Sometimes, you know exactly what you want and how to cook it best. The Manual setting allows you to take control and programme the countdown timer to your desired cooking time, as well as choose between High and Low heat settings, so you can get the best results in a way that you already know works.

Are you wondering how many servings you can get out of a 1-quart slow cooker? Will a 3-quart model suffice for a family of four?The bowl was a good capacity and easily accommodated four chopped onions. Another handy element was being able to set a time for the sauté function to prevent overcooking – in this case, 20 minutes – which left the onions browned without being burnt.

If you’re single and don’t often entertain large groups, consider a small slow cooker with a 3- to 4-quart capacity. However, if you have a family of four (or more), you’ll need at least 5 or 6 quarts. For most households of four or more, I recommend a 6-quart slow cooker. The smallest I’d suggest is 4 quarts because slow cooking is a long process. It’s a waste of time to cook for six to eight hours and only get one or two meals out of it. Finally, I used the Express Multi-Cooker to make a Chocolate Volcano Pudding directly in the pot. This involved greasing it before pouring in the pudding mixture and topping with chocolate sauce.

This exercise also works when determining sizes for saucepans and other cookware or appliances that use capacity for measurement. Small slow cookers are inadequate for large family meals. Large sizes aren’t ideal for creating small dishes because they use energy inefficiently. If you’re looking for the most versatile option, shoot for the middle. If you use a slow cooker frequently and have a lot of counter space, you can also opt to leave it out as part of your kitchen decor.

This level of clarity may sound like a no-brainer, but given that multi-cooker buttons can go crazy with colours, symbols and toggling functions, the relative ease of setting a cooker can’t be underestimated during a busy morning.Think about everyone that frequently eats under your roof, including family and friends. Are you often preparing meals for just yourself? Do you have five or more people to feed? Or are you the go-to chef in your neighborhood? I liked the multiple options the cooker has to customise this dish – I could have extended the cooking time, pressure or temperature to customise the recipe, or used the delay timer so it would be ready later on. Again, it took about five minutes for pressure to build and the same to release. The chilli was rich and flavourful, with no burnt chunks of meat or dry beans.

There’s one button for each programme or cooking function, one each for setting the delay timer (max four hours) and the keep-warm (for up to four hours), and up and down buttons plus buttons for adjusting the pressure or temperature. All of which are clearly marked with a big digital display. The recipe online doesn’t give details on using any particular functions as it just says the cooking time is two hours, so I manually set the timer.Mid-range sizes can handle most recipes for a small family. Look at models between 4 and 6 quarts, and you’ll get the best of both worlds. Storage Space If you don’t use it frequently, have limited space, or only prepare meals for yourself, a 4-quart slow cooker is ideal. However, if you have lots of space, a large family, or like to entertain, a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker is the better choice.