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♦
Prepare everything you need for your slow cooked
meal the night before if you will not have time in
the morning.
♦
Your ingredients should ideally be added to
the slow cooker at room temperature, so take
everything out of the fridge 20 minutes before
adding to the cooker.
♦
Add dairy products last, such as milk and cheese,
unless your recipe states otherwise. They break
down in the slow cooker, so make sure you stir
them in during the last 15 minutes of cooking.
♦
To thicken the flavourful juices produced during
slow cooking, remove 1 cup (250 ml) juice from
the slow cooker. Place in a small saucepan.
Combine 1 tablespoon (15 ml) water and 1
tablespoon (15 ml) corn flour. Stir these into the
saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until
the mixture boils. Boil and stir for 1 - 2 minutes or
until slightly thickened.
♦
When cooking soups or stews, leave a 2-inch
(5 cm) space between the top of the removable
cooking pot and the food so that the recipe can
come to a simmer. If cooking a soup or stew on
HIGH, check its progress regularly as some soups
will reach a boil on HIGH.
♦
Pasta and seafood should be added towards the
end of cooking time.
♦
DO NOT lift the lid of the slow cooker until you
need to. Removing the lid affects the end result
and will actually increase the necessary cooking
time. Only remove it when you need to add an
ingredient.
♦
If you are adapting a recipe for your slow cooker,
decrease the amount of liquid you would normally
use in the dish by as much as half. This is to
account for the fact that very little moisture boils
away when slow-cooking.
♦
All food should be cooked with the glass lid in
place. Each time the lid is lifted, both the heat and
moisture are diminished. Cooking times should be
adjusted to accommodate this factor.
Slow cooker recipes
♦
You can also adjust slow cooker recipes
depending on the amount of time you have. If you
wish to decrease the cooking time, cook on HIGH
and if you wish to extend the cooking time, cook
on LOW. E.g. If the recipe states to cook on LOW
for 6-8 hours and you want a shorter cooking time,
set your slow cooker to HIGH and cook for 3-4
hours.
(Original instructions)
Stirring the food
♦
Little or no stirring is required when using the
LOW or WARM setting. When using the HIGH
heat setting, stir regularly to ensure even flavour
distribution.
Suitable foods
Vegetables
♦
Vegetables cook slowly. Keep pieces small to
medium in size and place in the bottom of the
cooking pot.
♦
Vegetables can be peeled and cut the night before
slow cooking. Cover and refrigerate in a separate
container. Do not place in the cooking pot until
ready to cook.
♦
Cut all root vegetables into small, evenly sized
pieces to ensure even cooking. Root vegetables
take longer to cook than meat.
♦
Gently sauté root vegetables for 2 - 3 minutes
before slow cooking in the aluminum cooking pot.
Place them at the bottom of the pot and make sure
all ingredients are fully immersed in the cooking
liquid.
♦
Boil and soak uncooked red beans for at least 10
minutes before adding them to your slow cooker.
This helps to remove any toxins.
♦
Pumpkins and other squash vegetables do not
need to be cooked in as much liquid as other slow
cooked vegetables.
♦
Cut green peppers into small pieces and add them
near the end of the cooking time to avoid them
becoming bitter after being cooked for a long
period of time.
♦
Frozen vegetables should always be slightly
defrosted before being added to your slow
cooker. They will not take as long to cook as fresh
vegetables as they are generally pre-cooked to
an extent.
♦
This is the same for canned vegetables. When
using canned vegetables be sure to wash them
before adding them to your slow cooker, to remove
any excess salt and preservatives. Always ensure
you drain canned vegetables before use, so you
do not add extra liquid to your dish.
♦
Onions are a very popular ingredient in slow
cooker recipes. Slow cooking does decrease the
flavour of onions though, so make sure you add
a little extra than you usually would, to retain that
flavour – especially if you are cooking for more
than four hours.
ENGLISH
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