Breville slow cooker review

01.Introduction

Breville ikon Slow Cooker with Easy Sear Pan BSC560

Price $200
Contact www.breville.com.au

If you’re pressed for time when it comes to making dinner, a slow cooker could be the answer – prepare the ingredients in the morning, add the required liquid, set the temperature and walk away. Your meal is ready at the end of the day when you arrive home.

Here at CHOICE, we’ve always been impressed by slow cookers, and the Breville Ikon didn’t disappoint. Its 7L capacity makes it ideal for family-sized meals, and its rectangular shape accommodates large portions of meat well. A unique feature is its removable pan that’s not only used for slow cooking, but also designed for searing on the stove and roasting in the oven. Other slow cookers require you to sear your meat first in a separate saucepan, whereas all this can be done in the Breville’s same non-stick pan. It also includes a stainless steel rack that allows you to slow-cook a roast without adding water.

We conducted two performance tests: cooking lamb shanks to assess its ability to cook at low temperature over an extended time, and making soup, to assess its ability to cook at high temperature over a shorter period. The Breville performed excellently for both – the soup was cooked perfectly and the lamb shanks were tender. These foods need to remain above 60°C to be safe for consumption; the lamb shanks reached 72°C and the soup 90°C.

The unit is reasonably heavy, with the pan alone weighing in at 2kg. Take care when moving the pan off the stove and while the slow cooker is on, as the rubber grip handles and exterior surface can get hot. Its stainless steel exterior requires attention when cleaning, and the size of the pan can make it awkward to wash in a domestic sink.

CHOICE VERDICT

The Breville Ikon Slow Cooker will easily feed a large family. It’s more expensive than other slow cookers, but its unique features make it a cut above the rest.