Topic: Slow cooker -- Morphy Richards 48715 -- to buy or not to buy!!??

[killerflies]

Hi all!

Have convinced ourselves that we want to try out slow cooking.

In the west of Ireland it is particularily hard to find one but my usual supplier of electrical goodies has come up trumps.

In stock they have the Morphy Richards 48715.

Anybody any feedback/experience with this model. Amazon has quite a few reviews of it, but I wouldnt mind hearing what you think.

It has a glass lid and 3 heat settings. some say it cooks fast.

Am going to pick it up tomorrow assuming I hear otherwise on this site.

PLEASE BE BRUTALLY HONEST!!

Much appreciated!

[killerflies]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Morphy-Richards-48715-Cooker-Stainless/dp/B0000C6WH1/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen&qid=1223398611&sr=1-2

[Lauren S]

I have a 3L slowcooker and it is big enough for two people for two meals. It is 140 watts ( two and half light bulbs).
The one you are looking at is like have SIX light bulbs on. If you have a family it is a great size  :)

Slow cookers allow you to use much cheaper cuts of meat. Prep your ingredients the night before, turn it on in the morning, and voila, it will be ready when you get home.

Alot of the recipes tell you to have all the ingredients hot before you put it into the cooker. I never have time for this and doesnt not affect the meal in any way.

Lauren  ;)

[killerflies]

Thanks Lauren.

The working capacity of this one is 4.5lt (I think a 2/3rds rule applies to working volume/total volume).

There is just 2 of us. My thinking was that we'd be using it to prepare 4 meals (1 each for 2 days). Is 4.5 lt really too big do you think?

Is there a minimum volume to be used up each run? i.e can you half fill it?

I was thinking that it would be used for soups and stocks also. Maybe even jams and the likes.

[runnerbean]

Just out of interest Tesco had own make (looks just like my Morphy Richards) for under ten pounds today!  Same size as mine and a black ceramic pot - mine feeds threee of us for 2 days.... son and husband eat like adults and I eat like a bird!!!!(no justice in life!!

[Tulipa]

Kf, I can't help with that particular model but if it is bigger than you need you could also freeze the 'spare' meal for another day.  Also you can roast a small joint or chicken in it too if it is bigger.  The meat comes out beautifully tender done this way, bacon or gammon joints are good done this way too and don't tend to shrink.

Porridge and rice pudding are both good in the slow cooker too. :)

T.

[PurpleHeather]

I have noticed that a lot of shops have special offers on with slow cookers. The price range is between £9.99 for a small one and £19.99 for a larger model.

Obviously these slow cookers are no longer selling so that is why they are on offer. The people who want one now own one. It happened with double glazing and central heating. Once everyone has it, the price drops.

I have a cooker with a slow cooker facility and do use it. I make a load of steak and kidney and then batch make pies for the freezer.

When cooking for the freezer to quickly re-heat. The oven is as cheap to batch cook in quantity and you can do steak and kidney in one container and other favourites like irish stew or lancashire hot pot in others. One days work will make several weeks worth of slow cooked meals in one go.

I would point out that for over 40 years ovens with a timer have been available, on the market , (I bought one aged 18 and newly married) so that you can put the food in to cook whilst are at work and it is ready to eat when  you come home.

The manufactures are not chefs.

If you bung in a load of meat and veg into a pot and hope that at the end of the day it will slowly cook for you a gourmet meal. Then it will be dependant on your ideal.

Frankly. unless you are already an expert cook and know exactly what you are doing and can use the gadget to enhance your practised abilities or you are not fussy about what you eat. 

Do not waste your money.

[runnerbean]

My Mother was actually a Cordon Bleu cook and regularly, when she was at work used the original Prestige Crockpot......I'm talking 30 years ago..I have used one all the time since then..

[killerflies]

Thanks one and all for the feedback!

Much appreciated from all fronts.

KF

[princescruffster]

I love my slow cooker.  I use it at least 3 times per week. I cook everything from spag bol to roasts in it.  We use a plug in timer and walk in to the delicious smell of dinner.  I don't bother pre-cooking anything, I just bunge everything in.  Never fails.  Don't know how people live without one!  ;)

[Jeannine]

I have just seen this. I do have this exact machine and will be brutal..

 Yes it does cook faster than I would like, however having said that this is the third one I used had since returning to the UK in 2000, the other two were borrowed . both different to this one and they all cooked fast  even on low. I found this odd as I was used to a slow cooker that did in fact cook really slow in Canada. It seems to be an issue with the UK ones I am told.

But... it is a great slowish cooker, it holds a huge amount, the oval shape means it will hold a long roast where the round ones don't.

I use mine all the time, it is great for making soup or sauces  and I do like it. I find it much easier to make stews etc in than on a stove top as it doesn't catch or burn as a pan might.

Great to cook a ham in too.

We are leaving the UK soon and I will be sad to leave it behind...

I would like one to go slower but... I would like this one as well.

The outside  casing does get hot by the way.

The black bowl can be taken to table as a large serving dish too and looks OK.

My two penneth is go for it.

Get back to me if you have any other questions.

XX Jeannine

[hellohelenhere]

I want to try the 'hay box' slow cooking method when we move to our new place and have room:

http://www.lostvalley.org/haybox1.html
&
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/1980-01-01/Rediscover-the-Hay-Box-Cooker.aspx

Advantage - you don't have to buy a pricey appliance, and you get a glow of self-sufficient, energy-saving satisfaction... :-D

Haven't tried it yet though, so can't tell you how well it works!

[Emagggie]

 :o :o...good luck hellohelenhere! I will be interested in your results if you do make a hay box.
Killerflies, did you get your slow cooker?
I don't have the same model as you, but I wouldn't be without it. Just cooked a batch of beetroot to perfection in mine. :D

[grawrc]

Just noticed this thread and realised I haven't used my slow cooker for ages. It's not that I don't like it but it's worked it's way to the back of the cupboard and things at te back get forgotten. I'm going to get it out and get it going again. It's a great appliance for me because during the week I switch it on in the morning (stuff prepared in the evening and crockpot in the fridge overnight) then everything is ready when I come home. Similarly if I want to spend the day at the lottie.
Emaggie how did you do your beetroot? I usually wrap mine in foil (complete with skins) and slow-roast in the oven but I'm always up for anything new.

[Emagggie]

Only got one oven (no top oven) here Grawc, so needs must ;D. Usually I slow roast in the oven, but this time I just put washed beets with skins on in the crock with some boiling water (not alot) and put on high for approx 6 hours. I had intended to flick it to low after an hour but I forgot. Nevertheless it didn't matter as they were cooked  to perfection. They were the last of the first planting and they were tennis ball sized.

[killerflies]

Hi all.

Have been away with work so hence lack of replies.

Yes, I did buy this slow cooker in the end.

Thanks one and all for their feedback. It was a toss up really as to whether or not we'd buy it but in the end we did.

So far so good too I might add.

It does take a little food preparation it has to be said, but it is well worth it in my mind. so far we have produced some cracking chicken stocks, roast chicken (although NOT as nice as the oven roast chicken) Beef Bourginon (divine) and finally Vegetable curries.

We got a book w/150 recepies off Amazon and it has paid off.

In all the cost was €55 so in terms of cost of investment it was pretty low compared to what you can spend on kitchen stuff.

It suits our lifestyle at the moment in that we are home later and it really is great having the dinner ready cooked. We dont have a microwave (concerns over its safety and effect on foods) so it was never reasonable for us to warm up defrosted dinners in the oven before it got waaaaaaaaaay too late in the evening.

This model does definately cook slow, fast. i.e. even on low, it bubbles away at quite a pace. Others have commented on that above and in Amazon reviews, also it is a WHOPPING great size. There are only 2 of us but you could feed 6-8 or more at full capacity.

Id certainly recommend it, or at the very least slow cooking.

[killerflies]

We used do that (hay box) quite a bit when hitting out for a day's fishing or walking.

It couldnt be easier, however, you need to try it a few times in order to range and gauge the cooking times required.

We used a picnic cooler box, with triple foil lined aeroboard on the bottom and sides. We'd bring the pot to the boil with the lid on and after X mins of boiling, we'd place the pot in the cooer box on aeroboard and wrap it in an old sleeping bag.

The X mins boiling time is determined by what you are cooking. Hence the bit of experimentation. Meats will require a bit more than rice or lentils et cetera.


Hope that is of some help!

I want to try the 'hay box' slow cooking method when we move to our new place and have room:

[Sparkly]

I have this slow cooker and use it mainly for curries, stocks, stews and bolognaise sauce. I have found it pretty good. I tend to put most of the stuff in cold (with meat browned) and then leave it for 6-10 hours on the low setting.

[lottie lou]

How do you do "roasts" in the slow cooker - do you add a drop of oil or a drop of water for slow roast?

[killerflies]

A friend of mine says that she just puts a leg of lamb in, for example, and then approx 1 inch of water, some salt, onion and carrots.

Leave to cook on whichever setting suits you and come back to a melt in the mouth roast.

I alwas assumed that you had to cover the meat, but she says no. Just an inch of liquid, and the moisture from the leg itself does the cooking.

Im sure that there will be someone that will follow with more expert advice than that..............I sure hope so anyway!

How do you do "roasts" in the slow cooker - do you add a drop of oil or a drop of water for slow roast?