Russell Hobbs 6L Slow Cooker RHSC600

Russell Hobbs slow cooker – I purchased this slow cooker, as my previous one was too small, but this one has plenty of room, and does a great job of cooking stews, soups and casseroles, l would highly recommend it Show details

Returned one day after purchasing without using it – My review is on the actual product rather than the cooking capability. When I got the unit home and unpacked it I found that the lid did not sit properly on the insert. IT felt as if the lid was buckled. I returned it and asked to check other lids with other boxed items and they were all the same. the lid doesn't sit correctly allowing air to escape., so I'm not surprised about the review's regarding not cooking properly. Show details

Good Slow Cooker – Likes - Auto temperature - Analogue dial and no buttons - Can remove - 6 litres - Inner bowl - Easy to clean Dislikes - Inner bowl can crack if not washed correctly - Inner bowl’s base is porous and the heating base may need cleaning afterwards - Previous cooker failed due to electrical cable failing at the base Overview This is my second… Read more

Russell Hobbs slow cooker of this model in eight years. The first one’s bowl cracked, but was still workable until the electrical cord frayed close to the cooker body and made it dangerous. This happened after about eight years and, in today’s world of throwaway consumables, that’s probably lasting as well as can be expected. I went to the store to buy a newer model, but saw the same model on sale for *less* than 50% of what I paid eight years ago. At $49 I thought it was a bargain for a 6 litre slow cooker.

Why so cheap? This is because the newer cookers have more complex temperature controls, programs and a number of things that I don’t actually use – and more pertinently, don’t want – in a slow cooker. My method of slow cooking is stocking it up in the morning before leaving to go to work, putting it on Auto, and coming home to a cooked dinner. This leads into the second reason why I bought the identical model. Familiarity. A part of my brain understood the newer slow cookers might allow me to concoct more sophisticated menus, but when I want a better meal I tend to cook it over the stove or oven. This means the very simple, new Russell Hobbs 6 litre slow cooker fulfilled the purchasing requirements I had going into the store.

Components There’s three parts to the cooker: the body or base of the slow cooker with the heating element in the sides; the ceramic bowl, in which one places all manner of uncooked goodies; and finally the lid. The ceramic bowl has two liner handles that allow it to be lifted away and placed on the table, using a trivet (or something similar) as it will retain its heat quite well. The other part is the control and this is an analogue dial on the side of the cooker itself. It has three settings: Low, High and Auto. Four if you count "off" as a setting. Again, newer slow cookers have quite an array of buttons to control temperature and time, but for my style of slow cooking (ultra-simple), these are all the buttons I need.

Cooking Cooking is straightforward. Prepare the ingredients the night before, put them in the slow cooker in the morning, and have a meal when you get home. Meats, of course, should be browned. I tend to use the low setting and beforehand you should preheat the ceramic bowl on high for 20 minutes. Needless to add, one should not store the ingredients – as tempting as it is – in the slow cooker’s ceramic bowl overnight in the refrigerator. It’s not Armageddon if you do, but I don’t recommend it (flavours can combine in all manner of unfortunate ways) and neither does the manual (for a reason they don't specify).

Needless to add, one should use recipes and ingredients appropriate for a slow cooker. Pasta, for example, can be added late in the cooking cycle, but will mush (as will sweet potato) if you put it in for the whole 10 hours. Speaking of root vegetables -- a phrase I never thought I’d write -- they take ages to cook and should be sliced or diced in much smaller pieces. Think no more than a centimetre all round for your root vegetables and you probably have it. This will prevent the situation of your guests chewing on crunchy potatoes and staring at you with a “I don’t believe this is cooked” expression. Trust me. I’ve been there.

The manual has very little recipes, so getting a book of slow cooker recipes is recommended.

As for the settings: Low – this is the one I use to cook but remember to preheat the slow cooker on high for at least 20 minutes beforehand High – this will cook rather quickly and I use this when I mistime things and come home, and the food’s not quite cooked. If you need to add liquid remember to preheat it otherwise cold liquid against a warm, ceramic bowl will cause cracking Auto – the slow cooker will start cooking on High until it reaches the thermostat’s temperature where upon it will switch to, and remain on, low for the duration of the cooking time.

Cleaning In our older one, the ceramic bowl developed a hairline fracture after it was mistakenly soaked. This meant small amounts leaked into the actual cooker itself and this made the base a pain to clean. I’m hoping with this one that the ceramic bowl retains its integrity thereby meaning the only parts to clean are the bowl and lid. The bowl has a dark glazed and sometimes, even with a good scrub (*not* scouring!), once it dries you can see a remaining food patch here or there... which of course necessitates additional cleaning. The lid is straightforward and the body of the steel base, if any liquid dribbles onto it, can be wiped clean.

One thing to note are the base of the ceramic bowl is porous and that means the exterior should not be soaked in water. From the instructions: “The base is porous and will soak up water which may cause it to crack when heated. Wash the lid and ceramic bowl in hot soapy water using a cloth or sponge, then rinse and dry thoroughly.” Likewise, the manual notes that, after time, the glaze on the ceramic bowl may develop ‘crazing’, a network of small cracks, and this is: “superficial and should not be a cause for concern.” Finally, the electronic body should not be immersed in water or cleaned in a dishwasher.

Warranty It comes with a two year warranty. As I was buying it I was asked if I should like to purchase an additional three year warranty for $30. I pointed out the actual price was $49 for a new one and the difference is the cost of one good takeaway meal. The cashier and I had a good chuckle over that.

Final Thoughts The simple design, good sized bowl coupled with familiarity and price won me over. It does not have the newer slow cooker features, which means the style of cooking tends to the set-and-forget (or check infrequently) and this makes for simpler meal options. However, simpler meal options does not equate to bland food, and the last meal I cooked was lamb shanks with garden vegetables and spices.

The build quality appeared the same as its elder sibling and if I can get at least another eight years from this I shall be satisfied. If all of this ticks your purchasing choices then I can recommend this as a good slow cooker.**

**One star deducted because the electrical cable failed

Works well – This was one of those purchases where you buy, put away, and don't use...unless you make yourself use it which we eventually did. To cook in a slow cooker you still (frequently) need to prepare or precook foods and then place them in the cooker so don't get one because you figure you'll be saving time. You'll be using up your time the night before… Read more

or in the morning. The time saving occurs at the end of the day when many of us are most rushed, have other things to do, come home late, deal with kids etc and your meal will be ready to go rather than starting from scratch. We've used this mainly for stews and meat dishes like lamb shanks and it works great for those. There are hundreds of recipes online so you can try anything you like. Recently we've used it a lot for broths - basically simple soup - and because broths can simmer away with bones for days that's what we sometimes do. We leave it on low for 2-3 days as we use up the broth and get the most out of our cooker. The RH has an auto, low and high function and the 6 litres is good enough for a regular family and even for a 2 couple dinner depending on what else you're having.

Steamless Potato Cooker – First time to use this slow cooker and for a good reason, I hate steam coming out a cooking pot whether it is a normal pot or pressure cooker. Cooked exclusively for potatoes, peeled and cut into coin-shape size pieces for soft cooked-through potatoes after 4 or 5 hours on high. Preparation: preheat on high for 20 minutes (empty) while peeling raw… Read more

potatoes and cutting them to pieces with chopping knife. After nearly 20 minutes preheating, use boiled water from an electric jug about 1 litre because the raw potato will absorb most of the heat once you pour the water into the pot already preheated together with the potato pieces. Allow 4 - 5 hours on high while you do your normal every day activities. Cleaning is done only with paper towels once cooled down and emptied in a plastic bowl or aluminium bowl.

Fantastic slow cooker – Fantastic product. This is my second slow cooker and wouldn’t buy any other brand. I use this a couple time a week to cook roasts and other meals I even cook the Xmas pudding in it. Perfect size for a big family. I leave the meat in it all day on low and it’s perfect. The dish cleans up great. Show details

Stylish, easy to use and cooks evenly – This is the first slow cooker we have ever purchased and we are very happy we chose this particular one. It looks good and functions as we would expect. We have only used it three times using both beef and chicken as the base. Once was a farmhouse chicken casserole and tice Burgundy beef. The aromas during cooking were great and everything was… Read more

cooked evenly and was very tender. There are only two of us to cook for and what we cooked was enough for 4 or even 6 persons and there was space for many more in the 6 litre ceramic bowl. We have only used the LOW settings so far which usually takes around 6-8 hours (recommended cooking time) once using the HIGH setting for around one hour to speed up the cooking time. There are NO smells or aromas left in the device after use. IT was inexpensive to purchase, easy to clean and we would recommend this product.

Auto and low don't work – As per other reviews this slow cooker simply does not cook properly. After 3 hours on auto liquid was only luke warm. Have had slow cookers before and found them great but this one is definitely a dud. Returning mine under warranty- wish me luck!! Show details

The glass lid exploded – On its third use, the glass lid exploded with a loud bang. Machine was on low at the time and had been cooking for about 5 hours. How on earth does a glass lid just explode and shatter? Show details

Dissapointed – Have tried 2 of these and both of the slow cooker the lid did not seal will never purchase any of thus company's products again. I find it very disappointing that the same fault is in the replacement cooker. Show details

Very disappointed – Very disappointed with this brand. Vegetables ( small cut potatoes still hard). Meat tuff after being on Auto for 6 hours. Upped the temp to hot for an hour and still very hard. Will need to replace and buy another brand. Only used twice. Show details

Poor fitting lid – I purchsed the RHG802 and found the lid did not fit properly and there was a gap at the sides between pot and lid. I took it back to the shop and was told this is what it should be. I have concerns about the pot reaching temperature if there is a vent. The shop tried out several from the storeroom and we eventually found one with a slightly better… Read more

fitting lid. I have used it and it does not seem to have a a vent although this lid is still sloppy in movement. I could only recommend this product on the basis that the purchaser checks the lid thoroughly. I was given the original ceramic bowl and lid to bring home as well. So that was a bonus.

Disappointed – Since I bought this slow cooker, less than a year ago, I've always had to put the meat in the oven when I get home after a long day at work. You would think the meat would be cooked if you put it on Low, Auto and I've even tried High, from 8am in the morning until 5/6pm at night. I've now given up... it's off to the rubbish bin. Very disappointed, as it's not a cheap buy  Show details

Beware - dangerous exposed wiring – The cooker is great, but has a design flaw that is potentially dangerous. The incoming power cord must turn at a sharp right angle beneath the base to enter into the cooker body. In our cooker, which has occasional use, this has caused the black outer sheath and two inner wire sheathes to split, exposing copper wire. These wires have the… Read more

potential to touch each other and possibly the metal base.

I wanted to purchase a replacement, but noticed that the design was the same on current stock.

I also noted that no other major brands of slow cookers have the power cable entering at a right angle.

Beware. Consider another model for safety.

Yummy comfort food – Wow it got really cold really suddenly! Not to worry the bonus is yummy hot comfort food. We love soups and stews in our house and this is great. I do like to throw a roast with lots of veggies in and let it do it's thing. Works a treat!  Show details

Easy to use - makes cooking a breeze – From soups to stews to pulled pork...I'm sure I don't get as much use as I could out of it but it is great...I can put it on when walking out the door to work and when I get home it's ready to eat. Turns cheaper cuts of meat into a real tasty treat. There is nothing nicer in the middle of winter than walking into the house to be met by yummy food smells and being able to eat straight away !!! Love it - would be lost without it !!!  Show details

Very good handy cooking tool – Very happy with my purchase of this slow cooking crock pot. It is very easy to clean as the cooking liner is simply taken out of main unit and cleaned seperatly in the sink. The pot features a low and high cooking setting and also an Auto setting which kick starts off cooking process quickly bringing it up to heat, then automatically switches to the low heat. Size of the pot ideal for lamb, chicken etc, as opposed to round crock pots.  Show details

Easy to use, reliable – I have had my slow cooker for 8 years and its still going. Never had an issue. Would recommend. It is easy to use put your ingredients and set high or low setting. Ie i usually put 1kg of frozen chicken in and a jar of satay and some veggies on at 6.30 am, on low, and its ready to eat that night would be ready to eat at 4pm. But i leave it on low till 6pm for dinner.  Show details

Really Good – This has been a great time saver now that we have a baby. We can just throw the ingredients in and make a healthy meal without spending hours in the kitchen. We put the leftovers in the fridge to cool then blend it up and freeze in icecube trays for baby sized portions. We purchased Russell Hobbs as we have found them to be reliable in the past.  Show details

A basic but reliable slow cooker – I bought this with the intention of using it for my first foray into the world of slow cooking. I was mainly interested in pulled meats and ribs and my partner wanted to make soups and stews. It's very convenient to just chuck everything in before work or before bed and let it do it's thing. I made a beef and guinness pie filling the other day and… Read more

although I just used chuck steak, it was cooked to perfection and super delicious. The removable bowl is heavy and easy to clean and the stainless steel looks good and is also easy to clean. I think the 6 litre bowl is suitable for my needs and I look forward to many one-pot meals to come.

Great Cooker – People at work had being carrying on about how great their slow cooker was and how easy it was to prepare meals. Without any research we picked up this little gem. Its a lower profile unit compared to the Sunbeam we were considering so it takes up less space when stored. Comes with longer warranty as well. Does exactly what it needs to. Easy to use and simple to clean. It was on special as well :)  Show details

Perfect large capacity – Perfect slow cooker easy to use and good value for money. Has a large coooking capacity and very easy to use. Its inexpensive and meals taste delicious. I was reluctant to purchase but am so happy i did. use it regularly and its so versatile. Best slow cooker. Very happy  Show details

Easy to use – We needed to replace our old slow-cooker as the ceramic dish had cracked & was leaking. Hubby popped into the store & bought this one, no research was done prior to this, all I had told him was it needed to have a ceramic dish & a switch with the 3 settings on it. I've been using this 3 times a week for the past month or so & it works perfectly, easy to clean and not heavy (for when you are washing it & putting it away).  Show details

Great product – It Cooks well, it doesn’t seem to get too hot The slow cooker is Pretty easy to clean, a simple Soak or wipe over I Would like a warm function as well, not just low and high The product is Not to heavy so storage I’m cupboard is ok Good price for product  Show details

Love it... use it every week – It is very Easy to clean .... Always happy with the results of whatever i cook in my slow cooker. . Whether it's sweet or savory.. Love to organise the meal the night before. Get up early the next day pop it all in and let the cooker do is magic..  Show details

Wonderful product! – I have made the most deliciius stews, silversides, curries etc with this slow cooker and every single time it has NEVER let me down! It is very compact but provides large portions It is INCREDIBLY easy to clean It is super simple to use I just love it and i highly reccomend it!  Show details

Love this product – Have recently purchased and live this product. I like the feature of the elements being at the sides rather than the bottom and my previous cooker had which meant that some food would get burnt on their bottom. Great to cook roasts in. Leg of lamb so tender plus veggies done all in one pot.  Show details

Good, but could be better – The whole slow cooker thing design is slightly faulty, as if it spills over, it goes inside and burns. This isn't just and issue with this design, they are all the same. The only major fault was that the ceramic insert developed cracks in the enamel after a short time, and the salts seem to come out when left.  Show details

Great slow cooker – Cooks everything perfectly on low and high setting not one thing i can fault about it. simple to clean and best of all not many dishes at the end of the day. makes cooking easy from casseroles to curries to pulled beef it just works so well. Even my kids enjoy the meals it cooks.  Show details

So convenient – Great cooking results. So easy to use. It suggests that you fry off your meat etc first but it's not essential, especially if your pressed for time as everything will come out well cooked in the end. Beware not to put the ceramic on an element as it can crack on high heat. Great for two people.  Show details

My best friend! – I love this slow cooker! I previously had the smaller sizedone and upgraded to this one, it heats up rather quickly and to a good temperature, I use this slow cooker all the time and it makes life so much easier. Very happy with the cooking results, most things I put in there on high for 4 hours.  Show details

A good buy – This slow cooker is okay. It is so easy to setup. There are only 2 options for temperature, high or low. We can set the time of cooking as well. Have been using this for almost every forthnight. So far it does not disappoint. It is so easy to clean as there are only 2 parts to clean which is the pot and the lid.  Show details