Morphy Richards Slow Cooker manual Care for, Ceramic pot, Suitable foods for, Slow cooking

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	with style, convenience and		cooking method does not allow
	great tasting meals.		fat to evaporate.
• Traditionally, slow cooking has		• If adapting an existing recipe
	centred on soups and		from conventional cooking, you
	casseroles, but with this oval		may need to cut down on the
	ceramic pot you can also		amount of liquid used. Liquid
	produce most modern family		will not evaporate from the slow
	meals and dinner party dishes.		cooker to the same extent as
	This pot is convenient as well		with conventional cooking.
	as looking good enough to take	• Never leave uncooked food at
	straight to the table for serving
	(always place the ceramic pot		room temperature in the slow
	on a heat proof mat or surface).		cooker.
• Slow cooking gives you		• Do not use the slow cooker to
	convenient, versatile and		reheat food.
	flavoursome food. The longer	• Uncooked red beans must be
	cooking times allow better
	distribution of flavours, giving		soaked and boiled for at least
	them time to blend and season		10 minutes to remove toxins
	the food. A slow cooker heats		before use in a slow cooker.
	food gently, making it a great	• Insert a meat thermometer into
	way to cook meats - in
	particular, less-expensive cuts,		joints of roasts, hams, or whole
	such as stewing beef, which are		chickens to ensure they are
	tenderised through the long		cooked to the desired
	cooking process.		temperature.
• IMPORTANT: The slow cooker			Care for the
	works by building up heat and
	maintaining an even		ceramic pot
	temperature. To get the best
		• Authentic stoneware is fired at
	cooking results, do not remove
	the lid during cooking, since		high temperatures, therefore,
	this will lose heat and therefore		the ceramic pot may have minor
	slow down the cooking time.		surface blemishes, the glass lid
	The glass lid allows you to		may rock slightly due to these
	monitor the cooking progress		imperfections. Low heat
	without interrupting the cooking		cooking does not produce
	time.		steam, so there will be little
			heat loss. Due to normal wear
	Suitable foods for		and tear through the product’s
			life, the outer surface may start
	slow cooking		appearing ‘crazed’.
• Most foods are suited to slow		• Do not put the ceramic pot or
	cooking methods, however		glass lid in an oven, freezer,
	there are a few guidelines that		microwave or on a gas /
	need to be followed.		electrical hob.
• Make sure all frozen ingredients		• Do not pre-heat before adding
	are well thawed out.		ingredients.
• Cut root vegetables into small,		• Do not subject the ceramic pot
	even pieces, as they take longer		to sudden changes in
	to cook than meat. They should		temperature. Adding cold water
	be gently sauteed for 2-3		to a very hot pot could cause it
	minutes before slow cooking.		to crack.
	Ensure that root vegetables are
	always placed at the bottom of	• Do not allow the pot to stand in
	the pot and all ingredients are		water for a long time (you can
	immersed in the cooking liquid.		leave water in the pot to soak).
• Trim all excess fat from meat			There is an area on the base of
			the ceramic pot that has to
	before cooking, since the slow		remain unglazed for

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manufacturing purposes. This unglazed area is porous, therefore will soak up water, this should be avoided.

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

Tips for slow cooking

•The slow cooker must be at least half full for best results.

•Slow cooking retains moisture. If you wish to reduce this, remove the lid after cooking and turn the control to high (if set to low or medium) and reduce the moisture by simmering for 30 to 45 minutes.

•Removing the lid will allow valuable heat to escape, reducing the efficiency of your slow cooker and increasing the cooking time. If you remove the lid more than a couple of times to stir or add ingredients, then you will need to allow 10-15 minutes extra cooking time each time you remove the lid.

•If cooking soups, leave 5 cm space between the top of the cook pot and the food surface to allow for simmering.

•Many recipes will take several hours to cook. If you don’t have time to prepare food in the morning, prepare it the night before, storing the food in a covered container in the fridge. Transfer the food to the ceramic pot and add boiling liquid/stock. In most of the recipes in this book, the meat ingredients are browned first to improve their appearance and flavour.

•If you are short on preparation time and would prefer to skip the browning stage, simply add your meat and other ingredients into the slow cooker and cover with boiling liquid/stock.You will need to increase the recipe cooking time as follows: High setting +1hr, Medium setting +1-2hrs, Low Setting +2-3hrs.

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