Saturday, February 11, 2012

How to use your new Slow Cooker

By Tom Rumsford


If you're looking for some very useful tips to use slow cookers, you're in the right place. The slow cooker has various advantages and health benefits, and any risks or bad results can be avoided to produce a delicious meat dish, such as a roast or pot stew. These dishes are a welcoming sight in cold winters, steam coming off in a tantalizing way, with the smell of a tasty meat dish waiting for you, fresh out of a slow cooker.

Most designs of slow cookers usually have two settings: high heat and low heat. Since the time duration for cooking using them is very long, the range at which slow cookers work is low, between 180 to around 270 degrees Fahrenheit. When you first put all the ingredients in the slow cooker, press the button for high-heat, and leave it that way for about an hour. Not only does this make the food cook better, but also works well to ensure that bacteria and other pathogens die out. After that, leave the food to cook at low temperature.

When you start preparing to cook, cut up all the meat beforehand and refrigerate it as soon as possible afterwards. Do not remove the meat from the fridge until you are ready to put it into the slow cooker. You would not bacteria to start growing in the meat, as it is bound to do so at room temperature. It will be harder for the slow cooker to kill the germs off completely.

Slow cookers are great at cooking meat with leaner and cheaper cuts done. This is because the design of the slow cooker, which comprises of a closed space for steam to rise and simmer the meat in. A slow cooker is usually made of a glazed outer layer that surrounds metal encasing, which holds all the heating elements required for it to work.

If you're going to leave the slow cooker working while you go out, you should always leave it working at low temperature, and you can skip the setting at high-temperature if you are short of time. While you are out, and the power being supplied to your appliance gets cut off, throw out the food it was supposed to be cooking even if the recipe looks done. It is always better to be safe than sorry. If the power runs out while you were present, immediately transfer what you were cooking to an alternative appliance, such as a gas stove or a heating grill.

Always add the vegetables first, then the meat, followed by liquids such as water or broth. If the power goes out while you were away and the slow cooker was running, do not consume the food despite the fact that it looks done. Just throw it out. If you were at home and the slow cooker stopped running, switch to another appliance that is working, such as a gas stove or a grill. Food that's done and left in a slow cooker is okay for about two hours.




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