If you are thinking of buying a slow cooker or one of your family members already has one that they can’t help but rave about, then this post aims to outline the benefits of adding a slow cooker to your kitchen arsenal.  After all is there anything better on a cold winter’s day than coming home to a hearty casserole or warming stew?

In the 1970’s the slow cooker was the must-have gadget of the time, but far from being seen as a retro item, the humble slow cooker has undergone a revival in recent times and is now once again a favourite with UK consumers.

The rise of the slow cooker is sure to have been helped by recession hit consumers looking for a convenient and cost-effective cooking method. A recent feature on slow cooking published on the Independent.co.uk stated that “Tesco alone is seeing 12,000 of the appliances fly of its shelves every week, while John Lewis and Morphy Richards have seen sales grow 64 per cent and 16.4 per cent respectively since last year”.

(Source: http://www.independent.co.uk)

So Why Bother With a Slow Cooker?

The way a slow cooker works sets it apart from other home appliances. It is probably the time required that creates the starkest contrast between preparing your dinner using a slow cooker compared to the more commonly used home appliances like microwaves and cookers.

Slow cookers work by applying a small amount of heat over a prolonged period of time, usually 3 to 12 hours. The amount of heat applied over this time is surprisingly low and in most slow cookers only amounts to around three 100-watt light bulbs’ worth according to Which.co.uk.

(Source: http://www.which.co.uk)

The Top 3 Reasons to Buy:

1. Slow cookers are a great why to transform cheaper cuts of meat, such as chicken thighs, beef shin or belly pork, into tasty dishes. This is because the process of slow cooking tenderises the meat causing the fibres to break-down, which results in a delicious taste experience. The ability to use cheaper cuts of meat is just one of the money saving benefits of slow cooking.

2. The importance of convenience can not be under estimated with today’s busy lives and slow cooker fit in perfectly. You simply don’t need to do anything during the cooking process. Once you have added the ingredients you can simply get on with your day and even go out – knowing your tasty supper is safely cooking away at home. You don’t even need to stir it!

3. Energy efficiency is another great reason to start slow cooking and it is also an inventive way to save money. In a feature on the BBC Good Food website states that a slow cooker “uses a heat source roughly equivalent to two bright light bulbs at 200-250 watts running for three to 12 hours, compared to an oven, which uses about 700 watts”

(Source: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com)

Getting Started With a Slow Cooker

Slow cookers come into there own when you’re preparing soups, stews and casseroles. However, food cooked this way doesn’t need to be bland and there are loads of interesting and quirky slow cooker recipes to try available online or in numerous specialist slow cooker recipe books, including titles such as the Good Food: 101 Slow Cooker Favorites.

If you’re itching to get started you can purchase from a range of slow cookers available at BuySpares.

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