Slow Cooker Reviews

Best Tips on Buying a Slow cooker

About Slow Cooker

Before venturing into the tips for a good slow cooker, it is best to know about slow cooking. Gone are the days when fast food was relished and people are leaning more towards slow cooking which preserves the food’s taste as well as much of its nutrient value . Many of them are lost in fast foods, canned items and fried ones. Slow cooking retains the original flavour and taste and slow cooker has become a very important annexure to every modern kitchen these days.

Slow cookers cook food in the proper manner or one could say traditionally. Nothing can beat the finesse of a good home-cooked meal and slow cooker is one way of dealing with it. The luxury of slow cookers is welcoming home with a hot and novel meal any time of the day. Even a novice in cooking can deal with a simple recipe using a slow cooker. Cooking in a slow cooker is a simple affair and one has to just add all the ingredients in their right proportions, set the timer and heat level, then allow the rest to the slow cooker. A single meal, stew and a sweet savoury are easy recipes for a slow cooker. There are large oval shaped cookers which allow roasted chickens, whole chicken stew and many other large piece of meat to be cooked.

Size and Shape

Selecting a slow cooker should be based on the necessity and size of the family . There are sizes ranging from 1.5 – 7 litres approximately. The smaller sizes are apt for one person cooking and starting from 3 litres is generally considered to be family sized. Purchasing a slightly bigger one than the exact need allows freezing some leftovers for second helpings or the next day. Slow cookers come in large size as well as equipped with automated timers that gives great peace of mind to the user. Though they are a bit on the expensive side, it is ideal to invest in it as it helps in the longer run.

Slow cookers are usually either round or oval in shape with corresponding shaped inner chamber. They also range from one pint mini-size to extra large 7 quarts in size. Choosing a slow cooker that is practical in usage as an extra large sized slow cooker with a small amount of food will easily get burnt. Any slow cooker should be filled between more than the half and three-fourth of the inner pot or chamber.

Round pots are good to cook a single meal or stew or a special dish . But when decided to cook recipes like the whole chicken or roasted ribs or a large piece of turkey an oval shaped slow cooker is the ideal choice as they cook them evenly without the need to cut it. Development in technology these days have allowed new innovations in slow cookers like cooking units with more than one interchangeable liners, replication of a barbecue roaster in larger cookers and multiple inner chambers to cook more than one dish simultaneously. Electric skillets are also introduced that can be used in an oven and a stove top also.

Round shaped

Oval shaped

Construction

The basic principle of slow cooker is cooking food in a low heat or temperature so that the food never gets the chance of getting burnt unless a very small amount of dish is placed in an over sized slow cooking unit. The lid usually allows condensation back into the pot and keeping it warm and moist.

Most of these cooking units have a metal exterior and expensive ones come in stainless steel . There is also the thick stoneware liner and a glass lid is the best obvious choice. The outer shell of the cooker is covered in a plastic layer with stay cool handles for easy use. The plastic layer allows heat radiation to be minimized a great deal. Modern slow cookers come in variety of colour combination and floral designs that make them more appealing and hi-fi designs. They have a look of sophistication and style which carries through on any serving table.

Power and Settings

The power used by a slow cooker is usually measured in watts and varies between 1500 to 2500 watts in approximate. The larger ones demand more power and tend to have 3 or 4 heat settings than the normal 2 settings in most of them. There is the automatic heat timer and a warmer also. The warming feature allows food to be moist and ready to serve on different time levels.

Many of the modern slow cookers have the auto-cook setting which help to initially cook food on high temperature and continues to cook at a low heat in the second half of the process. This usually gives a good result in flavour and taste of the meal.

Low setting is best for cooking red meats which takes a time range of eight to 10 hours whereas the hi-setting cooks food like chicken ranging from 3 – 6 hours. Medium cooking is by far the best but not found in most models. It cooks fast enough without losing the vital elements of the meal.

Special Features to Know

Designing a slow cooker is definitely on-growing and gives more for highly paid. There are various features and the digital display is an important one. There are the automated shutting features with the delayed starting timer which starts the cooking process at a later time and keeps food hot and ready to serve on reaching home. There is also the keep-warm setting which allows the food to be warm enough for more than one serving.

Digital display allows various types of cooking features for soups and stew, for rice and other food items. The temperature gauge helps to track the cooking process as well as change options during mid way.

The indicator allows the user to identify if the cooker is on with the cooking process and it is best to buy a unit with one. Also check for the cord length to know if it would reach out the necessary length to operate the slow cooker without any hitch.

Benefits of a Slow Cooker

Using a slow cooker has not only become modern but also its benefits are more recognized.

• Energy consumption is less as it takes minimal power to function and it saves money on energy.
• The kitchen tends to be a whole lot cooler because of the low energy consumed.
• The longer time at low heat makes tough food like red meat to be more succulent and tender without much loss.
• The food can be prepared at any convenient timing by adding the ingredients priorly.
• Cleaning is easier as it is one pot cooking and saves washing. If there is a removable inner pot it duplicates as a serving dish as well.
• It is highly safe to use unlike other electrical appliances even if left unattended for long hours.

Tips on using

There are some very basic tips for the initial or first time users of a slow cooker. It is always advisable to go for a separate inner cooking pot.

• Depending on the recipe, select the correct size and shape of the cooking unit.
• Maintain the quantity between half and three-fourths full. Less amount tend to be burnt or get dried up and more will over flow when the food expands on cooking.
• Uniformly cut vegetables and meat chunks get cooked evenly.
• When beef or chicken is browned in a pan before placed in a slow cooker adds depth to its flavour.
• Consult a chart for temperature to know better while cooking different types of meat.
• On high heat setting, food is cooked at a double speed rather than on low heat.