Russell Hobbs Slow Cooker and Sous Vide Water Bath 25630 review

How easy is the Russell Hobbs 25630 to use?

When it comes to slow cooking, this model is quick and easy to set up. All parts slot into place with ease. We noticed holes in the lid (where the temperature probe goes) and were concerned that there was nothing to block these holes with. We felt that these holes may allow too much steam to escape during the cooking process.

You’ll need to consult the manual to get this model going. The control panel only features imagery, and no accompanying text, so it can feel a little confusing straight out of the box. The buttons are all responsive and the manual explains both the sous-vide setting and how to use the temperature probe very well.

The main bowl is ceramic and has a decent weight to it. The lid has a rubber seal and on either side of the slow cooker are two arms that lock the lid into place, forming a tight seal.

The sous vide function is easy to use, though we were disappointed that Russell Hobbs do not supply at least a few sous vide bags to get you started.

Results

To put this slow cooker to the test we cooked BBC Good Food’s slow cooker beef stew recipe. The cooked dish was flavoursome; the vegetables were vibrant, retained their shape and had some bite to them. Unfortunately, the beef was turning slightly dry by the time it had finished cooking.

How sustainable is the Russell Hobbs 25630?

The manual offers good detail on how to recycle your old slow cooker properly, but there isn’t any mention of who to contact or where to find information about spare parts.

There was also a lot of plastic used to package this slow cooker.

Conclusion

If you’re after a versatile slow cooker for a range of dishes, this Russell Hobbs model is a good choice. After familiarising yourself with the manual, it’s simple to use and comes with the options to sous vide foods and use a temperature probe: perfect for large joints. It did well when slow cooking, but we were a little let down by the meat.

Key specifications

Capacity (litres): 6.5
Size (cm): 25 x 19 x 27cm
Settings: slow cook, sous vide, temperature probe
Pot: ceramic
Lid: glass and plastic
Dishwasher safe: pot
Made in: China

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