Slow cookers have really taken off in the last few years being seen by many as a great way to cook healthy food with little hassle.
They are fairly simple in operation, generally an oval-shaped bowl which you place some of the food you want to cook in and a transparent lid which you then cover the bowl with and a few heat settings which you turn on.
It then slowly cooks the food at a lower temperature than most ovens over the course 6-10 hours depending on the food.
While this may seem slightly more difficult than traditional cooking, it isn't, as you can leave it unattended for the entirety of the cooking time.
Simply put your food it set it to 'low' or 'high' and it will cook it while you are at work or out.
The Capacity Of A Slow Cooker This is the first, and probably most important feature to consider when you are buying a Slow Cooker.
They come in a huge variety of different capacities, from 1.
5 litres all the way up to 10 Litres or more, but in general for most people there are three main capacities to consider and they are 1.
5 litres, 3.
5 litres and 6.
5 litres.
Each of these capacities is ideal for a specific group of people.
The people who should consider the 1.
5 litre capacity is probably the smallest group, I would generally recommend that only single people or couples with smaller appetites consider this size as it is quite small.
3.
5 litres is by far the most popular size with more models being available in this capacity than any other.
This is ideal for a few sets of people, generally families of up to 4, couples with larger appetites or single people who want to make several meals at once.
6.
5 litres is what would generally be regarded as the high-capacity model.
This is for larger families of 5+, or families of 4 with larger appetites, perhaps with older children.
Whatever size you decide to go for remember the golden rule, that it is better to have more capacity than you need and not use it, than to have to little capacity.
Digital Timer or No Digital Timer Most slow cookers don't have any kind of digital timer, they generally just have several heat settings which you have to switch on and off manually.
The heat settings available are usually low or high.
Low is for if you are going to be out all day and don't need your meal cooked in any hurry.
High is for when you want it cooked quicker (although it will still take a few hours).
Some also have a keep-warm function that you can set it too if the food is cooked but you aren't quite ready to serve yet.
For most that is all there is, set it to the setting you want or set it too off and it is all one manually.
However some more expensive models will have a digital timer so you can set the exact amount of time you want to cook for, generally it is between 30 minutes and 20 hours.
To the question about whether you should get one with a digital timer or not is a personal decision, generally for most people who will be around to turn it off at the correct time I would say no.
However if you are going to be out all day and there will be no one in to turn it off, or there is the potential for you to be late then I would seriously consider it.
Other Considerations Those two are the most important for sure but there are a few others that you should be aware of, for example there are features that only a few have such as sauté features where you can sauté food as well as slow cooker it.
The style is very important too, slow cookers range from really old-fashioned, awful looking white things all the way up to sleek, modern contemporary looking models and they come in a huge range of colours, so make sure you pick one that works best in your kitchen.
Whatever you decide to do make sure you take everything above into account when choosing the right slow cooker for you.
They are fairly simple in operation, generally an oval-shaped bowl which you place some of the food you want to cook in and a transparent lid which you then cover the bowl with and a few heat settings which you turn on.
It then slowly cooks the food at a lower temperature than most ovens over the course 6-10 hours depending on the food.
While this may seem slightly more difficult than traditional cooking, it isn't, as you can leave it unattended for the entirety of the cooking time.
Simply put your food it set it to 'low' or 'high' and it will cook it while you are at work or out.
The Capacity Of A Slow Cooker This is the first, and probably most important feature to consider when you are buying a Slow Cooker.
They come in a huge variety of different capacities, from 1.
5 litres all the way up to 10 Litres or more, but in general for most people there are three main capacities to consider and they are 1.
5 litres, 3.
5 litres and 6.
5 litres.
Each of these capacities is ideal for a specific group of people.
The people who should consider the 1.
5 litre capacity is probably the smallest group, I would generally recommend that only single people or couples with smaller appetites consider this size as it is quite small.
3.
5 litres is by far the most popular size with more models being available in this capacity than any other.
This is ideal for a few sets of people, generally families of up to 4, couples with larger appetites or single people who want to make several meals at once.
6.
5 litres is what would generally be regarded as the high-capacity model.
This is for larger families of 5+, or families of 4 with larger appetites, perhaps with older children.
Whatever size you decide to go for remember the golden rule, that it is better to have more capacity than you need and not use it, than to have to little capacity.
Digital Timer or No Digital Timer Most slow cookers don't have any kind of digital timer, they generally just have several heat settings which you have to switch on and off manually.
The heat settings available are usually low or high.
Low is for if you are going to be out all day and don't need your meal cooked in any hurry.
High is for when you want it cooked quicker (although it will still take a few hours).
Some also have a keep-warm function that you can set it too if the food is cooked but you aren't quite ready to serve yet.
For most that is all there is, set it to the setting you want or set it too off and it is all one manually.
However some more expensive models will have a digital timer so you can set the exact amount of time you want to cook for, generally it is between 30 minutes and 20 hours.
To the question about whether you should get one with a digital timer or not is a personal decision, generally for most people who will be around to turn it off at the correct time I would say no.
However if you are going to be out all day and there will be no one in to turn it off, or there is the potential for you to be late then I would seriously consider it.
Other Considerations Those two are the most important for sure but there are a few others that you should be aware of, for example there are features that only a few have such as sauté features where you can sauté food as well as slow cooker it.
The style is very important too, slow cookers range from really old-fashioned, awful looking white things all the way up to sleek, modern contemporary looking models and they come in a huge range of colours, so make sure you pick one that works best in your kitchen.
Whatever you decide to do make sure you take everything above into account when choosing the right slow cooker for you.