I am fortunate that I have already been able to try out a lot of kitchen equipment, including the slow cooker. By the way, I now also have the Magimix Cook Expert, which makes me very happy, but more about that later. First back to the slow cooker and my slow cooker experiences. As far as I'm concerned, the slow cooker has really become an indispensable device in our kitchen.
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If you poke around on the internet, you rarely read negative experiences about using the slow cooker, and that's not so strange at all. Cooking with the slow cooker has many advantages, which means that the slow cooker experiences are often positive. And that makes us all happy.
However, there are a number of things you should pay attention to when buying a slow cooker, as is apparent from my own slow cooker experiences and I would like to list them here for you. The slow cooker above is mine. If you want to buy it, you can find it at bol.com, but the giveaway we currently have is also fun, thanks to Slowcookery.nl, read on!
If you are going to buy a slow cooker, consider the tips below in your decision.
One of the most important things to keep in mind is that you don't buy the slow cooker too small. Once you get a little bit used to cooking with the slow cooker, you will see that it becomes easier and easier. Not only will your slow cooker experiences get better, but you'll be cooking more often and probably more. For visitors, or for in the freezer. It doesn't matter too much on your counter, but for cooking itself a decent size slow cooker is very nice. Slow cookers with a capacity of 6 liters or more are the easiest to use.
A digital slow cooker with timer means you don't have to stay at home while the slow cooker does its job. If you have a slow cooker with a delay timer, you can start it at a time of your choosing and it will be ready at the desired time.
My own slow cooker experiences show that the keep warm function on a slow cooker is sort of indispensable. The keep warm function keeps your food at the right temperature after it has already been fully cooked. Your food will not be overcooked, but if you are home a little later than planned, for example, your food will still remain wonderfully warm.
Also useful if, for example, you have athletes at home and the time of dinner is different for everyone in the family. You simply leave the slow cooker on the keep warm function and everyone can serve their food warm as soon as they are home.
Also not unimportant. A slow cooker with a glass lid allows you to take a look while cooking in the slow cooker. You can see how the food is doing, without having to lift the lid off the pan. Why this is important? The moment you take the lid off the pan, you lose a lot of heat. Since the slow cooker only heats slowly, slow cooker experiences show that you sometimes have to extend the time your food needs to cook by 30 minutes. So don't take the lid off the slow cooker too often.
If possible, choose an electric slow cooker instead of a slow cooker that you have to put in the oven. With the latter, you still have to heat the entire oven, instead of only heating the pan. That saves quite a bit of energy! Something with conscious living and such .
Not just a removable inner pan, but preferably one that you can also use on the gas stove. In that case you can sear something if you want, before you let the slow cooker do its thing. The slow cooker experiences are divided about this convenience, but the majority see this as a plus.
You can draw one conclusion from all these slow cooker experiences. Choose the slow cooker that suits you and you will have a lot of fun with it.
Thanks to Slowcookery.nl we have a super fun giveaway. We can give away 2 copies of the Andrew James digital slow cooker of 6.5 liters! This way you can gain your own slow cooker experiences!
What I would like to know from you is which recipe you want to make first in a slow cooker. Give your answer in a comment below and maybe you'll be one of the lucky winners! The promotion runs until October 30, 2018.