3.4.4. Never leave uncooked food at room temperature in the
slow cooker.
3.4.5. Do not use the slow cooker to reheat food.
3.4.6. Uncooked red beans must be soaked and boiled for at
least 10 minutes to remove toxins before use in a slow
cooker.
3.4.7. Insert a meat thermometer into joints of roasts, hams,
or whole chickens to ensure they are cooked to the
desired temperature.
3.4.8. Authentic stoneware is fired at high temperatures there-
fore the slow cooker may have minor surface blemishes,
the glass lid may rock slightly due to these imperfection.
Low heat cooking does not produce steam so there will
be little heat loss. Due to normal wear and tear through
the products life, the outer surface may start appearing
“crazed”.
3.4.8. Do not put the slow cooker or glass lid in an oven,
freezer, and microwave or on a gas/electrical hob.
3.4.9. Do not subject the slow cooker to sudden changes in
temperature. Adding cold water to a very hot pot could
cause it to crack.
3.4.10. Do not allow the pot to stand in water for a long time
(You can leave water in the pot to soak).
3.4.11. There is an area on the base of the slow cooker that
has to remain unglazed for manufacturing purposes.
This unglazed area is porous, therefore will soak up
water, this should be avoided.
3.5. Tips for slow cooking
3.5.1. The slow cooker must be at least half full for best
results.
3.5.2. Slow cooking retains moisture. If you wish to reduce
moisture in the cooker, remove the lid after cooking and turn
the control to high (if set to low or medium) and simmer for
30 to 45 minutes.
3.5.3. The lid is not a sealed fit. Don’t remove unnecessarily
as the built up heat will escape. Each time you remove the lid,
allow an additional 10 minutes to the cooking time. If cooking
soups, leave a 5 cm space between the top of the cook pot
and the food surface to allow simmering.
3.5.4. Many recipes demand all day cooking, if you do not
have time to prepare food that morning prepare it the night
before and store the food in a covered container in the refrig-
erator. Transfer the food to the slow cooker and add liquid/
gravy. Select the setting low, high or auto.
3.5.5. Most meat and vegetable recipes require 8-10 hours on
low. 4-6 hours on high and 5-7 hours on auto. Some ingredi-
ents are not suitable for slow cooking. Pasta, seafood, milk,
and cream should be added towards the end of the cooking
time. Many things can affect how quickly a recipe will cook,
water and fat content, initial temperature of the food and the
size of the food.
3.5.6. Food cut into small pieces will cook quicker. A degree
of ‘trial and error’ will be required to fully optimize the potential
of your slow cooker.
3.6.7. Vegetables usually take longer to cook than meat, so try
and arrange vegetables in the lower half of the pot.
3.5.8. After food is cooked, switch cooker off and leave cov-
ered with the lid. There will be enough heat in the slow cooker
to keep warm for 30 minutes. If you require longer to keep
warm switch to the low setting. All food should be covered
with a liquid, gravy or sauce. In a separate pan or jug prepare
your liquid, gravy or sauce and completely cover the food in
the slow cooker.
3.5.9. Pre-browning meat and onions in a pan to seal in the
juices also reduces the fat content before adding to the slow
cooker. This is not necessary if time is limited, but improves
the flavor.
3.5.10. When cooking joints of meat, ham, and poultry etc the
size and shape of the joint is important. Try to keep the joint
in the lower 2/3 of the pot and fully cover with water. If neces-
sary cut in two pieces. Joint weight should be kept within the
maximum limit.
3.6 Once you have finished using the appliance:
3.6.1. Unplug the appliance from the mains.
3.6.2. Clean the appliance as described in the cleaning
section.
4. Cleaning
4.1. Disconnect the appliance from the mains and allow it to
cool completely before undertaking any cleaning task.
4.2. The ceramic pot can also be cleaned with warm soapy
water. To remove any foods that have been cooked
onto the bottom of the pot, simply soak overnight in
soapy water and rinse the next day.
4.3. Clean the appliance with a damp cloth with a few drops
of washing-up liquid and then dry. CAUTION! Do not
immerse electrical parts of the pan in any liquid.
4.4. Do not use solvents, or products with an acid or base
pH such as bleach, or abrasive products, for cleaning
the appliance.
4.5. Never submerge the appliance in water or any other
liquid or place it under running water.
5. Anomalies and repair
5.1. Take the appliance to an authorised technical support
service if product is damaged or other problems arise.
5.2. If the connection to the mains has been damaged, it
must be replaced and you should proceed as you would
in the case of damage.
