Verdict
The Lakeland 6.5L Searing Slow Cooker is a unfeigned one - pot cooking answer thanks to its excellent searing and sautéing functions . We love its generous capacity and a lightweight pot with a lockable lid that was safe and easy to shift to the table . But tepid food for thought , a brusque lead and baking fails entail it ’s not for everyone .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Not sold on an airwave frier ’s multitudinous functions ? mayhap a childlike irksome cooker is more your amphetamine . With fewer configurations , but the hope of one - locoweed preparation due to its searing functions , the Lakeland 6.5L Searing Slow Cooker offers healthy simplicity add up dinner fourth dimension .
Lakeland has been in the wearisome cooker secret plan for eld now , and I ’ve used its small 3.5 - l example before . But what attract me to this new intent was its char modes , meaning I would n’t need to brown off meat or vegetables on the goblin before transferring them to the preparation plenty .
Design and features
At £ 129.99 , the Lakeland 6.5L scorch Slow Cooker is one of the more dear large - content searing sluggish cooker on the market . That say , it is currently reduced to £ 79.99 , which brings it in seam with comparable mannikin by Morphy Richards and Instant Pot .
First impressions of this tiresome cooker are practiced . It comes package in cardboard , with each part wrapped in reclaimable plastic bags . Lifting it out of the boxful was easy – despite its size of it , it was amazingly light .
It ’s a smart - looking cooker , albeit the outside feels a little plasticky . There are six buttons on the front . You bicycle through the cookery modes by weightlift the bill of fare button repeatedly , while a reddened LED lights up each one . This is visceral , though a niggling irritating if you ‘ lack ’ your mode as you have to cycle through again .
The penning is also quite small , so although I could read it exquisitely , my mother ( who would do as my sous chef on occasion ) really struggled . It ’s not a game - changer though , as I rapidly find out how many button presses I needed for the preferences I used most often , so that it became second nature .
The cooker feel nice and static on the worktop , and the lid locks to the removable cooking weed , so that you’re able to safely channel the contents to the dining board . I loved the silicone - sealed hat , which I was sure-footed to set straight off on my laminate worktop between put forward at the sautéing and searing stages .
An aluminium cookery pot meet within the main slow cooker . This is notice as dishwashing machine safe , although confusingly , when you read the instruction booklet , it states ‘ we do not commend washing in the dishwasher , as this can damage the non - stick coating on the cooking dope ’ . However , it ’s very prosperous to clean house in saponaceous weewee , and the coating is splendid . I ’ve view no shedding or drop in performance over the three - month testing geological period .
It offers five searing slow cooker functions : Gentle ( approx 100 ° C ) , Low ( approx 120 ° C ) , Medium ( approx 150 ° C ) , Saute ( 170 ° 100 ) and High Sear ( 180 ° C ) . Each of these is set to a default time of 15 minute . you may then press the + and – buttons to bike through time intervals from 5 to 60 minute . As most of the recipes I try only require the Saute or High Sear for 5 minutes , I chance that the 15 - minute default was a little long . However , I incline to keep it as default and compress the Cancel button when I was quick to trade to slow down cooking , as this gave me more flexibleness .
There are then four cooking functions and a ‘ keep warm ’ routine . Slow Cook Low is ideal for meat that needs to be misrepresent dispirited and deadening , such as beef brisket or lamb . Slow Cook High will castrate cooking times , and is great for vegetable and wimp dishes . Steam requires using the provided cooking rack , and works with clean and glacial vegetables , or fish . Finally , there is a Yogurt function .
Performance
The first affair I made in the cooker was a vegetable soup , which required me to quiz the sautéing function . It took around six minutes to heat up , and then a few bleep alert me to the fact I could bulge adding ingredients . The timer on the front number down each minute , rather than in seconds , which is a piffling frustrating during searing but obviously is n’t an consequence when you are slow preparation . Once preheat , the pan sizzle nicely , and the ingredients do n’t stick to to the fundament . The instructions discourage that you might have a slight burning smell on first exercise . I did n’t notice this , but my spouse sensed a slenderly metallic smell . It shortly perish . I have been careful to only use forest or silicone tools inside the pot , so as not to damage the non - stick surface , and it has last well over metre .
While the outer soundbox of the tedious cooker stick relatively cool during the cooking process , the glass eyelid and rim of the cooking pot get very hot . You ’ll therefore want to interlock the lid carefully and keep it well out of reach of children and pets . The educational activity advise using oven glove to handle the flock in habit . I find the eyelid handle cool enough to raise and touch during cooking , but would advise following the manufacturer ’s guidance .
The next formula to try out was a BBC slow cooker brownie recipe , which I ’d previously cooked successfully in a Morphy Richards slow cooker . This change by reversal out to be a catastrophe . Despite play along the formula to the letter , and lay out the slow cooker on eminent as instructed , after the two - and - a - one-half hour preparation time the brownie mixture was still a dense liquid . After six - and - a - half hours , it still had n’t baked and was a hair mousse consistency , at which stop I gave up .
As lots of abridgement forms on the eyelid , so the cooker just stay too ‘ cockeyed ’ to produce the right conditions for bake .
I had more success with a simple behind - cook bolognese recipe , which require me to use the high - sear function .
This was , and carry on to be , extremely effective at searing meat and softening onions . I always feel that I have more control than I do with my gas pixie . It seems to strike the pure temperature and meat browns quickly and evenly
The resulting Bolognese – made with braise steak rather than mince – was toothsome . The only proceeds was that it seemed to go stale very apace , to the extent that I ask to pour out the mixture and microwave it to check that it was piping hot for serving to guests .
Another characteristic that get regular use in our domicile is the steaming function , which we utilize for frosty veggie , specially Brassica oleracea italica , and for fresh Salmon River fish fillet .
I often use the sear mode to crinkle up the skin after cook . It works very well – the veg are crank but not soggy , and the fish is firm but flakey . This really assist the appliance earn its place on my worktop .
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Should you buy it?
The Lakeland 6.5L Searing Slow Cooker works comfortably when it ’s sear center and veg , then cooking it scummy and dumb as a casserole , bolognese or soup . It ’s also great at steaming vegetables , and I was impressed with its capacity .
The dim cooker ’s ‘ keep warm ’ function was disappointing . I witness I take to micro-cook soup and swither if I wanted to serve them mop up raging .
Final Thoughts
The Lakeland 6.5L Searing Slow Cooker make it easy to make large quantities of soup and casserole without have to constantly overprotect over a hot cooking stove . And the consistence of the dishes was perfect . Nothing was over - bring down , as I have found with other slow cooker , and it was expectant at steaming vegetables as side . I ’d happily use it as a replacement to a standalone steamer .
bake slow cooker brownies was less successful . I also obtain its keep - ardent subroutine insufficiently hot for some sweetheart , and the short 1 - beat cable might not stretch to your spark plug socket .
If you are look to make center saucer for a gang and intend to do them straight away , this slow cooker does everything you require well and in one lightweight raft . It ’s not dishwasher safe but it is very easy to clean .
However , if you ’re using this cooker to keep mantrap ardent when cater for a crowd , you may find you may need to reheat some dishes . And as the pot is n’t suitable for place in the oven or microwave , this can be a chip of a faff . mark off out ourBest Slow Cookerguide for more choice .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every dim cooker we brush up good over an extended period of meter . We habituate standard tests to liken feature article the right way . We ’ll always recount you what we find . We never , ever , go for money to critique a merchandise .
line up out more about how we test in ourethics insurance .
FAQs
The corporation says it can go in the dishwashing machine , although the manual of arms recommends handwash to protect the non - stick finishing .
