Slow Cookers – an Overview

Pict from frugalmania.com

If you are tired of being attentive to what you cook and if you have some time, then slow cooker may turn out to be a suitable option for you. Mostly used for preparing dishes like stew, roast etc; slow cooker is also known by the names Slo-Cooker and Crock-Pot in United Kingdom and United States respectively. A slow cooker maintains a low temperature throughout and is controlled by an electric power supply.

Design

A slow cooker is made of either a lidded oval or a round cooking pot. This pot has generally ingredients like porcelain or ceramic and it is surfaced by a metal housing. This housing generally has an electric heating element which is controlled by thermostat.  A transparent glass made lid is placed in a groove in the pot edge. The vapor gets condensed inside the groove and creates a low pressure region which helps in cooking. It is not at all similar to a pressure cooker as there are hardly changes of any explosion taking place unlike a normal pressure cooker. These slow cookers come with various capacities from 500 ml to 6 liters. The heating element is placed at the sides or at the bottom. Therefore the recommended minimum liquid level should always be met.

Operation

You need to place the raw food along with any liquid like wine, water or stock. Then the lid should be put on and closed for a specific time period.  The food gets processed automatically according to the cooker’s automatic high and low thermostat settings. After some time, the cooker attains a constant temperature which leads to vapor. This vapor helps to process the raw food.

Pic from nutritionknowhow.org

Advantages 

•        The food has less chances of getting burnt even if it is cooked for a long time. Therefore, you can be worry free. 

•        You can leave for office placing food to be processed on slow cooker and then on return, you will find it cooked. You can use a slow cooker with internal timer for this purpose as well. 

•        In a slow cooker, the food is cooked on a single pot, therefore reducing the washing troubles. 

•        Most of the slow cookers have sealing of lid functionality; therefore, the food is less prone to spill during transport.

•        The food being processed with a slow cooker generally stays hot even after hours; therefore it is not required to reheat the food before you eat it.