The multicooker market is flooded with big names like Instant Pot and Ninja, so you may be wondering whether this lesser-known brand is worth a shot. However, with the best-selling Pressure King Pro under their belt, Drew & Cole are quickly building a name for themselves when it comes to electric pressure cookers and multicookers.

See: the best slow cookers

The Cleverchef Pro is a very affordable multicooker that comes in two sizes, I reviewed the 4.8 litre model which is ideal for four-person recipes but there’s also a 5.7 litre model which is better for larger households. It’s easy to use, doesn’t take up too much space, and offers the same functions as most other multicookers.

Ideal Home rated: 4 out of 5 stars

Reasons to buy:

•   Compact size
•   Pre-set programs make it easy to figure out cook times and settings
•   Non-stick inner pot
•   Plenty of recipes available on the app
•   Keep warm function
•   Great size for a 4-person household
•   Intuitive to use

Reasons to avoid:

•   Steaming results were unpredictable
•   Accessories have to be washed by hand

Drew & Cole Cleverchef Pro Multicooker

Specs

•   Power: 1000W
•   Capacity: 4.8 L
•   Pre-sets: 50 pre-set cooking programs
•   Cooking functions: Pressure cook, slow cook, steam, sauté, sous vide, multicook
•   Weight: 5kg
•   Size: 34.1 x 36.2 x 34 cm
•   Included:  Stainless steel basket, stainless steel trivet, aluminium inner pot

Unboxing

Image credit: Ideal Home/Helen McCue

The Drew & Cole Cleverchef Pro comes in a surprisingly neat box, it’s easy to lift and remove it from the box. I was pleased to see very little plastic packaging, the majority is easily recyclable cardboard with just a few plastic bags.

The Cleverchef is a compact multicooker that doesn’t feel too big and cumbersome like some other brands. The charcoal exterior has an uncluttered control panel that consists of just one dial and a back button, giving it a neat and streamlined appearance and it’s certainly better looking than other multicookers I’ve reviewed.

The lid slots effortlessly into place and there’s a padlock symbol to indicate when it’s in the locked or unlocked position. While the lid isn’t hinged, it does have an integrated tab that slots into the back of the cooker, this holds the lid so you don’t have to put it on the counter if you don’t want to. On top, the pressure valve can easily be switched between the closed and release positions, but for safety it’s advisable to use tongs or wear an oven glove when venting steam.

Image credit: Ideal Home/Helen McCue

When not in use, the basket and trivet can be stored inside, even the power cord can be disconnected and popped inside for easy storage. The instruction manual is thorough, but doesn’t include any recipes, for these you’ll have to download the app or head to the website.

Cooking in the Drew & Cole Cleverchef Pro

When you switch on the Cleverchef, the main menu first prompts you to choose a cooking style from the following: pressure cook, slow cook, multicook, steam, sauté, sous vide, DIY and keep warm. Once you’ve chosen a cooking style, it then lists pre-set cooking programs by food type. Each pre-set program has a default time and temperature, but these can easily be adjusted if necessary and you can also add a delay timer at this stage.

Image credit: Drew & Cole

All the pre-set programs are listed in the instruction manual, which details the default time and temperature as well as the available time or temperature range. So, if your particular food or recipe type isn’t listed, you can easily choose the program that most closely matches the time and temperature you think you need. I found the controls really intuitive to use.

While scrolling through the menus the display screen is illuminated blue, but when cooking or preheating, the display turns orange so you can see at a glance that it’s cooking, which is a nice feature.

Pressure cooking a curry in the Drew & Cole Cleverchef Pro

Image credit: Ideal Home/Helen McCue

I picked the chicken madras recipe from the Drew & Cole app for my first meal. It utilises the sauté setting first to fry off the spices and the chicken. This is really easy, and not only did it mean I didn’t need to dirty a separate frying pan, but it kept all the flavours in the cooking pot. After sauteing and adding the rest of the ingredients, it’s just a case of putting the lid on and selecting the pressure cook function, followed by the curry chicken program.

The curry took just 24 minutes including the heat up time. I allowed the pressure to slow release for 15 minutes and then released the rest manually, which just requires flicking the pressure release switch so the steam can escape. The result was a fiery curry with very tender chicken, a great result for what felt like minimal effort. My only complaint would be that it was a little too runny, I’d have preferred it thicker, but having said that, you can just switch the sauté function back on and let it reduce further if you’re not too hungry to wait.

Image credit: Ideal Home/Helen McCue

Pressure cooking rice in the Drew & Cole Cleverchef Pro

To go with the chicken madras, I made Indian spiced basmati rice, which is another recipe from the app. I emptied the curry into a saucepan so it was easy to keep warm while the rice cooked. Then I added the rice, water and spices to the clean pot, locking the lid into position with the pressure valve closed and selecting the pressure cook function. The recipe uses brown basmati and I selected the brown rice pre-set program which takes just 20 minutes, although there was an additional six minutes to heat up. Unlike when you’re cooking on the hob you can walk away and not worry about it boiling over or boiling dry, so it’s super convenient.

Image credit: Ideal Home/Helen McCue

At the end of cooking I flicked the pressure release valve to the vent position so that the steam pressure released fast, it’s good to have it near an extractor fan during this stage due to the large amount of steam released. The finished rice was stickier than I’d usually expect for basmati rice, but cooked through and a perfect addition to the curry.

Baking a cake in the Drew & Cole Cleverchef Pro

Image credit: Ideal Home/Helen McCue

While browsing the app for recipes I kept coming back to the Nutella brownie recipe and in the end, I couldn’t resist giving it a go. With just four ingredients, it’s a great recipe to make with kids. Once the ingredients are combined into a cake batter, the mixture gets tipped into the cooking pot. This recipe called for the Multicook function and then the ‘bake cake’ pre-set with the time adjusted to 30 minutes.

See also: the best stand mixers

I was sceptical about the results, not to mention how I’d get the finished cake out of the pot, however at the end of cooking the cake tipped out of the pot with ease. It was more of a cake than a brownie, so if I made it again, I’d definitely reduce the cook time. That said, it had a pleasant texture and while it wouldn’t win any awards at the local village fete, for a quick no-fuss cake, it’s not a bad option.

Image credit: Ideal Home/Helen McCue

Steaming broccoli in the Drew & Cole Cleverchef Pro

This seemingly simple task was actually the trickiest of all the things I made in the Cleverchef Pro. The instruction manual says to fill with water up to the halfway line on the pot, then steam the broccoli in the basket on top of the trivet, but I had to reduce the amount of water as the steaming basket was sitting in it. There’s a broccoli steam pre-set which takes six minutes, although the total cook time including the pre-heat was 13 minutes. After this, the broccoli was still very hard and in the end, I put it on a further three times to get the broccoli steamed to the correct texture.

Image credit: Ideal Home/Helen McCue

I knew something wasn’t right so tried again, but this time I added just 1cm of water to the bottom of the pot. I still had to run the broccoli steam program twice to get perfectly cooked al dente broccoli, but the result was much better with less water in the pot. So I’d say if you’re planning to steam with the Cleverchef Pro, you’ll have to be prepared to experiment to get the results you’re looking for.

Image credit: Ideal Home/Helen McCue

Cleaning

I was disappointed that there was no mention in the instruction manual about whether the parts are dishwasher safe or not. Nevertheless, nothing was tricky to clean by hand, the cooking pot has a non-stick coating, and nothing stuck to it during my tests, so it was easy to clean as was the trivet and basket.

There’s a bit of fiddly cleaning to do around the pressure release valve to make sure it’s free of debris, but this is the same for most electric pressure cookers. The lid can be submerged in water for easy cleaning and the base doesn’t get dirty but is easy to wipe over should you need to.

Should you buy the Drew & Cole Cleverchef Pro?

Image credit: Ideal Home/Helen McCue

While it’s not a brand that immediately springs to mind when you’re thinking about buying a multicooker, in use, I felt that the Cleverchef Pro cooked just as well as some of the other more premium models available and it certainly doesn’t feel like it’s missing any functionality. If you’re new to multi-cookers and electric pressure cookers, you’ll benefit from the pre-set programs that take the guesswork out of cooking lots of different foods. The pre-sets give you the confidence to use it more often by providing a starting cook time and temperature that you can adjust to suit your own preferences.

I enjoyed trying out recipes on the app and created some delicious meals using the various functions available and despite the difficulties I had when steaming broccoli, I think that given the affordable price tag, it’s a good choice.

About this review, and the reviewer

Helen McCue is a freelance contributor who trained as a Home Economist. After starting her career in the food industry, she moved into home appliance reviews, utilising her cooking skills and experience to put all kinds of products to the test, and over the years has reviewed hundreds of home and kitchen appliances for a variety of publications.

Having completely renovated her current house, Helen reviews kitchen appliances from her open plan kitchen at home in a beautiful Berkshire village. When she’s not working, Helen can be found enjoying the local countryside or dreaming about her next house renovation project.

The post Drew and Cole Cleverchef Pro Multicooker review appeared first on Ideal Home.

Halloween is finally here, and we can’t wait to celebrate. We’ve been having a lot of fun coming up with new Halloween decorating ideas in preparation for inviting guests over.

Some time along the way, though, there are bound to be some pretty scary spillages and stains. Whether you’re currently haunted by melted chocolate stains on the sofa or face paint on the carpet, a cleaning professional has the answer to your Halloween cleaning dilemmas.

Image credit: HomeHow

Chocolate stains

Home care and cleaning expert Joyce French from HomeHow has an easy fix for stains caused by melted chocolate and sticky fingers. First of all, scrape off as much of the chocolate as possible with a knife or spoon.

This will prevent the chocolate stain from getting any bigger. Then, Joyce says to blot the stain with a solution of two tablespoons of washing-up liquid and some hot – not boiling – water.

Repeat this step a few times, and then use a light sprinkle of cornmeal to absorb any remaining moisture.

Image credit: Funky Hampers

Face paint

‘If you are using water-based face paint, you are in luck,’ says Joyce. ‘Warm water and a face cloth will do the trick in easily removing the paint from your face or any surfaces.’

Try using some micellar water on a cotton pad if you’re left with any residue. As for upholstery, such as your sofa or curtains, try blotting the stain with a solvent – like washing up liquid or rubbing alcohol.

Joyce also recommends trying hairspray because of its alcohol content. ‘Never use ammonia on silk or wool, and always check the fabric type before using a solvent on it!’ she says.

Image credit: Lights4fun

Glitter

Knowing how to remove glitter is an elite life skill, as it can be very stubborn. Pieces of glitter will keep turning up weeks or even months later.

Use your best cordless vacuum cleaner to suck up all the sparkles, and then use a spray mop, like our favorite Vileda mop on Amazon. Once you’ve done that, it’s time to try Joyce’s final Halloween cleaning hack.

‘Go over the surface with a lint roller,’ she says, ‘which should do the trick for those pieces that you can’t pick up with your hands.’ Good luck!

The post Expert reveals her Halloween cleaning secrets for a post-spooky season tidy up appeared first on Ideal Home.

It’s the perfect time of year to invest in the best soup maker. We’ve reviewed top soup makers from Morphy Richards, Lakeland, Judge, Drew & Cole, and Salter to bring you our top picks for making seasonal soups in under half an hour. When testing we made all sorts of delicious lunches, from a simple leek and potato to a spicy curried butternut squash soup. 

Each and every one of the best soup makers in our guide has been tested hands-on by Millie Fender, our small appliances expert, and ranked for ease of use, capacity, and features. Although none of them can go in the dishwasher because they come with electric-powered bases, many of the best soup makers have a self-clean button that blitzes any remnants of your soup from the blades or sides of the jug. Some of the soup makers in our guide can also be used in the place of the best blender to make smoothies and even crush ice. 

Other features we enjoyed were delayed start settings, which allow you to add your ingredients and come back in up to 12 hours to find a jug of freshly-cooked soup, and clear designs so you can see your food cooking. 

What is the best soup maker?

We tested five of the best soup makers on the market, and the one that came out on top was the Drew & Cole Soup Chef Pro. We were seriously wowed by the soup it produced, which was smooth and creamy, and it offers a delay start mode. If you’re looking for a soup maker that’s got a clear cooking container, we love the Morphy Richards Clarity Soup Maker. It’s got a clear tritan jug and heats very fast.

1. Drew and Cole Soup Chef Pro

Best soup maker for delay starts

Capacity: 1.6 litres
Modes: 3
Features: Saute, delay start

Reasons to buy: 

• Saute setting
• Memory function (perfect for adding ingredients)
• Delay start of up to 12 hours
• Takes only 20 minutes

Reasons to avoid: 

• It’s quite large

If you like the sound of coming home to a fresh cooked soup that you prepared before you left home, the Drew & Cole Soup Chef Pro is the best soup maker for you. It’s easy to delay the start by 30-minute intervals up to 12 hours, and the smooth cooking mode takes just 19 minutes. There’s also a smooth+ setting for seriously velvety soups, but even on the regular setting, we had zero issues with lumps or grainy ingredients. Everything was perfectly silky and cooked just how we like it. 

Another major perk is the saute setting, which is on the handle of the soup maker. You can sear your onions or garlic using this mode before adding stock and starting the blending setting. For the quality of the design, we also think it comes at a great price. 

Ideal Home rated 5 out of 5 stars

2. Morphy Richards Clarity Soup Maker

Best soup maker with a clear jug

Capacity: 1.6 litres
Modes: 3
Features: Clear tritan jug, straightforward controls
Power: 1000 watts

Reasons to buy: 

• Watch your soup as it cooks
• Speedy meals in 21 minutes
• Effective self-cleaning
• Keep warm function

Reasons to avoid: 

• The working capacity isn’t the largest

The Morphy Richards Clarity Soup Maker warns you that ingredients could stick to the bottom when cooking, but we had no issues with this when making our soups in it. Straight out of the box, it’s very easy to assemble. We were surprised to find that the jug is not glass, but felt like plastic. In fact, it is tritan, which is a very durable but lightweight material free from BPA. 

The smooth soup setting is only 22 minutes, which means you can set your soup up to cook and finish your bowl within the same lunch break. Cooking was very speedy, and the ingredients were simmering within five minutes of us turning it on. The controls at the top are straightforward to use, and there is one for smooth, chunky, and smoothie, and clean. The quality of the blending was great, and it also has a keep warm function that kept our soup perfect for drinking after it had finished blending. 

Ideal Home rated 5 out of 5 stars

3. Lakeland Touchscreen Soup and Smoothie Maker

Best high-end soup maker

Capacity: 1.75-2 litres
Modes: 4
Features: Self-clean, can also crush ice
Power: 1000 watts

Reasons to buy: 

• Transparent tritan jug
• Easy controls
• Recipes included
• Speedy soup making

Reasons to avoid: 

• An expensive option that won’t fit under counters

The Lakeland Touchscreen Soup & Smoothie Maker is by far the most premium-looking option we tested. It has a price tag to match, though, so if you drink a lot of soup then it will be a great investment.

With a modern design and a blender-like jug, it has modes for smooth and chunky soups as well as sauces and even iced drinks. We really enjoyed the control panel, which made the process very easy, and the timer also helped to know when to add any extras. We were able to add cream to our tomato soup once the blending started thanks to a removable lid insert. If you want an extra smooth finish you can also just blend without heating once your soup has finished. The auto-clean function was also very effective. 

Ideal Home rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

4. Judge Soup Maker

Best soup maker for extra functions

Capacity: 1.2 litres
Modes: 6
Features: Can steam eggs and reheat

Reasons to buy: 

• Heats very fast
• Easy to pour
• Comes with an egg cooker
• Removable cap in lid

Reasons to avoid: 

• Smaller capacity than some
• The lid is quite fiddly

The Judge Soup Maker has a capacity of 1.7 litres, but if you’re making soup it will only take up to 1.2 litres. We found that it heated up very fast, and because the jug is plastic and see-through it’s possible to watch your soup as it cooks. 

We enjoyed the powerful blending modes which left us with a very smooth soup, and because it’s got a classic blender-style design you can also use the Judge Soup Maker to make chilled drinks. The removable cap allows you to add ingredients while it’s cooking, but we did find that the lid was sometimes tricky to lock into place. 

Ideal Home rated 4 out of 5 stars

5. Salter Electric Homemade Healthy Soup Maker

Best value soup maker

Capacity: 1.3 to 1.6 litres
Modes: 2
Features: Self-clean, blend button

Reasons to buy: 

• Budget-friendly option
• Heatproof handle
• Simple controls

Reasons to avoid: 

• Some ingredients burnt to the bottom

Salter’s soup maker is the most budget-friendly option in our guide, and it’s a trusted choice to make either chunky or smooth soups. You are warned that ingredients can burn to the bottom before use, and a good way to fix this is to add some oil to prevent sticking, but we still found that there was a little burning after our soup was finished.

There are two soup modes: smooth, chunky, and one for blending or self-cleaning. The self-clean mode is very effective at removing residue from the blending blade. We also liked using the blend setting to add an extra blitz for soups we wanted a little smoother. 

Ideal Home rated 4 out of 5 stars

How we tested the best soup makers

Making broccoli and stilton soup in the Lakeland touchscreen soup maker

Soup makers can be used to make all types of different soups, including chunky, smooth, and even gazpacho. When testing the best soup makers we cooked a variety of recipes to make sure they were all up to the task of making even tricky soups. Some classics, like butternut squash or leek and potato, will blend very easily into velvety smooth soups, whereas others like pea soup or broccoli and stilton, will need to be very well cooked and blended to achieve the consistency you’re after.

Making butternut squash soup in the Judge soup maker

We also made a lot of tomato soup using tomatoes and red peppers to see if the skin would pose a challenge to the cooking and blending, and while we used the same recipes, it was amazing to see the slight (or sometimes not-so-slight) differences that arose between different soup makers upon testing. 

The post Best soup maker 2021: reviews of our top 5 for seasonal soups appeared first on Ideal Home.

A mum has transformed her formerly cramped kitchen into a light and bright haven. Before she and her husband extended their home, the kitchen lacked natural light and offered little space for entertaining.

Now, the white kitchen extension is a calming yet functional space perfect for everyday family life. And it’s sparking lots of white kitchen ideas for our own dream reno.

I mean, look at those fluted glass pendant lights…

Image credit: @mycheshiregreyhome

We spoke to Stephanie (@thecheshiregreyhome) about her inspiration for the white kitchen extension and how she made her kitchen ideas a reality. You can see how the kitchen looked before on this Instagram post.

‘I love bright and airy spaces that make you feel calm when you walk into them,’ she tells us. ‘So I really wanted to use this as the inspiration for our kitchen extension.’

The interiors and lifestyle blogger says that she also loves taking inspiration from nature and the coast. And, like the rest of us, she gets plenty of ideas for colour schemes and decor from Pinterest and Instagram.

Image credit: @mycheshiregreyhome

‘My husband and I narrowed down our main priorities for the space; a utility room, an open plan kitchen with a large island and a snug space. We already have a downstairs WC so didn’t need to take this into consideration,’ Stephanie says.

They then contacted a local architect, who designed an L-shaped wrap around extension. This included an office at the front of the house, a utility room off the kitchen and a large open plan kitchen with a dining room and snug.

The extension went out 3.5m from the back of the house. After this, they contacted several builders to get quotes for the job and get a feel for how their team would work in their home.

Image credit: @mycheshiregreyhome

Work began in November 2020, when Stephanie was six months pregnant with her baby boy, Theo. The build continued until the end of May.

‘We are still not quite finished with the utility room and snug area,’ Stephanie tells us. ‘But it all takes time (and money!)’

Stephanie and her husband remortgaged their home in order to fund the extension. With the equity, they were able to get the ball rolling. Luckily, Will and his dad are really handy so they did a lot to save money, like fitting the heating and radiators.

Image credit: @mycheshiregreyhome

We’re obsessed with the ceiling pendant lights, from Juice Electrical Supplies and the herringbone flooring from Invictus. The instant boiling tap is from Fohen.

Stephanie’s top tip for an extension is to live in the space first and see how you use it before planning your kitchen extension ideas. She also suggests narrowing down your top three priorities for the build.

The post An interiors lover shares her stunning white kitchen makeover appeared first on Ideal Home.