If you love using a slow cooker – and who doesn’t love an appliance that lets you throw in the ingredients and walk away while it does the cooking for you – then you’ll probably be pretty sure you’ve got the best version already in your kitchen.
But the first ranking of appliances and products by comparison site Finder has named what it considers the best slow cooker on the Australian market, and it’s from a surprising source.
Instead of opting for a slow cooker from one of the big-name appliances brands, Finder says Aldi’s slow cooker is the best you can buy.
Finder used a point system to rate a range of appliances as part of its retail awards, using the views of Australians to rate each product in a 0-5 range. The company then worked with leading market research firm, Roy Morgan, to collate more than 34,000 reviews from 4,000 shoppers on purchases made in the past two years.
Participants were asked to rate the brands of everyday products on factors including value for money, quality and safety. They were also asked whether they’d recommend the product to others.
And it wasn’t household names such as Kambrook and Sunbeam that placed in the top spot, but Aldi’s Ambiano slow cooker, with an impressive score of 4.18 out of 5.
Unfortunately, the Ambiano slow cooker is no longer available in store but if you already have one stored in the kitchen cupboard, congratulate yourself for bagging a bargain.
If you’re still on the lookout for a slow cooker then fear not, however, because plenty of the others received good scores. The Crockpot version, for one, was so close behind Aldi with a score of 4.17, while the Breville and Russell Hobbs models both scored 4.12.
Following this was KitchenAid’s model with 4.1, followed by Kmart’s with 4.08, the Smith and Nobel with four. Surprisingly, Sunbeam’s slow cooker was the bottom of the ranking with a score of 3.97.
Aldi has plenty of other highly rated products too. A recent survey of customers by the German supermarket chain itself asked shoppers to vote for their favourite products across ten categories. From alcohol and beauty, to baked goods and meat, votes were counted to crown a winner in each section.
In the alcohol category, a South Australian bottle of wine bagged the number one spot. The South Pinot Estate Rose, costing a mere $4.99, was named the best tipple by Aldi customers. A brand spokesperson said this is no surprise given the wine has received industry awards in the past for its excellent taste and price. (You’ll be disappointed if you try to buy it in Queensland and South Australia though, where liquor licensing laws don’t allow it to sell alcohol.)
Bakers Life Lower Carb, Higher Protein Bread ($4.99) won out in the bakery category and Confidence Toilet Tissue 3ply at $7.99 secured first place in ‘Beauty and Personal Care’.
Proving that Australians are always up for a bargain, the Di-San Ultra Degreaser Pre Wash Lemon Stain Remover was the favourite of most shoppers out of the supermarket’s range of ‘Cleaning and Laundry’ products, at a price of just $1.25, while the delicious Urban Eats Feta and Spinach Gozleme ($3.99) took home the prize for best freezer product.
Impressing in the fridge, dairy and eggs section was the Cowbelle Tasty Block Cheese for $7.49, while Berg Middle Bacon ($8.99) was the top pick in the meat category. Rounding out the top 10 was the Brookdale 100 per cent Pure Canadian Maple Syrup for $5.69 and, in ‘Snacks and Sweets’ Storck Knoppers emerged victorious, with a price tag of just $2.99.
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