Okay, and for my second question of the day – a two part query!
Please, explain how a crockpot/slow cooker works. Specifically:
On a scale of 1 to 10, how much of a fire hazard are they?
They haven’t been outlawed, but then neither have toaster ovens and I’ve seen two of the latter burst into flame.
I was traumatized by a “fire safety” film they showed us in the first grade and cannot even fathom leaving some kind of cooking appliance turned on while I’m away all day.
Can someone explain the whole cook slow vs. bacteria aspect. I must confess that in my mind, the “cook long time, low heat” combination has just seemed weird to me.
Very… They really don’t draw enough current or generate enough heat to really do much unless you fill them with flammable liquids.
Whats so weird. Cooking your food can be done with many variations of heat, temperature, and application method. All you are really worried about is achieving a core temp sufficent to kill any bacteria and make yummy tender food. Many people (myself included) like steaks on the rare side because they are more tender and juicy. You can get a tender and juicy steak cooking it at 200 degrees in a crock pot for a few hours too but since when does anyone want to wait a few hours when they can have it in 10 minutes off the grill.
Crock pots are good for many things, not everything. Damn…now I’m hungry…
Well, we use ours every week to keep our cholent warm for Shabbos. In addition, my wife will use it during the week sometimes to make a stew (throw it in the crock the night before or in the morning and it’s ready when the kids are ready to eat supper at 5:30 or 6:00). Never had one burst into flames yet.
Well, as I mentioned above, it’s ideal for situations where you can’t cook because you won’t be physically present (or for religious reasons ). My wife doesn’t have to stay home all day to make a stew; she just throws it together the night before (or in the morning) and leaves it. Similarly, since we can’t cook on Shabbos, she puts it in the crock pot beforehand and by the time we’re ready to eat it Saturday afternoon, it’s ready. I can’t recall a single case of food poisioning from it either.
Zev I haven’t heard of any food poisoning either and the packaging doesn’t’ have a bazillion warnings, but when I see my mom plop in a pot roast and then leave it for the day, all I can think is “how the heck???”
BTW-- her pot roasts are really yummy. So I want to invest in one but I still look at it rather dubiously.
A Google search revealed that some college dorms actually permit them, so they can’t be that dangerous – but I still think “leaving a cooking appliance on all day unsupervised?? Ack!” And I still wonder about getting the temps high enough to kill bad stuff without being hot enough to be dangerous to leave unattended.
I don’t know why I find that so mind boggling, but I do.
The temperatures acheived in a crock pot are high enough to kill bacteria. If you watch something cook in a slow-coooker, you’ll see little bubbles constantly forming, so you know that it’s constantly at a slow simmer–just at the boiling point.
The secret of crock pots is that they come to the proper temperature, and then they only apply small amounts of heat as needed to maintain the temperature. They don’t cook at a high heat (barely 212[sup]o[/sup]F, as opposed to, say, 350[sup]o[/sup] for a toaster or conventional oven) and they’ve got a secure lid on top to keep the heat in. Also, the heating unit is all self-contained and protected (rather than exposed, like the heating elements on a stove or in a toaster oven.)
I admit, I was a bit nervous the first few times I left it unattended, but I’ve never heard of a slow-cooker fire.
So that’s why they are so energy efficient. Instead of sucking up lots of electrical juice to keep a little toaster element red-hot the whole time, it operates more like electric baseboard heaters heating up only when the temperature drops below a certain point.
But if the lid gets knocked off – say by a rowdy cat who is NOT supposed to be on the counter but sneaks up to peek at the pot roast – won’t the pot element stay really hot trying to heat things up as the heat escapes from the now-unlidded pot (thusly burning my pot roast to an ugly crisp)? Or is the maximum temperature generally hot enough to cook, but too low for “combustion”?
Safety: As I understand, the biggest danger in using a crockpot (and that ain’t sayin’ much) (and what are you, Walloon, some sorta Rival-hired shyster? ;)) comes from using a delay-cook function, which only higher-end models have anyway. Leaving raw chicken parts sit for hours at room temperature is never a good idea. The danger is probably lower for ground meats (which cook faster) and for large, solid cuts of beef, lamb, veal or even pork, which are far less likely to be contaminated than poultry.
As for me, I’d use delay-cook or a timer only for vegetarian dishes. But so long as I’m turning the crock-pot on right away, I use it for everything, including the chicken thighs and leeks I’ll be having shortly for lunch.
Oh, and about those cats. First of all, a cat with half a brain should notice that the crockpot is more-than-sunny-spot-on-the-carpet hot, and that should be some deterrent. But if your crockpot is a “cool-touch” model - something to consider if you have kids, btw, or your cat isn’t very bright - sit the crockpot on a square of the rubber anti-skid mesh that’s for keeping rugs in place. (I’ve even seen that sold in placemat form, another great idea if you have toddlers you’re trying to civilize.)
I’ve accidentally left mine on all night with nearly all the food out of it, AND with the lid off. All the liquid boils off and the stuff on the bottom gets really dried out, but still no fire. So I think they’re very safe.
As for cats… the lid really stays on. I have one with a light plastic lid. That one sits inside a pretty deep lip. What’s more, the steam that builds up tends to form a little “seal” so you have to give it a firm upward pull to get it off. The other one has a glass lid, and it’s not going anywhere either.
Safe, cat proof, and hot enough to kill bacteria. Go for it. I love mine.
Take a 3 to 4 pound chuck roast, and sear on both sides in a very hot skillet sprinkled with salt.
Throw into the slow cooker along with 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp. thyme, 1/4 cup brown sugar, onion flakes to taste, and salt and pepper.
Add a can on beef broth, and another can water.
Cook on low for a looong time. 6-12 hours is good.
Veggies like carrots, parsnips and potatoes can be added on top to cook as side dishes. They’ll take 60-90 minutes to cook thoroughly.
When ready, take the meat and veggies out. Remove fat and bones and pull the tender pot roast into serving sizes with a couple of forks. Find the two bay leaves in the drippings and throw away.
Thicken the gravy be adding ten pulverized gingersnaps. Stir until thickened, adding only 1 to 2 more cookies if needed.
This is a bad food preparation practice unless you’re cooking for one heckuva big family or work in a restaurant’s line kitchen.
Water that has been boiling for a prolonged period of time loses a substantial amount of its oxygen. This inhibits certain biochemical reactions such as the brewing of coffee or tea. It can also tend to flatten out other food flavors as well. Always use cold water that has been freshly boiled. Never cook with water from the hot water tap for these same reasons. Hot water on demand spigots are another matter and can save some time, but are not so energy efficient as a good old gas stove.
Zenster, thanks! I’ve always wondered why you were supposed to boil cold water as opposed to hot. Makes sense now.
All things considered, I’d say that slow cookers are much safer than any number of kitchen appliances. Most models are anti-slip, insulated for maximum efficiency and pretty-much idiot-proof, which is a good thing for people like me who forget to turn the over/burner off regularly. I’d also say that they’re safer than a toaster or microwave, as I’ve had incidents with both of those (Flames shooting out of a toaster is never good!) I’ve yet to see how a slow cooker can cause injury, other than minor burns from steam, etc.
Take it from a clutz who likes to cook: They’re a good thing!
). My wife doesn’t have to stay home all day to make a stew; she just throws it together the night before (or in the morning) and leaves it. Similarly, since we can’t cook on Shabbos, she puts it in the crock pot beforehand and by the time we’re ready to eat it Saturday afternoon, it’s ready. I can’t recall a single case of food poisioning from it either.