Chapter 2
From the Fire to the Pot
In This Chapter
Understanding direct and indirect heat
Discovering how a slow cooker works
Looking at the various types of slow cookers
Selecting the right slow cooker for your needs
N o one really knows how, where, or by whom fire was first domesticated for cooking and heating. At best, anthropologists, archaeologists, and the like, have been able to put together bits and pieces to determine that prehistoric Mom most likely served her family shanks of raw woolly mammoth, while there are some indications from charred stones and fossilized charcoal that Dad by the tenth millennium B.C. was also barbecuing on occasion. Nevertheless, it appears that our forefathers were quite content to eat barbecue for another 3,000 years or so, because the first indication of using cookware — clay to be exact — doesn’t seem to happen until the 13th millennium.
Cooking in metal pots or cauldrons is a relatively new concept when you consider that it took us tens of thousands of years to do so: Evidence shows us that the Celts, 500 years before our era, began to make the forerunner of Irish stew in metal cauldrons hung over an open fire. We were slaves to stirring these cauldrons until given the choice — in the second half of the 20th century — of cooking with indirect heat. This chapter discusses the differences between cooking with direct and indirect heat, as well as how the slow cooker came to be, its components and their functions, and some of the types and styles of slow cookers available.
Cooking with Direct and Indirect Heat
Although we’ve come a long way since grilled Brontosaurus Bertha burgers, all the early cooking practices mentioned in this chapter’s introduction, and most of the ones we use today, still rely upon direct heat to cook food. Direct heat is nothing more than the transfer of energy from fire (or a gas or electric burner) to a cooking vessel or surface, and then directly to the food. It’s a fast, efficient way to cook; however, it does require attention and supervision.
Leave a piece of meat unattended on a hot grill, and before you know it, it’s charred. Simmering tomato sauce, if not stirred periodically, will get too hot on the bottom of the pot where energy is directly being transferred, ultimately sticking and then burning. A tray of chocolate chip cookies, placed in a preheated oven, will blacken before your eyes if you don’t remove it on time because the pan heats from the hot, convection air of the oven, confirming the all too true, negative image of being chained to a stove.
Because food cooked by using direct heat needs to be stirred, flipped, or turned, the only way to make cooking maintenance-free was to somehow take the heat and indirectly apply it to the food so that the food cooked slowly and evenly with neither mechanical nor human intervention. If the solution were to be an appliance, it had to be simple and safe to use. It had to use low heat so that the food wouldn’t burn without stirring, but it also had to cook hot enough so that harmful bacteria would be killed and not grow.
The solution also had to meet the sociological needs of the time. Because women joining the work force in masses in the late 1960s and early 1970s were out of the house most of the day, they needed an easy way to jump-start making dinner. Yes, frozen TV dinners and foods were readily available, but they were expensive and not nearly as tasty as home-cooked meals. Manufacturers and food companies, therefore, were faced with finding an acceptable alternative to traditional cooking. The ensuing product, introduced by Rival in 1971, was called the Crock-Pot, and an appropriate name it was.
How the slow cooker saved our energy bills
Oil is the lifeblood of the United States and the rest of the industrial world. Without it, we can’t travel, manufacture, ship and receive merchandise, heat our homes, or even watch television or read a book into the night. As unbelievable as this may all seem, the U.S. lived through its worst nightmare for a five-month period during the winter of 1973–74, when Arab oil-producing countries turned off the petroleum tap as punishment for its support of Israel during the Yom Kippur War. Oil shipments to the United States came to a grinding halt.
In order to extend depleting oil supplies, Americans were asked to consume less energy by carpooling, shortening work hours, lowering their thermostats, and turning off lights. Even after the embargo came to an end, we felt its effect for years through inflationary spirals due to the increased cost of living — and learned the hard way that we were not invincible. We also added a new word to our vocabulary: conservation. After two decades of what seemed to be limitless prosperity, we were compelled to cut back and be conservative.
The slow cooker, a relatively new product when the energy crisis struck, benefited from America’s change of perspective. Using as little electricity as a 75-watt lightbulb and substantially less energy than a conventional oven, the slow cooker was propelled from simply a very popular appliance to a must-have item for almost everyone.Oil is the lifeblood of the United States and the rest of the industrial world. Without it, we can’t travel, manufacture, ship and receive merchandise, heat our homes, or even watch television or read a book into the night. As unbelievable as this may all seem, the U.S. lived through its worst nightmare for a five-month period during the winter of 1973–74, when Arab oil-producing countries turned off the petroleum tap as punishment for its support of Israel during the Yom Kippur War. Oil shipments to the United States came to a grinding halt.
In order to extend depleting oil supplies, Americans were asked to consume less energy by carpooling, shortening work hours, lowering their thermostats, and turning off lights. Even after the embargo came to an end, we felt its effect for years through inflationary spirals due to the increased cost of living — and learned the hard way that we were not invincible. We also added a new word to our vocabulary: conservation. After two decades of what seemed to be limitless prosperity, we were compelled to cut back and be conservative.
The slow cooker, a relatively new product when the energy crisis struck, benefited from America’s change of perspective. Using as little electricity as a 75-watt lightbulb and substantially less energy than a conventional oven, the slow cooker was propelled from simply a very popular appliance to a must-have item for almost everyone.
How a Slow Cooker Works
The authentic, slow cooker is a simple, uncomplicated appliance with no moving parts. Even though you most likely know what one looks like, we describe it for you here anyway and provide an illustration (see Figure 2-1) so that you can get a better understanding of how it works. Here are the parts of every slow cooker:
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Figure 2-1: An exploded diagram of a slow cooker. |
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Glass cover: Most slow cookers have a heavy glass lid, but some are plastic. Always cover the slow cooker when cooking, to retain heat. The clear lid lets you look in, eliminating possible heat loss from having to remove the lid. The heavy weight of the lid creates a tight seal.
Highly glazed stoneware insert pot or crock: In keeping with the original Rival Crock-Pot design, most true slow cookers have a removable, highly glazed, thick, round or oval ceramic stoneware pot or crock.
Wrap-around heating elements: The low wattage, wrap-around, electric heating elements are encased between the outer and inner metal housing and never make direct contact with the stoneware crock.
Metal wrap-around housing: The base of the slow cooker is made up of a double-walled metal housing that contains the heating elements. As the elements heat up, they warm the insulated air trapped between the two metal walls, ultimately heating the metal. Heat is then transferred to the cushion of air between the inner metal wall and the stoneware crock. The hot air gently heats and cooks the food slowly and evenly. Because the heating elements never make direct contact with the stoneware insert pot, there are no hot spots, eliminating the need for stirring.
Variable controls: All slow cookers have dial controls on the front. They usually include off, low, high, and perhaps auto or keep warm.
Types of Slow Cookers
With the time and effort that a slow cooker saves you in the kitchen, it’s no surprise that slow cookers are as well received in homes as they are. Their popularity over the past 30 years, however, has also given rise to a variety of similar products and derivations that warrant mention to avoid confusion and misunderstanding. In this section, we attempt to decipher the differences for you so that you fully understand what makes your slow cooker significantly different from these other appliances.
“True” slow cookers, Crock-Pots, and Crockery Cookers
Slow cookers, Crock-Pots, and Crockery Cookers are basically one and the same. Slow cooker is the generally accepted generic name most commonly associated with this appliance. Rival, the inventor of the slow cooker, calls its product the Crock-Pot, with registered rights to the name, while West Bend has trademarked its product as the Crockery Cooker.
To avoid confusion, you should understand what makes an appliance a true slow cooker.
A true slow cooker has low and high settings. The settings are never given as temperatures.
To be a true slow cooker, the appliance must be able to cook slow enough for all-day cooking unattended — and yet be able to reach certain temperatures at given periods to be bacteria-safe.
Contrary to conventional cooking methods that require food to first be cooked at a high temperature and then at a lower temperature for the remaining cooking time, slow cookers start off at a low temperature and gradually become hotter and hotter during the slow cooker process. This gradual heating cooks the food slowly at a low temperature between 170° and 280°. The combination of heat, lengthy cooking, and steam created within the tightly covered pot works together to destroy bacteria and make slow cooking a safe process.
Slow cookers have nonmetal cooking containers, usually made from stoneware, ceramic, or heat-resistant glass. The containers are never in direct contact with the heat source, eliminating the possibility of hot spots and the need for stirring, with the exception of foods like granola and party mix (Chapter 6).
False slow cookers
If the appliance has characteristics other than what we have given, then it is not a true slow cooker, but an appliance that cooks slowly. The following sections discuss why these appliances are not true slow cookers.
Other slow cookers
Another appliance on the market is called a slow cooker by manufacturers, but it is not a true slow cooker. These appliances look like electric deep-dish skillets with lids. (Note: West Bend has such an appliance that goes by the name of Slow Cooker. Its true slow cookers are called Crockery Cookers.) Here are the features of these appliances:
Instead of being a crockery cooking container, the cooking container is usually a removable metal container with a nonstick cooking surface.
Instead of having wrap-around heating elements, the cooking container usually sits on a base in close proximity to the electric heating elements or coils that transfer heat to the cooking surface.
Instead of having Low and High settings, these appliances are controlled by a variable temperature thermostat with a wide range of temperatures that allow you to do everything from keeping cooked food warm to deep-frying.
Instead of a gradual heating process, the appliance heats rapidly — the same as a pan on a stove burner. The heat is centered in the bottom of the cooking container, and the food must be stirred frequently so that it doesn’t stick and burn.
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Variable temperature multipurpose cookers
Like an electric pot with a variable thermostat, a multipurpose cooker fulfills a wide variety of cooking functions, including browning, sautéing, boiling, braising, simmering, and deep-frying. Some manufacturers claim that they can also be used as slow cookers, but they are not true slow cookers. They are more like the other slow cookers that we describe in the preceding section. Here are the characteristics of variable temperature, multipurpose cookers, often called “multi-cookers.”
The heating elements are imbedded into the base of the pot so that the appliance cooks with direct heat. Unlike slow cookers, these appliances require supervision and stirring while cooking because the bottom of the pot heats up.
Variable temperature multipurpose cookers usually have a dial- controlled thermostat that allows you to choose from a wide variety of temperatures. For example, you can keep foods warm at 200° or deep-fry foods at 375°.
When used as a pot for cooking food slowly, this appliance, from our standpoint, is best suited for preparing very wet foods like soups and stews. This is because the cooking liquid evaporates quickly as a result of the direct heat method of cooking. Other types of food can’t endure the traditional 7 to 8 hours of true slow cooking.
Gearing Up for Slow Cooking: The Right Model for You
If you don’t already own a slow cooker, or if you’re in the market to purchase a new one, choose the one that best suits your cooking needs. With a wide variety of options, today’s basic models are made to appeal to many needs and tastes.
This is not your mother’s slow cooker
The original slow cookers were designed to fit in with the décor of America’s kitchens of the 1970s. The color selection was usually limited to white, harvest gold, avocado, and copper, and all were round. Not all the units had removable crocks, which were usually standard on larger units only.
The slow cooker of the 1980s and early 1990s also reflected how Americans were decorating their kitchens, with print designs on the metal housing depicting folksy country themes. The recipes also continued to rely upon prepared convenience ingredients.
As we enter the new millennium, however, the slow cooker has become even more mainstream, with a certain level of sophistication and flair in its appearance and recipes. There’s a look for every kitchen and decor. Today’s slow cookers are available in plain vanilla (white) and also come in stainless steel for a high-tech look. Some have colored cooking containers. You can also find slow cookers with decorative patterns featuring fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
Sales are also booming — as women, men, and even kids face the dilemma of getting dinner on the table with limited cooking skills, in the least amount of time, and with the least amount of energy! Fortunately for us, some very creative companies are developing great, user-friendly slow cookers!
We’ve come a long way from the early slow-cooker colors of the ’70s. Slow cookers today are available in a wide variety of designer colors with matching stoneware pots and have heat-resistant legs and handles.
Shapes and sizes
The slow cooker of the 21st century is truly a pleasure to use. Manufacturers seem determined to outdo themselves in adding new features to make this appliance more user-friendly and convenient.
Slow cookers are now available in two shapes: round and oval. The traditional round shape is perfect for making soups, chilis, and stews. The introduction of the oval slow cooker is a boon to home cooks, who can now prepare larger pieces of food like whole chickens and roasts in the slow cooker without cutting them up. In fact, a large 6-quart oval slow cooker can easily accommodate two 3-pound chickens or one 5-pound turkey breast. Resembling a casserole dish, the oval insert is also great for making casserole-type, baked dishes because the pan is shallower than a round one.
For convenience, slow cookers come in a wide variety of sizes ranging from 1 quart for dips, to 3-, 3 1/2-, 4-, 4 1/2-, 5-, 5 1/2-, 6-, 6 1/2-, and 7-quart capacity. Because a slow cooker needs to be filled at least halfway and no more than three quarters full, this wide variety of sizes makes it easy to choose the right one for the dish you’re making. The most popular size units, however, are the 4- and 6- quart versions, for which we have developed our recipes.
Latest innovations and improvements
Some of the newest slow cookers coming off the assembly line today have features — such as heat-resistant glass cooking containers, nonstick coating, digital settings, and transport innovations — that differentiate them from existing models. Although they don’t affect the basic use and operation of the slow cooker, they in most cases make a simple-to-use appliance even more user-friendly.
Heat-resistant glass cooking containers
Some new slow cookers have cooking containers made by Corningware. This heat-resistant glass enables the user to brown over direct heat on the stovetop and then continue cooking in the same container in the slow cooker.
Nonstick coating
The first step in most of our recipes calls to lightly coat the slow cooker cooking container with vegetable oil cooking spray. By doing so, you will find cleanup easier. West Bend has gone one step further and has incorporated a nonstick coating on the stoneware, ceramic cooking containers of some of its newer slow cookers. If you have one of these models, you can skip coating the container with vegetable oil spray.
Divided container
Rival has introduced a 5-quart slow cooker with an inner pot that is divided into two separate cooking compartments. This divided cooking system enables you to make, for instance, a pork roast in the larger 3 1/2- quart compartment and a side dish of applesauce in the 1 1/2- quart compartment without mixing flavors.
Digital settings
Most slow cookers have off, low, high, and perhaps keep-warm settings. Rival has introduced a digital version. With the simple push of a button, you can choose the cooking time and temperature you desire. For example, if your recipe calls for 4 or 6 hours of cooking time, you press the button until 4 or 6 appears on the display. The slow cooker automatically cooks on high; if you had chosen 8 or 10 hours, it would cook on low. At the end of the cooking time, the slow cooker automatically shifts over to the keep-warm setting.
Easy-transport innovations
Because many slow cookers are pressed into service for potluck and community suppers, manufacturers have been coming up with new ideas on how to make transporting them easier. Hamilton Beach has developed two novel ideas. So that the lid doesn’t shift in the car, resulting in a potential disaster, it has developed Lid Latch, which resembles crisscrossing rubber bands that anchor the lid to the base. Furthermore, so that your sweet potato casserole stays piping hot on the way to Grandma’s on Thanksgiving Day, you can place your slow cooker in an insulated carrying case specially designed for certain Hamilton Beach models (see Appendix A for customer service phone numbers).