Thanks so much! This looks perfect and the reviews are recent and favourable! Looks like something I would use a lot 
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Essentially they all do the same thing.
I would recommend getting a larger capacity than you think you might need, all things considered they work very well.
We have a 1.5 litre unit and it’s great for making stock and dealing with bones etc on low overnight but it’s not going provide a slap up meal.
I’m going to be a spendthrift and splash out on a large capacity slow cooker.
A real versatile piece of kit!
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Well you can always freeze what you don’t use
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An electric oven used 5 days a week for 1 hour costs £150 per annum.
Slow cooker used 5 days a week for 8 hours on lowest setting costs £370 p.a.
Source: This is Money
On another thread I was tempted to buy a slow cooker but I did loads of research and came to the decision that most of our meals …. Spag bol, chicken curry, lasagne, cottage pie, sausage and mash, liver and onions fish pie etc can all be cooked in the cooker or on the hob in much less than an hour. We love casseroles and stews and I just cook these in a casserole dish for around 3 hours in my electric oven.
The other thing about slow cookers is that we love our veggies and you would still have to cook things like fresh cabbage, spinach, cauliflower, leeks etc in a saucepan alongside using your slow cooker.
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Wow FP, that is a huge difference isn’t it?!
not really. You can braise them on the hob for five mins and then they go in the slow cooker where they are cooked to perfection.
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I must say - I do not like slow cookers or pressure cookers - for the simple reason that whatever is cooked in them always tastes the same - veg, meat, soup, or stew. I do have friends who swear by them - which is how I know - but they are people who don’t like to cook anyway. No place in my kitchen for either of them - nor a microwave.
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ST I am a big fan since power costs went up to eye watering prices. I just can’t justify having a casserole in the oven for 3 hours now. I find soups and casseroles are more tender in the slower cooker. Just a case of getting used to the right timing and settings.
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What I like about slow cookers is their versatility.
If I make a delicious winter casserole for example I can be fairly confident that leaving it on over night on low is going to break down that otherwise tough braising beef untill it practically melts in the mouth. Don’t forget to add the booze though otherwise all is in vain.
Timing is everything, I let it cool down pop it in the fridge and carefully reheat the following day, that makes all the difference.
My mum had a pressure cooker during the early 70’s,
used to be a tad scary, she’d wear an oven glove to adjust a little valve on the top, it never actually exploded but I’m still not going to add one to my Christmas pressie list.
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I remember pressure cookers, and yes they were scary things! Ox Tongue was always being cooked, disgusting 
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The modern electric pressure cookers are nothing like as scary, to be fair. Lots of things can be left to reduce pressure naturally (and slowly) without releasing the steam in a sudden whoosh. You do have to do a quick release for things that would spoil if they continued cooking like that, e.g. pasta, rice, hard boiled eggs and so on. But casseroles, meat joints etc. can be left to release pressure slowly and then they switch automatically to the ‘keep warm’ setting, which is really useful.
I was terrified of my mum’s stove top pressure cooker when I was little. She stopped trying to convince me it was OK, and simply warned me each time the valve was about to release the steam, so I had time to run upstairs and hide under my bed 
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Yep that’s the best bit. I just count all the units of gas I am saving by having it slow cooking. But the result is the same just takes a couple of hours more. The differential in power costs is massive.
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After hearing of a colleague’s accident & injuries from a rice cooker, there is no way I would be interested in a pressure cooker.
Yeah, I know exactly what you mean, there’s definitely a “slow cooker flavour” to everything.
I think it’s because the long cooking mushrs down all the individual flavours into one, it mutes the herbs and spices and brings out sweet tones, even if you haven’t added anything sweet
You can add something acidic to counter and try adding more herbs and spices towards the end and only leave it on for the minimum time, but I’m not fond of it
I’ve got one, but I don’t use it much, only for brisket and lemon curd really
But if I was going to break my own rules and buy another kitchen gadget I might go for one of those all in one soup makers that simmer it all up and then blends it
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Was that a pressurised rice cooker? I didn’t even know they existed until I just Googled them! I guess most household appliances can be dangerous, either because of a manufacturing fault or because of operator error. It’s frightening if it happens to you or someone you know, of course.
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I also have a russell hobbs multicooker that fries, slow cooks, boils etc. You can even steam and I think make a cake. More pricey but a compromise.
Thank you Bathsheba, I’m glad I wasn’t the only one 
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Yes , I suppose so.
I’m usually here there and everywhere, frankly I wouldn’t trust myself to leave anything on the hob when I wasn’t around…I could burn water;-)
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Ty PY. It is a bit expensive I suppose at about £140. But is does everything. Meats obviously bur rice, potato bakes, and a whole of other things. The slow cooker, the pressure pressure cooker and a few other gadgets we have are now redundant. I know I’m just the consumer but I think it is a game changer.
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I have a very tiny galley kitchen, Besoeker, so my eventual plan is to get rid of the cooker entirely and use the space it takes up for a little table. I’m not a fan of eating from a plate on my lap. If I can have a couple of things to supplement my air fryer, I shall be a happy bunny. 
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