A slow cooker is also known as a crock pot. Crock-Pot is a brand name that manufactures slow cookers. But over the years, crockpot became a household term. It is a countertop electrical cooking appliance that is used to simmer at a lower temperature.
A slow cooker is different from a rice cooker or pressure cooker. It was invented to start cooking dinner in the morning and finish preparing the meal in the evening. It takes a lot of time to cook food. It has a lot of advantages but disadvantages too.
Advantages of A Slow Cooker
It saves your time
You just need to put all your ingredients in a slow cooker. The cooker will do the rest. It doesn’t need your attention. So, you can go to the office or spend quality time with family or friends.
Tasty & healthier meals
Slow cooking makes your food more tender. So, it will be easy to digest. Also, high heat breaks down the nutrients that make your food unhealthy. Cooking on low heat can perfectly preserve the freshness and authentic flavors of the meals. It is impossible to burn on slow cooking.
Slow cooker saves money
It saves your money in two ways.
1. Reduce Energy Cost
Compared to an oven, rice cooker, or pressure cooker, the energy cost is very low on a slow cooker. Even if we are using it for a long time, it doesn’t waste any energy. Also, we can save gas.
2. Cheaper Meals
All the ingredients that are used to make the slow cooker meal for example soups, and rice are much not expensive. Also, they are available in bulk.
Easy to Cook and Clean
You don’t need any special skills in cooking to make a great meal in the slow cooker. The required skill is quite basic because most of the ingredients are available in bulk. It is easy to follow and cook great food. You just need to fill the pot with your preference settings.
It is very rare to stick food at the bottom. You can clean by rubbing oil inside the vessel.
Reduce waste
While you use a slow cooker, you put all the ingredients in the pot. It reduces water waste. Also, you don’t need to clean multiple dishes.
Disadvantages of A Slow Cooker
There are a few disadvantages too of using a slow cooker. Before making a decision for buying this appliance for the kitchen, let’s learn about the few disadvantages too.
It cooks very slowly
If you need to cook your meal fast, then you should avoid buying this slow cooker. As it is designed for slow cooking, it requires time to ready your meal. The minimum required time is 3-4 hours.
Not ideal for regular kitchen
It is not ideal for regular uses or every recipe. Because a lot of recipes are not suitable to cook in the slow cooker. You need to buy bulk ingredients for the slow cooker or have to prepare all the ingredients before cooking. It required planning to process cooking. But, if you are busy the whole day and want to make food for the night. It may be ideal for you.
Need fresh produce
Another disadvantage of a slow cooker is it works best with fresh produce. Otherwise, the structure of the meal can be broken. If you regularly use canned food, it can’t result in a good structure. Use fresh produce or frozen foods for a better result.
Toxic in the slow cooker
Some foods required high heat temperatures to remove toxins from the food. Red kidney beans also need to be cooked very well to remove the toxin. So, beware before choosing food for a slow cooker.
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