CONSTRUCTION AND LOOKS
The controls at the front of the slow cooker feel well made although the markings for low, high and warm are on the small size and will cause some to reach for their glasses. There is a red light on the control panel to indicate when the unit is in use.
Overall this a good looking slow cooker suitable for families of four to eight with few drawbacks as far as appearance and build are concerned.
SIZES AND CAPACITIES
The total capacity of the slow cooker is 6.2 litres which is great for a large family although its very size means that cooking small amounts is not really a practical proposition.The manufacturers do not provide dimensions online or in the supplied instructions so we measured for ourselves. Approximate dimensions are height 26cm, width 40cm and depth 30cm. Our scales couldn't weigh the slow overall but the cooking bowl weighed 3.63kg which is reasonably hefty but average for the large capacity.
The power lead is a rather meagre 28cm long which is OK in most circumstances but could cause problems for some.
COOKING PERFORMANCE
For our semi-scientific tests we set the slow cooker to low and it reached its maximum temperature of 82°C / 180°F after 3 and a half hours which is slightly higher than normal but within a good range. We then set the dial to high and after two hours it reached 100°C / 212°F which is definitely higher than average. The keep warm setting reached a temperature of 72°C / 162°F which is just about within a safe range. See our page on slow cookers and food temperature here.Our practical test involved cooking a large portion of bolognese sauce which was cooked on high for hour and then on low for four hours. The results were excellent with tender meat and even cooking. We would avoid cooking anything entirely on the high setting because the over-high heat dries out the top layer too quickly.
FEATURES
We bought this slow cooker in the sale at £30 but the normal price is £40. For this price you get a large slow cooker with three heat settings and a red light to indicate when it's in use. We thought the normal £40 price tag could have included one or two more features when compared to competitors but not badly so.OTHER REVIEW OPINIONS
There are review sources for this slow cooker, Which and Sainsbury's own site. The Sainsbury's reviews are clearly good with several people mentioning the large cooking capacity and overall size of the unit. The Which review doesn't rate this slow cooker very highly because they claim their stew was overcooked on the top even on the low setting. We don't agree with this and our rather more scientific temperature tests bear out that the low cooking heat is only slightly above average.SUMMING UP
| Low setting cooking |
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| High setting cooking |
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| Keep warm |
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| How easy to use |
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| Setting up |
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| Cleaning |
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| Build quality |
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| Value for money |
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Review by David Marks.