Morphy Richards Slow cooker review

I was sent out a Morphy Richards 48718 slow cooker on behalf of Littlewoods online catalogue shopping to try out and see what I think of it. Well I love a slow cooker honestly feel whether you are a busy family, a working parent, a working single person or just somebody that likes to be organised then you cannot beat the convenience of one of these. I am a firm believer that every thing can just be quickly and simply prepared and thrown in, no pre cooking or defrosting veg, no browning meat, just throw and go is my method. I have to admit it would not work with mince beef as that does need browning first, and time you have browned it it is about cooked any way.

You can leave a slow cooker safely all day with the lid on it will not boil dry and your meal can be ready and waiting at a time that suits you. It will not come to any harm if you get delayed.

This slow cooker is a big 6.5 ltr capacity, more than big enough for a large family but at the same time it is not too big if there are only two of you you can still fill it and freeze portion of what ever you have cooked, saving you time and money another day. It is a nice size to cook joints of meat in and you can buy cheaper cuts as the process tenderisers them more than conventional cooking methods.

This cooker has three different heat settings, I used the low heat to make yoghurt  the medium for Christmas puddings and a chicken and the high for a piece of gammon and veg and they all worked well.

The machine is not overly heavy for its size, but is quite large to store. It is easy to clean and the removable pot can go in a dishwasher if you have one.

So what have I used mine for?

Firstly I tried it out for making yoghurt. You need a timer to do this. With my previous cooker I set the timer for on for fifteen mins and off for forty five on the lowest setting, with this one that got marginally too warm so next time I will do fifteen mins on and one hr off ( my timer is a manual one with increments of fifteen mins, if you have a more modern one try ten mins on and fifty off.)

• Put 2 litres of milk into the slow cooker, I use long life soya milk, and switch on low for an hr to heat to blood temperature. 
• add two dessert spoons of sugar and stir in, then add 2 tablespoon of natural yoghurt as your culture.
• Put on timer for approx eight to ten hrs until mix thickens
• Cool then place into containers and refrigerate.  

Gluten free Christmas puddings.

Ingredients
Dry

• 3 oz gluten free flour
• 1 teaspoon mixed spice
• 3oz vegetable suet
• 4 oz coconut sugar
• 12 oz mixed dried vine fruits mix of raisins, currants and sultanas.
• 100g gluten free bread crumbs

Wet

• 1 small apple, peeled and grated
• 1 lemon zest and juice
• 1 orange zest and juice
• 2 beaten eggs 
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 3 tablespoons whisky

Method

stir together all dry ingredients. 

Add all wet ingredients

stir thoroughly. Depending on the flour you may need more fluid to get a cake like consistency, just add cold water. 

Grease either a large pudding bowl or small ramekins and add the mix to your bowl. 

Cover loosely with either tin foil or greased proof paper. 

Pour sufficient boiling water into slow cooker bowl to come half way up the sides of your chosen bowl. Cook on medium for 2/3 hrs for small or 4/5 hrs for large.

Gammon and veg.

raw

Place a gammon join in the slow cooker

add chopped veg of your choice, I used carrots and leeks 

cover with water to approx 1/3rd way up the meat.

Cook on full for 3/4 hrs.

cooked

Serve with potatoes.

This meat cooked surprisingly quickly. It was moist and tender as were the vegetables 

This slow cooker produces good results across wide classes of food, and would be a boon to anybody's kitchen. 

I was supplied with the cooker but the review is my honest findings and not influenced by that.