Crock-Pot Digital Slow Cooker 3.5L (CSC026)

Crock-Pot popularised the slow cooker in the 1970s, and this 3.5L digital model is the one we'd hand to almost anyone. The programmable countdown timer runs from 30 minutes up to 20 hours, after which it drops automatically to keep-warm so dinner isn't ruined if you're held up, a genuinely useful safety net that the manual-dial pots lower down this list can't offer. The 3.5L capacity comfortably serves two to four, and the removable ceramic pot and glass lid lift out for cleaning. Drawing only around 210W, it costs just pennies to run over a long low cook. It isn't flashy and there's no sear function, but it heats evenly, holds temperature reliably and tends to keep going for years, which is exactly what most people want.