SLOW COOKER: DISCOVER YOUR NEW GREAT ALLY IN THE KITCHEN

Everyone has already heard of the most desired appliance by cooking lovers: the slow cooker. A great ally in the preparation of broths, soups, braised meats and sous vide recipes, the slow cooker is certainly a model that saves you a lot of time in the kitchen. as well as offering a safe and optimal method of cooking recipes at low temperatures or long cooking dishes.

What is a slow cooker and how does it work?

The slow cooker is a very large electric pot with a thick and resistant ceramic interior, capable of reaching and maintaining the ideal cooking temperature for each recipe, guaranteeing constant, linear and consequently perfect cooking!

There are several models in the market, but all of them are more or less similar in their functions: they offer low, medium, high temperature and heat maintenance (buffet) modes.

Why buy a slow cooker?

When cooking different recipes, it is possible to understand that each type of cooking has a different timing, which can take up to several hours! In a normal stove, there is the risk of an incorrect distribution of the heat, which remains concentrated in the bottom of the pan and consequently can burn it, ruining the whole recipe.

A slow cooker allows you to have more control over the temperature: the electric pot always maintains a lower and more constant temperature than a traditional cooking pot, avoiding unpleasant accidents. Another benefit is the quality of dishes cooked with a slow cooker: slow cooking enhances the natural flavor of foods, dispenses with the need to cook with added fats and the nutrients of the foods are maintained.

Finally, a slow cooker allows you to cook complex and long-created dishes in a carefree way. For example: in a traditional ragù recipe the minimum cooking time is an hour and a half, being able to cook (for the more purist ones) up to 3 hours. With the slow cooker, you can safely start cooking the in the morning before leaving for work, in the evening before going to bed, etc. The timer function for cooking and automatic shutdown will allow you to carry on a lot of tasks without any worries.

What do you cook in a slow cocker?

There are several recipes that a slow cooker helps to cook perfectly. In general, they are more elaborate and long cooking dishes such as:

pulled pork
spare ribs in barbecue sauce
braised
soups
risotto
broths
sauces
sauces
meats in creamy sauces
feijoada (Brazilian recipe)
cassoulet

What are the best slow cookers for sale?

The offers are not so many: few brands are willing to create their version of slow cooker, mainly because this is a relatively new technology and more used in professional kitchens for sous vide preparations or production of long cooking recipes in large quantities. We have found for you the 3 best models on offer on Amazon: from the most traditional to the most modern.

The most traditional: Crock Pot slow cooker

Available on the market for 40 years, the Crock Pot slow cooker was the first brand of electric cookware for cooking at low and slow temperatures. With a capacity of 2.4L, this pot is able to cook recipes for 2 people, offering two cooking settings: LOW (traditional cooking program, about 6/8 hours) and HIGH (faster cooking program, about 4 hours) ). Its interior is in ceramic and the glass lid is both dishwasher safe.

Pros: ceramic pot ideal for slow cooking, compact ideal for one or two people, the most traditional, low energy consumption (210 Watt).
Cons: pot not suitable for direct contact with heat (there is the risk of breakage due to thermal shock), it has only two cooking modes (it does not have buffet mode) and has no automatic shutdown or timer.

The one with more functions: Electrolux slow cooker

With 6.8L capacity and digital screen, this pot is ideal for those with a larger family, or perhaps very greedy members! The digital screen allows you to easily program your favorite cooking mode and view the remaining time for the end of the preparation. It has different cooking programs: low, medium, high temperature, soup cooking, buffet mode for plate heating and warm mode (heat retention function up to 12 hours).

Pros: ceramic pot ideal for slow cooking, 6 cooking modes suitable for stove, automatic shutdown with timer, very large, low energy consumption, but slightly higher than the other recommended options (235 Watt).
Cons: pot not suitable for direct contact with heat (there is the risk of breaking with thermal shock), a little more expensive than the other options.

The best value for money: low cooker Russel Hobbs

The slow cooker Russel Hobbs is the one that has the best value for money: it has a capacity of 3.5L, a stainless steel body, a lid in transparent tempered glass that allows you to accompany the progress of cooking and a removable non-stick internal pan that it is suitable for use on a gas stove or electric stove for browning meat, frying, etc.

It has 3 temperature settings: low, medium and keeping warm, for serving at the table, 160 Watt power. It does not have a timer function: this slow cooker is intelligent and calculates the cooking time based on the weight. Once the water is dry, the Russel Hobbs pot operates the heating function, which keeps the food warm.

Pros: non-stick pan suitable for stoves, stops cooking mode by switching to heating mode automatically, intelligent cooking time based on the weight of the food inside, affordable price, lower energy consumption than other recommended models (160 Watts).
Cons: few cooking options, it is not perfectly suitable for cooking broths and liquids because it does not have an automatic switch-off connected to a timer.