Morphy Richards 48719

Slow and steady winds the race

It may be summer at the minute but it'll soon be winter and the nights will start getting dark in the afternoon and in my house that means it's time to start cooking warming stews and making pots of soups. The one kitchen essential I have that I use extensively throughout the winter is my slow cooker.
A present from my mum who was sick of me borrowing hers I have to say that if I had actually paid for it myself I would have got more than my money's worth out of it.

For those that don't know a slow cooker is an appliance that allows you to cook food on a low heat for many hours without having to bother with the hassle of having to keep checking on it. As it is electrical the temperature is regulated so it can be left without supervision without worrying that food will dry out or burn.
The brilliant thing for me is being able to prepare a healthy meal in the morning before the kids go to school and I go to work and leave it all day only to come home and it be ready without me having to prepare and cook everything from scratch being tired after having worked all day.

I am unsure as to why my mum bought me this model as it is cream and my entire kitchen scheme is stainless steel but no matter as it sits in a cupboard when not in use anyway. The cream is a lovely colour and would look right at home in a country kitchen or would work equally as well in a more modern one as long as you had the right colour combinations.
The shape is oval as most slow cookers are so they are easier able to fit joints in etc and has handles on the side for easy lifting and carrying and temperature controls to the front.
A slow cooker is actually really two parts, well any that I have ever used have been anyway. The outside is the cooker part where the electrical elements are for heating and in this is placed a ceramic dish where you put the food for cooking. On top of this is a heavy reinforced glass lid for keeping in the heat and ensuring that the food doesn't evaporate.

I love the fact everything is so incredibly easy to use with this slow cooker. There are only three temperature controls to worry about and the choice you have is low, medium and high. That's all there is to it.
To use it you just need to do is add the ingredients and turn it on and leave for a good few hours to cook.
The size is 3.5 litres which is more than enough room to be able to make something for the whole family.

For people new to slow cooking it does take a little getting used to as although incredibly easy to use it is different from more conventional ways of cooking. I really recommend buying a recipe book for some ideas, this does come with a few recipes but trust me that you will definitely want to get more experimental once you have adjusted to the longer cooking time.
For me my favourite thing to make in it is good old fashioned stew. All it involves is adding the meat (I like to brown mine as the cooker won't do that and even though it will be cooked to perfection unbrowned meat looks unattractive) the veg and the stock.
As the liquid inside doesn't evaporate you will need less liquid than you would normally in a traditional recipe hence why I think it's important to make sure you get a recipe book.
Meat cooked in a slow cooker is unlike meat cooked any other way and it literally melts in the mouth as it is so tender. Unlike with other cooking the type of meat is less important and cheaper cuts of meat do just as well in the slow cooker as the more expensive ones so it could in fact save you money using it to do your family cooking.

Don't be tempted to open the lid to check on the food as this will only slow the cooking down by quite a considerate amount of time. Trust me on this, just lifting the lid a few times to look for only a few seconds can add a good couple of hours onto the cooking time! The lid is nice and heavy and feels substantial but is not difficult to pick up but if it fell I would be confident it wouldn't just smash. It also doesn't get extremely hot so there is no need to worry about burning yourself.
I usually only cook for me and the kids in the slow cooker but I always make enough to freeze and with this one it is big enough to enable me to make two meals for all three of us. If you are going to freeze any food that you have prepared don't allow it to cool in the cooker as this will only allow it to reach a temperature where bacteria can and will form.
Sorry for the doom and gloom but I did a food hygiene course once and it really stayed with me and has made me a little paranoid about food poisoning.

Cleaning the cooker is so easy thanks to the removable crock pot. It just lift out and can be put in the sink to soak but be careful to make sure it has cooled enough as it stays hot for a long time after it has been turned off. It is also dishwasher safe but for me it is easier just to wash it in the sink.
As I mentioned the cooker will get hot so be careful and use the handles on the side as they don't conduct the heat.
The best thing about it being cream instead of stainless steel is the fact that it is easier to keep clean on the front as well and it only needs a quick wipe every so often. This is only a tiny thing but a relief for me who has loads of stainless steel that looks great but is such a pain to keep looking nice.

I'm not sure what my mum paid for this but a quick look online shows that it is selling for around the £30 mark which seems reasonable for it as it looks much more expensive than this and it is such a useful item.
Personally I wouldn't be without my slow cooker and I know if my one broke I'd be straight out and buying another one and I would definitely get the same one if the shop had it as it has never been any trouble for me.
I love coming in from work and smelling the cooking on knowing that there is a healthy and very importantly delicious meal waiting for me already cooked and just waiting to be served.