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THE SWITCH
The slow cooker is controlled by a 4-position switch, the positions are:
0
off
1 (low)
for traditional “slow cooking”. You must preheat the cookpot, in the slow
cooker, at 2 for at least 20 minutes before cooking at 1.
2 (high)
for “fast cooking”, using the slow cooker as an electric stewpot. Keep an
eye on it, to make sure that the food doesn’t dry out. If it looks like
drying out, add
hot water
, not cold water – you might crack the cookpot.
O
(warm) for keeping food warm – but only after it has been cooked to readiness
in the slow cooker.
caution
Don’t use 1 (the low setting) to heat food up – you won’t kill the bugs.
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GENERAL
1 Thaw frozen food completely before adding it to the cookpot.
2 Brown the meat and sauté the vegetables in a pan, not in the cookpot.
3 Don’t use the cookpot for cooking anywhere other than inside the slow cooker.
4 Don’t cook at 1 without first preheating the cookpot, in the slow cooker, at 2 for at
least 20 minutes.
5 Soak dried peas and beans for 8 hours (or overnight) before cooking, to soften them.
warning
boil dried beans (e.g. red kidney beans) for at least 10 minutes before
adding to the slow cooker. They’re poisonous if eaten raw or undercooked.
6 You don’t need to soak lentils overnight.
7 Store ingredients prepared beforehand (e.g. the night before) in containers in the
fridge. Don’t put the slow cooker or the cookpot into the fridge.
8 Root vegetables, tubers, and bulbs (carrots, potatoes, onions) take much longer to
cook than meat, so cut them down to about 5mm (¼ inch) thick slices, sticks or dice,
and sauté them gently for 2-3 minutes before adding to the cookpot.
9 All vegetables (including dried veg) must be immersed in the cooking liquid.
10 When cooking with rice, use at least 150ml (
¼
pt) of cooking liquid for each 100g
(4oz) of rice. We’ve found that “easy-cook” rice gives the best results.
11 Pasta isn’t suitable for slow cooking, it becomes too soft. If your recipe requires
pasta, it should be stirred in 30-40 minutes before the end of the cooking time.
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PREPARATION
12 Decide when you want to eat and when you want to start cooking.
13 If you want to eat at 6 p.m., and you need to start cooking at 8 a.m., find a recipe
that takes 8-10 hours. If you’re slow cooking at low power, an extra hour or so at the
end of the cooking time doesn’t make much difference, as long as there’s sufficient
cooking liquid to prevent the food drying out.
14 Prepare the food in accordance with the recipe.
15 Sit the slow cooker on a stable, level, heat-resistant surface.
16 Check that the slow cooker is off – turn the control to 0.
17 Plug the slow cooker into a wall socket (switch the socket on, if it’s switchable).
18 Put the cookpot into the slow cooker, and fit the lid.
