for anyone trying to feed a family on a limited budget.

Here are a few points to consider when buying a crock pot or slow cooker.

1. Size

Crock pots come in a variety of sizes. The smallest ones are suitable if you are cooking for 1-2 people, and the biggest ones will feed a crowd. Obviously you will need to consider the number of people in your family, and the number of people you usually cook for. If you entertain a lot, a larger cooker might be a wise investment.

You need to bear in mind that these appliances cook at their best when they are between 1/3 and 2/3 full. If you buy one that is too big for your family and don't fill it at least 1/3 full, it will not perform at its best. Similarly, if you overfill your crock pot, it won't cook so well.

2. Shape

Slow cookers are generally either round or oval in shape. What shape you choose is mainly a question of which shape pleases you the most, but if you think you will regularly cook roasts in the crock pot, an oval one may be slightly better. I have a large oval one, and you can easily fit a whole chicken or even a leg of lamb in it.

3. Controls

Most crock pots have a low and a high setting, and that's it. This is perfectly adequate for nearly every recipe you will ever want to cook. You can get crock pots with more accurate temperature controls if you think you may need them.

Apart from temperature controls, most crock pots also have some sort of timer built in. I would definitely recommend this, because you can set the timer for the required cooking time, and after the time has finished the crock pot will keep your meal warm if required, for a few hours at least. This means that if you are late home from work, your meal will not overcook. This is often called a 'keep warm' function, and I would recommend looking out for this.

Some crock pots also have a delayed start function, so if you want it to start cooking at noon and finish at 6pm, you can set this up in the morning before you go to work. This is another useful feature which is definitely worth looking out for.

4. Ease of cleaning

A very important consideration! You should make sure that your crock pot has a removable cooking pot, not a fixed one, so that you can take it out of the electrical base and wash it easily. Many have dishwasher safe pots, and if you have a dishwasher, you may find this a huge timesaver.

The most obvious choices are casseroles and pot roasts. Curries are also good, and I have a whole cook book dedicated to hot and spicy slow cooker recipes.

Soup is also easy to cook in a crock pot, and it is even possible to bake in one!

If you don't own a crock pot yet, I strongly recommend investing in one. They don't have to be expensive, and you will find it invaluable, I promise!