GLH
|
Slow CookersI use my slow cooker loads. I find it great for shoving everything in on a morning and coming in from work to a gorgeous smell and a hot dinner.
Today I mentioned to a work collegue that I had chicken cooking in the slow cooker and she then proceeded to tell me that she wouldn't touch a slow cooker with a barge pole as they don't get hot enough to kill off bacteria. Now this girls mum is a home economics teacher so I would assume she knows what she is talking about.
I really struggled to eat my tea tonight with this story going round in my head.
Does anybody else use a slow cooker or has anybody else heard similar stories?
Gail x
|
dragonfly
|
I doubt thats true.. or they wouldnt sell them..
Iused my slow cooker and nevefr been poisened yet
|
sallyb
|
I got a slow cooker recently and I know lots of people who use them and are fine. I actually bought a slow cooker for dummies book and that explained exactly how the food is cooked which makes it safe. I don't have it with me so I can't remember exactly what it said but it gets the meet up to a safe temperature and then maintains it with the steam from the lid being kept on etc.
I was a bit wary but as long as you follow the usage instructions and cook for long enough etc it must be ok or they wouldn't sell them as has been said.
|
Lolly
|
I'm not sure because they used one on 'come dine with me' he cooked a chicken in one and they got food posioning from it. But i've never used one so i dunno.
xxxx
xxx
xx
x
|
Julie
|
I've never heard of anyone having problems like that. I know they cook the meat using lower temperatures, but the temps are still high enough to kill bacteria. If you feel unsure just make sure you check the temp of the meat with a meat thermometer. I have a slow cooker and have never had a problem!
|
GLH
|
Thanks everyone. I am going with the majority and ignoring the comments made at work. In fact I have stewing steak in it right now.
Gail x
|
Lori
|
I never go on the non-phobia board, but here I am.
I use a slow cooker weekly if not more. It works great for busy nights! We make fajitas, chili, stew, roast, etc.
Since I'm an emet, I wanted to make sure I'm using it right so here are the rules I learned:
1. Cut big chunks of meat (roast, a whole chicken) into smaller chunks about the size of a tennis ball or smaller. That way, there are no cold spots in the middle. The food won't be as "pretty" as a roast from the oven but it will be safer.
2. Thaw food before adding it to the slow cooker. Frozen food can stay too long in the unsafe zone of 40 - 140 deg F (sorry, I'm not good at celcius but basically the temperature that's warmer than a refrigerator and cooler than ... well, much cooler than boiling). What's best is to use food no colder than your refrigerator. You can also heat up food before adding it and give it a headstart on leaving that unsafe zone.
3. Even if a recipe says "cook on low" I like to start it on high to get it up to temperature quickly. After an hour or so, I switch to low if that's what the recipe calls for.
4. Don't lift the lid unless you have to because the recipe says to add something halfway through cooking or to stir. Each time you lift the lid, you add 30 minutes of cooking time. And each time you lift the lid, you lower that nice healthy hot temperature.
5. Use only the freshest foods in a crock pot or slow cooker (same thing, right?)
6. Crockpots are designed to have a little liquid in the bottom of the pot so make sure you had a bit of water, broth, wine, or whatever when you cook a roast or a chicken.
7. Crockpots can get dangerously cool if they go without power for part of the cooking time. So, if you live somewhere where the power goes off now and then, get a digital clock or something that will flash if the power is interrupted and plug it in the same outlet. That way, if you come home from work and the clock shows the right time (don't use a battery backup, duh!) then you know that the crockpot got power the entire time. If you come home and the clock is flashing, then you might want to just eat a sandwich instead that night as the food could've cooled off too much.
8. Crockpots/slow cookers are safest when 1/2 to 2/3 full of food. Any less than that and they might burn and any more than that and they might not heat all the food up. One thing that bugs me is the pictures on the boxes of crockpots always show (because it looks better) crock pots filled to the brim with stew or something. Yikes, that's dangerous. You might need to double or halve your recipes to make them fit. I just got a new slow cooker a few months back. DOn't know what you have in the UK (I'm in the USA) but it's a Hamilton Beach model that has three different bowls, a 2 quart (2 liter), 4 quart, and a 6 quart. I absolutely love it. It has one base to heat up the bowl and one lid but three bowls. So, you pick the right bowl for the size of the recipe! What a great idea. I love this crockpot.
9. Don't set the timer on the slow cooker to turn on halfway through the day so that food just sits there at room temperature (where bacteria can grow). Not a good idea. You can use an "autoshift" function to shift from high to low, but it's a terrible idea to load up a crock pot, leave it off for hours and then have it switch on after the food's had time to sit there getting rancid! So, turn on that crockpot as you are adding food (again, I like to crank it up to high) and keep it on through the serving time. Then, of course, refrigerate or freeze those leftovers as soon as you can. And, you know to store leftovers in small, shallow containers so the food can quickly cool (freezing food in a deep big bowl just asks for trouble).
10. Finally, realize that older crockpots and slow cookers sometimes didn't get hot enough so use a modern one, not one that your grandma handed down to you or you found at the thrift shop or garage sale. Use a fairly new one.
Lori
|
abbey_19
|
I know loads of people who use slow cookers and never once had a problem with them as long as your using them properly i cant see it being a problem at all!
Abbey xxx
|
char1402
|
hi i use a slow cooker - yum
i have never got ill from it - ever.
Meat must be heated to a temp above 72 degrees c to kill off all bacteria - the slow cooker heats above this temp
xx
|
|
|
|