The Benefits of Slow Cooking
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Here is a good summary of the benefits of using a slow cooker from a book on Mexican slow cooker meals. Mexican cuisine jives especially well with slow cookers and this book has a number of tasty recipes.
Title: "Mexican Slow Cooker Cookbook: Easy, Flavorful Mexican Dishes That Cook Themselves" Author: Marye Audet Excerpt: The Benefits of Slow CookingThere are a variety of reasons to have a slow cooker among your appliances. Here are some of the benefits of this handy kitchen helper:
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Slow cookers are convenient. A slow cooker allows you to toss some ingredients into a pot in the morning, set the heat, and walk out the door. When you get home, tired after a long day of work and errands, your dinner is ready and waiting to be served. There aren't a lot of pans and dishes to clean up, either.
Slow cooking enhances flavor development. Long, slow cooking allows flavors to develop to their fullest, richest, and most delicious. Many ingredients, tomatoes, for example, do not benefit from being cooked at high temperatures. A slow cooker gently coaxes every bit of flavor from each ingredient without the bitterness that sometimes occurs when foods are cooked at too high a temperature.
Slow cooker ingredients are budget friendly. Cooking large cuts of meat in a slow cooker gives the meat a chance to break down and become tender. It's an excellent choice for cooking chuck roasts and other tough cuts of meat that are less expensive than tenderloin or ribeye steaks.
Slow-cooked food doesn't burn. It's pretty easy to get distracted by children, phone calls, or the doorbell when you are cooking. You may end up returning to the kitchen to find that dinner is way beyond caramelized. That won't happen when you're using a slow cooker. The temperature is low enough that food generally doesn't scorch, burn, or stick to the bottom, even if you get called away for an extended period of time.
Slow cooking enhances flavor development. Long, slow cooking allows flavors to develop to their fullest, richest, and most delicious. Many ingredients, tomatoes, for example, do not benefit from being cooked at high temperatures. A slow cooker gently coaxes every bit of flavor from each ingredient without the bitterness that sometimes occurs when foods are cooked at too high a temperature.
Slow cooker ingredients are budget friendly. Cooking large cuts of meat in a slow cooker gives the meat a chance to break down and become tender. It's an excellent choice for cooking chuck roasts and other tough cuts of meat that are less expensive than tenderloin or ribeye steaks.
Slow-cooked food doesn't burn. It's pretty easy to get distracted by children, phone calls, or the doorbell when you are cooking. You may end up returning to the kitchen to find that dinner is way beyond caramelized. That won't happen when you're using a slow cooker. The temperature is low enough that food generally doesn't scorch, burn, or stick to the bottom, even if you get called away for an extended period of time.
Slow Cooker Basics
Using a slow cooker is not rocket science, but there are a few things you should know to get the most out of it:
Keep an eye on it - just once. If you've never used your slow cooker before, make sure you are at home when you use it for the first time. Different brands may vary in temperature, and there is always a chance that the appliance is not calibrated right. Observing it cooking on each setting can help avoid problems such as over- or undercooking.
Keep a lid on it. Taking the lid off of your slow cooker while your food is cooking releases valuable heat and can significantly slow down your cooking time. In fact, you'll have to add 15 to 30 minutes of cooking time each time the lid is removed. Most cookers have transparent lids so you can see what is going on in the cooker. Don't take the top off until about 30 minutes before you expect your dish to be finished. You can check doneness then.
Thaw frozen foods. Do not put frozen foods in the slow cooker without thawing them first. The combination of the frozen food and the heating element under the crock can cause it to crack. Not only does it ruin your dinner, but it also makes a huge mess. The exceptions to this are the slow cooker dinners in the freezer section of the grocery store. Follow the instructions on the package.
- from "Mexican Slow Cooker Cookbook: Easy, Flavorful Mexican Dishes That Cook Themselves," by Marye Audet
Keep an eye on it - just once. If you've never used your slow cooker before, make sure you are at home when you use it for the first time. Different brands may vary in temperature, and there is always a chance that the appliance is not calibrated right. Observing it cooking on each setting can help avoid problems such as over- or undercooking.
Keep a lid on it. Taking the lid off of your slow cooker while your food is cooking releases valuable heat and can significantly slow down your cooking time. In fact, you'll have to add 15 to 30 minutes of cooking time each time the lid is removed. Most cookers have transparent lids so you can see what is going on in the cooker. Don't take the top off until about 30 minutes before you expect your dish to be finished. You can check doneness then.
Thaw frozen foods. Do not put frozen foods in the slow cooker without thawing them first. The combination of the frozen food and the heating element under the crock can cause it to crack. Not only does it ruin your dinner, but it also makes a huge mess. The exceptions to this are the slow cooker dinners in the freezer section of the grocery store. Follow the instructions on the package.
- from "Mexican Slow Cooker Cookbook: Easy, Flavorful Mexican Dishes That Cook Themselves," by Marye Audet