About slow cooking

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•Slow cooking has always been the best way to prepare a nutritious hot meal with minimum preparation and maximum free time away from the kitchen.

•Slow cooking gives you convenient, versatile and flavoursome food. The longer cooking times allow better distribution of flavours, giving them time to blend and season the food. A slow cooker heats food gently, making it a great way to cook meats - in particular, less-expensive cuts, such as stewing beef, which are tenderised through the long cooking process. Remember, there are no limits to the potential uses of your slow cooker, only your imagination!

IMPORTANT: The slow cooker works by building up heat and maintaining an even temperature. To get the best cooking results, do not remove the lid during cooking, since this will lose heat and therefore slow down the cooking time. The see-through lid allows you to monitor the cooking progress without interrupting the cooking time.

Suitable foods for slow cooking

•Most foods are suited to slow cooking methods, however there are a few guidelines that need to be followed.

•Make sure all frozen ingredients are well thawed out.

•Cut root vegetables into small, even pieces, as they take longer to cook than meat. They should be gently sauted for 2- 3 minutes before slow cooking. Ensure that root vegetables are always placed at the bottom of the pot and all ingredients are immersed in the cooking liquid.

•Trim all excess fat from meat before cooking, since the slow cooking method does not allow fat to evaporate.

•If adapting an existing recipe from conventional cooking, you may need to cut down on the amount of liquid used. Liquid will not evaporate from the slow cooker to the same extent as with conventional cooking.

•Never leave uncooked food at room temperature in the slow cooker.

•Do not use the slow cooker to reheat food.

•Uncooked red beans must be soaked and boiled for at least 10 minutes to remove toxins before use in a slow cooker.

•Insert a meat thermometer into joints of roasts, hams, or whole chickens to ensure they are cooked to the desired temperature.

Do’s and do not’s for the crock pot

•Authentic stoneware is fired at high temperatures, therefore, the crock pot may have minor surface blemishes, the lid may rock slightly due to these imperfections. Low heat cooking does not produce steam, so there will be little heat loss. Due to normal wear and tear through the products life, the outer surface may start appearing ‘crazed’.

•Do not put the crock pot or lid in an oven, freezer, microwave or on a gas/electrical hob.

•Do not pre-heat before adding ingredients.

•Do not subject the crock pot to sudden changes in temperature. Adding cold water to a very hot pot could cause it to crack.

•Do not allow the pot to stand in water for a long time (you can leave water in the pot to soak). There is an area on the base of the crock pot that has to remain unglazed for manufacturing purposes. This unglazed area is porous, therefore will soak up water, this should be avoided.

•Do not switch the cooker on when the crock pot is empty or out of the base.

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