slow cooker quick questions thread

azureblue_2

Can fish be done in the sc? I have have done many a bean or soya meat substitute casserole deliciously with lots of veg, we don't eat four-legged animals or fowl.
Many thanks.

DEBTMONKEY1A

Hi,

Havw a rival (huge!) 6.5l crockpot.....through flicking on web it seems this model overcooks badly....I made a beef cassserole with braising beef in cubes-instructions were "high for 1 hour; low 5-6 hours'....followed to the letter & way way too overcooked! meat completely disintegrated (& they were big 1 inch cubes!) as had most of the veg (except the carrots)...not wasting it as will liquidise as a soup but very dissapointed. The cooking liquid was actively BOILING for last 3 hours!

I remember the old fashined 'tower' round cookers (1970's!) & they never gave any problems...simmered/bubbled VERY gently....may check out our local 2nd hand market on Saturday.

Anyone else had similar experiences?

Bongedone

I have a Rival 3.5l Crockpot and have never has a problem with it. Mine does not boil like you mention except on high. Maybe its just the 6.5l model.

Glad you mentioned it as I was looking at the larger model. Think I will go with a different make now.

SunnyGirl

I have a Morphy Richards 6.5l model and it runs very hot. I did have an ancient (1980's) old round Tower one before this so it was a bit of a shock :eek: I now put everything in on Low setting as it seems too quick otherwise and by the time I am ready the food is overcooked.

Bronnie

Ditto my cheapie Tesco one.

On high it cooks in the same time as the oven. It was a surprise to me too, as I remember the original ones. Left a casserole in all day and everything was horribly stewed.
Don't trust it if I'm not home TBH, sorry I bought it....would rather leave the oven on very low all day.

DEBTMONKEY1A

Just looked on the bottom of my rival cooker-its 230-240 volts ,50z & 300 watts & my smaller 3.5l corden bleu cooker 220-240volts, 50 hz & 160-190 watts-so seems a HUGE wattage difference there!

I read on one of the threads on here that ther older slow-cookers used same power as a lightbulb-60 watts - 90 watts?

May be a good idea when looking to buy a NEW slow cooker is to check the wattage....I've never really ever had a problem with the smaller 3.5litre one (did stick once at the edge a bit for a curry with a very very thick sauce!)

Out of interest...if anyone has an old tower cooker (very 1970's/80's) in 6.5 litre I wonder if they can look on the bottom of the cooker & post the volts/watts on here? Be interesting to know!

Bongedone

They do use the power of a light bulb but not initially when they are warming up. The wattage on the bottom should be the peak wattage.

A while back I said I was going to put an energy meter on mine. I never did.

DEBTMONKEY1A

Check this link out http://www.g7uk.com/photo-video-blog/20081122-slow-cookers.shtml it shows that the old slow cookers in some cases used a quarter of the power new ones do....might explain the 'boiling' or overcooking experienced by newer models, like mine? Of now to 2nd hand market to see if I can find one!

cat64

Have cooked bolognaise sauce for tea in slow cooker, started it on high setting but it was boiling so turned it on to low - however its still simmering and I'm worried that if I leave it on for another hour or so (have to go out) it will be burnt when I get back!

Could i turn it off and just leave it in the slow cooker or would that not be a good idea? Is it normal for slow cookers to boil food I did bring everything to boiling point in a pan before transferring to the SC.

Can anyone advise

missychrissy

cat64 wrote: »

Have cooked bolognaise sauce for tea in slow cooker, started it on high setting but it was boiling so turned it on to low - however its still simmering and I'm worried that if I leave it on for another hour or so (have to go out) it will be burnt when I get back!

Could i turn it off and just leave it in the slow cooker or would that not be a good idea? Is it normal for slow cookers to boil food I did bring everything to boiling point in a pan before transferring to the SC.

Can anyone advise

I love my slow cooker, especially for joints that would be tough by any other method of cooking, but I never do mince in it. I can do mince on the hob in a large pan/le creuset casserole type dish etc. in half an hour, so I've never seen the need to do mince in slow cooker.

Sorry I'm not anwering your question but I'm just suggesting an alternative method of cooking it.