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Back Crock Pot Cooking by Glenn J Fournier A slow cooker, also known as a Crock-PotŪ, is a cooking device which consists of a pot made of fired clay and usually glazed, surrounded by a housing, usually metal, containing a thermostatically controlled electric heating element. Most slow cookers only have two settings for power. Slow cookers have loosely fitting lids (often of a see-thru material) to retain moisture and heat. Cooking in these appliances is done at atmospheric pressure since the lid is not pressure-tight (and indeed is 'sealed' only by condensed vapors and gravity); thus, as long as water remains in the pot, internal temperatures can go no higher than the boiling point of the fluid (212°F or 100°C for water at sea level). The outside temperature of a slow cooker can be expected to exceed the boiling point of water to facilitate heat transfer to the crock and to the food. Cooking times may vary with the recipe and with the food quantity, but are typically several hours. Cooking is sufficiently slow so that overcooking is not an issue if the food is not removed promptly at the specified time. No stirring is required (or recommended) since removing the lid during cooking causes significant cooking delays. The lid is an important component because it prevents escape of hot water vapor which would lead to lowering the internal water level, loss of heat and drying out of the contents. Recipes for these cookers must be adjusted to compensate for the nature of the cooking: often water must be decreased. Most (probably all) come with recipe booklets; many cookbooks with slow cooker recipes are available and there are numerous recipes on the Web. One of the best cookbooks available on the subject is Author's Biography: Posted on: March 7,2006 Email: glenn@island-publishing.com Website: http://www.island-publishing.com |
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