Slow Cooker

A slow cooker, also called a crockpot, is a small electrical appliance that sits on the counter-top and cooks food over a period of a few hours. They use a low, steady temperature with moist heat to cook the food. Most recipes call for cooking times between 6 to 12 hours. Slow cookers can vary in size from one to six quarts.http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/entry/?id=4609 The low temperature of cooking allows it to be done without constant attendance.

Slow cookers usually have recipes created especially for the conditions of the appliance. Liquid quantities are usually lower as very little water escapes in a slow cooker. Cheaper, tougher cuts of meat can be used in a slow cooker, as the long cooking time will soften them.http://slowcookerrecipes.org.uk/what_can_be_cooked_in_a_slow_cooker.htm

Hundreds of recipes are available for the slow cooker. They include recipes for stews, meatloaf, chicken, turkey, soups, chili and cake.http://slowcookerrecipes.org.uk/what_can_be_cooked_in_a_slow_cooker.htm

One note of caution is that certain types of dried beans should not be used in a slow cooker unless they are precooked. Some kinds of beans require a higher temperature then the slow cooker may come to and can cause illness.http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/FoodborneIllness/FoodborneIllnessFoodbornePathogensNaturalToxins/BadBugBook/ucm071092.htm

Women have been slow cooking for a long time. There is evidence of slow cooking by prehistoric peoples. They would dig a fire pit and cook meat and vegetables for 24 hours.http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/381044/history_of_slow_cooking_and_the_crock.html?cat=37 During the early American days, a kettle would hang over a fire to cook food. This could be for a short period of time or it could slow cook throughout the day.http://www.pioneerliving.net/pioneeressentials.htm

The first modern slow cooker was a bean cooker called the Beanery. Rival bought the rights to the Beanery and then introduced the Rival Crockpot slow cooker in 1971. Slow cookers became a trend in America and by 1981 $30 million dollars in slow cooker sales had been done.http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/381044/history_of_slow_cooking_and_the_crock_pg2.html?cat=37

Slow cookers can have a number of features. Some of those features are:

• Slow cookers can be manual or programmable.
• Programmable slow cookers usually allow a cooking time to be set ahead of time. Once the food is cooked, it will switch to a warm mode.
• Many can check the internal temperature of the meat being cooked. Digital timers counts down the cooking time.
• Either manual or programmable slow cookers may have a removal stoneware pot for serving.
• Slow cookers come in various sizes and in multi-serving styles such as the Crock-Pot Double Dipper and the Crock-Pot Trio Cook & Serve.http://www.crock-pot.com/Products.aspx?cid=113&srv=mfFwNm5l6tw=