Introduction To Slow Cooking
What is a slow Cooker?
Simply put, a slow cooker is a deep (usually ceramic) dish that is fitted with an electrical element
This device enables the food to be cooked without sticking to the bottom of the pot, for several hours and is usually pre-fixed to give a choice of high, low or medium heats.
What are the advantages of slow cooking?
The advantages of slow cooking cooking are numerous, especially if you have a busy lifestyle or a large family to contend with! I for one was brought up in a large family and so my mum had to compete between washing up, and creating good tasty meals with the minimum of fuss. The slow cooker there-fore hardly ever had time to cool down before the next meal was being lovingly created for the crock-pot.
So just what are the advantages of using a slow cooker to create your meals? Here is a short-list of the most obvious ones – just in case you are in any doubt!
Economical: Less expensive cuts of meat can be used as the slow cooking method tenderises even the toughest joints. This is a great money-saver in the general house-hold budget.
Convenient: Dishes can be prepared and set to cook thing in the morning, leaving the rest of the day for other things – such as going to work – or perhaps coffee with friends!
Frees space: Using a crock-pot frees up the space on the cooker. This is especially handy for these large festival gatherings, where many dishes need cooked.
Super Tasty: There is no doubt that the slow cooker produces extremely tasty meals, even from cheap cuts of meat – or an old hen! Meat cooked on the bone just falls away after 8 hours in a Slow Cooker. All the flavours of the ingredients really permeate the dish, meaning a super-tasty result.