Salter Chalkboard slow cooker review
Slow cooker recipes are an ideal choice for busy family mealtimes. Read our review of this novel Salter slow cooker with a chalkboard finish for making notes as you cook.
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Salter EK2842 Chalkboard 3.5-litre slow cooker
Pros: surprisingly useful chalkboard finish, small kitchen footprint
Cons: short electric lead
Star rating: 4/5
Available from:
Robert Dyas (£24.99)
Amazon (£25.99)
Salter (£39.99)
Read our buyer's guide to the best slow cookers
The first things we noticed about the Salter slow cooker were its good looks, sturdy construction and neat size.
The cooker is tall and round, its surface area making it perfect for space-challenged kitchens. The 3.5-litre capacity works for couples and smaller groups.
The deep inner pot is ceramic, so searing meat and browning vegetables needs to be done in separate pans. Once added to the cooker, heating up was fast and even throughout.
The Salter is a standard three-function cooker with low, warm and high, chosen using a small knob which clicks firmly to each setting.
The handles are cool-touch and don't get hot during cooking. Even at the end, though the handles were warm, it was possible to carry the pot safely to the table.
The outside gets hot, which wasn't an issue for us, as the annoyingly short lead kept the cooker well back from the edge of the worktop.
Despite the smaller size, the beef stew and chicken curry we tested were beautifully reduced after their allotted cooking times. The chicken had fallen from the bone and the sauce was vibrant and tasty. The beef remained in lovely tender chunks, as did the vegetables, and the gravy was rich and deeply flavoured.
There was no burned-on food, and it was easy to clean in hot soapy water.
The stand-out feature is the quirky chalkboard finish. Three chunky fat chalks are included, for marking times (there are no physical timers on the cooker), reminders or notes of what's cooking inside.
Available from:
Robert Dyas (£24.99)
Amazon (£25.99)
Salter (£39.99)
Specifications
Type: regular slow cooker
Capacity: 3.5-litre
Size: 27.6 x 24.7 x 27.3 cm
Settings: low, high, warm
Functions: chalk board finish plus chalks, power indicator light
Pot: black glazed ceramic
Lid: glass with cool-touch handles
Guarantee: 3 years
Dishwasher: inner pot and lid
Oven and hob friendly: no
Instruction manual: yes
Recipes: yes
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This review was last updated in January 2020. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability, please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk.
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