Crock Pot Recipes

What is a crock pot, who uses it, and is it really necessary to own one? The crock pot, also called slow cooker, is an essential kitchen appliance for today’s busy families.

With a crock pot, dinner can be prepared in the morning and is ready when coming home 8-10 hours later, after a hard day of work. The crock pot is basically an electronic pot that allows food to be cooked slowly for a long period of time. Rather than cooking food on the stove, a crock pot slowly cooks the food on the counter with the temperature gradually increasing over a lengthy period and turning itself off automatically.

Most dishes are suitable for cooking in a crock pot, apart from pasta and seafood. Root vegetables like carrots and potatoes should be cut into small pieces and placed at the bottom of the crock pot as they take longer to cook. Meat or poultry should be placed close to the top. Remove all skin from poultry and trim excess fat from meats. Remember to completely thaw all frozen foods.

When cooking with a crock pot, it is important not to be tempted to open the lid. The lid must be kept closed until the food is done. Peeking will release the heat and extend the cooking time.

Crock pots can help to prepare a wide variety of flavorful dishes, from soup, meat and potatoes to bread and even some types of dessert. Because the crock pot cooks food at relatively low temperatures, it can be left unattended for hours without running risk that it will heat the room, or overcook, or burn the food. This makes for a very convenient cooking method and ideal for anyone with a busy schedule.

There are many other advantages of cooking meals in a crock pot: crock pots put out less heat than an oven and are energy efficient, the slow-cooking method enables the food to retain its juice and flavor, the crock pot keeps dishes hot for hours, crock pot recipes can save money in the grocery store as less expensive or though cuts of meat are tenderized through the long cooking process, crock pots keep the kitchen cool in the summer, and lastly, most crock pots are very easy to clean.   

Yet, as with anything, there are also some disadvantages of cooking with a crock pot. Vitamins and other trace nutrients are lost, particularly from vegetables due to their prolonged exposure to heat. Despite the fact that crock pots are suitable for all-in-one pot meals, attention must be paid to cooking times and to match ingredients that cook approximately equal times. Due to the low cooking temperature, the crock pot is not qualified for several additions to the already cooked food.

So, while there are a few things the crock pot is not cut out for, crock pot cooking can prepare a whole meal without much effort, allowing you to enjoy many delicious meals with little effort.