Slow Cookpots

[coccinelle]

I love my slow cooker and am often congratulated on my meals with friends. (Though available in France they're expensive and people don't know about them). I've been requested to buy a couple but mine only has two settings: low and high. I see that there is an 'auto' setting on some. Could you tell me what your cookpot settings are and what this means they can do?

[magsmay]

auto puts the cooker on a high setting for about an hour then puts it down to a low setting automatically, then if its the one I've got after about 6 hours puts it down to 'keep warm'

[gingejbee]

The "auto" setting starts off high and reduces to low (automatically) after a few hours. Useful but not necessary.

[coccinelle]

magsmay & gingebee, I'll be ordering through amazon, on auto do you have an option of keeping warm or not? and would that be a setting on its own?

[Buenchico]

Without knowing the make and model of the slow cooker you're considering, any advice given here might turn out to be inaccurate.

Amazon.fr looks to be more expensive for a 'mijoteur' than Carrefour. You might like to consider this:
http://online.carrefour.fr/electromenager-multimedia/kenwood/mijoteur-cp658_a00480167_frfr.html
which includes a 'keep warm' function:
http://www.kenwoodworld.com/en-INT/All-products/Cooking-and-Baking/Slow-Cookers/CP658-Slow-Cooker-0WCP658002/

Chris

[gingejbee]

As Chris has said (paraphrase)- they are all different. Mine has low, auto and high and no "keep warm". I would never use "keep warm" anyway because when the food is cooked - it's eaten or frozen! Cooking times are so long anyway that an hour or so longer at "low" doesn't make much difference to the finished product.

[humbersloop]

coccinelle, I think you'd do a lot worse than directly buying a cheap one from one of the big supermarket own brands. I paid £12-14 for my last one, (3 litres) which has high, low and warm settings.

For flavour and convenience of timing, I use low and warm most often. Ragu for bolognese/savoury mince is usually 12-15 hours on low, a whole chicken sits on leeks and spuds for 24-36 hours on warm, is really succulent and you get leek and potato soup too.

[Canary42]

Mine has high, low, and keep warm. I usually set it on high for an hour then switch to low for however long is necessary (anything from 4 to 10 hours depending on the contents). I hardly ever use keep warm.

[humbersloop]

I meant warm is also a good, cheap cooking option on it's own account - I never use it for actually keeping anything warm, just know tuesday's tea is sorted on sunday night ;)

[Im a BusyBee]

I swear by my slow cooker (i have 2 on the go as i type) chilli in one and a syrup pudding in the other. But i did not know that 'warm' would actually cook food? Especially a chicken which you need to be careful with - i have read that slow cookers, on the usual cooking settings, do not cook at a high enough temperature to kill the bacteria in a chicken never mind leaving it on warm for 24-36 hours?! Are you sure that is a good thing to do? In answer to your question i use high, low and warm(if everyone is not here to eat together) i would not be bothered about having auto even tho one of mine has this setting. Also i would like to say all slow cookers do cook differently. I also have a 3rd one, Cuisineart, which was very expensive about £80 but it cooks so quickly i cannot use that and go out all day. I also have a small one 3 or 3.5 litre asda own make which is brilliant and was very cheap in comparison.

[coccinelle]

Thank you everybody for your advice. I haven't decided on any yet, I just wanted your personal opinions. The reason i was going to go through amazon is because I can get them delivered to a UK address and next trip from family can bring them over, however, if you say Asda's own make is good that's another option as family shop there. Any specific one? It would be a 3.5 litre one.

[mrs.chappie]

If I was replacing my slow cooker, I'd get one with an insert that you can use on the stove top, for searing/browning the meat.

I didn't know they existed when I replaced mine not that long ago, unfortunately.

[humbersloop]

^I'm absolutely certain it's a good thing to do busybee, I've no wish to snuff it early and mr sloop is still alive and kicking. Just buy organic, locally grown birds, not those poor supermarket fowl full of water, hormones and bacteria - and don't take the lid off

The supermarket own brands are much of a muchness really coccinelle, just depends what size you want.

[Connemmara]

humbersloop where would GET or buy the real macoy of a chicken. Do you need to go to a farm even then you dont the way they have been reared too.

[Connemmara]

You know I type so fast haven't time to read the bloody posting over - I type 72 words a minute - too fast - I am actually on a keyboard from 1983 which allows me to go much faster than the stuff is out now. Must calm down and read my postings from now on.

[humbersloop]

I'm lucky conne, I live in the country and neighbours are local producers, birds and pigs mainly

[Connemmara]

I would love that.