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How to use a slow cooker

A slow cooker is a great way to make nutritious meals with minimal effort. It cooks food slowly over a period of several hours, allowing ingredients to absorb flavors and produce tender and succulent dishes. With its preset heat settings, slow cooker recipes are easy to follow and the appliance itself requires minimal cleanup. There are many advantages to using a slow cooker including its convenience, affordability, as well as its potential to save time and energy. Its versatility in cooking with minimal monitoring also makes it the perfect appliance for busy, on-the-go lifestyles.

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Household appliances make cooking easier and save time. The multicooker has a teflon-coated ceramic bowl for loading products, on the case there is a display panel with programs, and a tight-fitting lid on top. Dishes are prepared in automatic or semi-automatic mode. For cooking, you need to load the ingredients into the bowl, install the program and press “Start”. The cooking process takes from 2 to 8 hours. Products are prepared in their own juice, so these dishes are very healthy..

How to use a slow cooker

Set of multicooker programs

  1. Cooking. Standard program that fits most products.
  2. Quenching. Choose for cooking meat, fish, vegetable side dishes, soups or jellied meat.
  3. Frying. Use the mode as primary or secondary to fry meat or vegetables, make cutlets.
  4. Steaming. Hot steam processing of products with maximum preservation of their beneficial properties.
  5. Baking. Run the program for cooking biscuits, casseroles, buns for an hour. Fry meat, vegetables, meatballs.
  6. Jam. Make a dessert of any berries and fruits.
  7. Porridge. Set a delayed start in the multicooker in the evening to get a hot dish in the morning with milk or water.
  8. Sterilization. The mode is intended for processing cans, children’s dishes.
  9. Languor. Dishes come from the stove.
  10. Deep-frying. Products are processed in oil or batter..
  11. Yogurt. Make a milk or sourdough dish with sugar.

Steamer function

Function of a double boiler in a multicooker

  1. Take the special container for the double boiler from the kit (similar to a colander). Download Products.
  2. Pour water into the main bowl, install a colander container. The walls of the bowls are firmly pressed against each other, but there will be space between the bottoms.
  3. There should be enough water inside so that its level does not touch the bottom of the colander. Use a measuring cup to fill the multicooker with liquid. As a rule, 2 glasses are required for one start. If there is too much liquid, the cooking time will increase, and the products will turn out without a crisp or boil poorly. With a small amount of water there is a risk of premature boiling of liquid and damage to the bottom of the pan.
  4. Select the “Steamer” mode, set the time, click on “Start”.
  5. When the dish is ready, a characteristic signal will sound. Carefully open the lid so as not to burn your face or hands with hot steam. Some models are equipped with a valve for releasing steam with the lid closed.

Terms of use

What a multicooker and additional accessories consist of

For proper operation, place the appliance on a firm and level surface. You can lay a towel on the table to protect the table from spoilage if fluid leaks during cooking. It is advisable that the included multicooker does not come into contact with other appliances and walls for unhindered heat dissipation.

Do not move the device during operation to avoid mechanical damage. Do not open the lid earlier than it should be, otherwise the heat will come out, which will extend the cooking time by 20-30 minutes. When using a new multicooker for the first time, rinse all parts thoroughly with warm water. Each launch of the device conditionally takes place in 4 stages.

Preparation of the multicooker for work

  1. Wipe the food container thoroughly..
  2. Plug in the multicooker.
  3. Close the lid of the appliance and start the bowl heating mode.
  4. When the beep sounds, turn off the device. Some models trigger auto-heating mode..

Product loading

Put hard root vegetables (carrots, beets, potatoes) on the bottom of the bowl. Cooking them will take the most time. Spread the pieces of meat on the vegetables. Pour everything with water, wine, broth or sauce: the bowl should be filled 1/3 or more. Soft vegetables, canned foods, kefir, yogurt or sour cream add an hour before the end of cooking.

Cooking

After loading the products, set the desired temperature. Low – for long languishing, high – for quick cooking. If you divide the cooking process into stages (first boil, then simmer the dish until cooked), you can save time, and the products will turn out well processed.

Temperature and program selection:

  1. High (160–180 °, frying and deep-frying modes). Programs are suitable for chicken, the cooking time will take 2.5-3 hours.
  2. Medium (110–120 °, baking mode). Recommended for instant baked goods or red meat. Cooking time takes 4-6 hours.
  3. Low (40–100 °, cooking, stewing, porridge, yogurt). It helps to get very healthy dishes. Suitable for almost all types of red meat. Cooking time – 8-10 hours.

Bowl cleaning

What can not be done with the cup

When using a multicooker, you will only have to wash the container where the food is prepared. It is more convenient to do this if the bowl is removable. Otherwise, wait until the appliance cools completely, and before washing, do not forget to disconnect it from the mains.

Rules for cleaning removable containers:

  1. Remove and cool the bowl..
  2. Soak it in warm, soapy water. Do not use cold water immediately after preparation, otherwise the container will crack.
  3. After 10-15 minutes, clean the dishes from the remnants of food. Use soft sponges or rags. Coarse brushes, wire mesh, powders or formulations with strong acids will damage the non-stick coating.
  4. Dry the bowl thoroughly, replace it..

Cooking Tips & Tricks

Cooking time in the multicooker

The principle of operation of the device is based on 3D-heating technology. After pressing the “Start” button, the bowl with products is gradually heated by electromagnetic waves. The desired temperature level is maintained throughout the cooking process. To make the dish as useful and tasty as possible, it is important to follow the rules for the selection and preparation of ingredients.

Choose the “right” meat

For cooking in a slow cooker are suitable:

  • a hen – hips, legs, breast, wings;
  • pork – neck, cheeks, knuckle, shoulder blades, trotters;
  • mutton – shin, neck, shoulder, shoulder blades;
  • beef – brisket, cheeks, lower leg, tail.

It is advisable to buy meat with a minimum amount of fatty layers. This will not affect the taste, and the food will turn out to be healthier. The meat during cooking will release aroma and juice, completely saturate the rest of the ingredients.

Prepare the ingredients for the dish in advance

  1. Before using the multicooker in the morning, cut the products necessary for cooking the night before, put them in a container and put them in the refrigerator.
  2. Load only warm ingredients into the bowl. Before cooking, remove food from the cold and let it warm at room temperature for 20-30 minutes. Thaw meat from the freezer completely.
  3. To get a crispy golden crust, slightly fry the meat before loading it into the multicooker. If there is not enough time for pre-treatment, just remove the skin.
  4. Fry vegetables in advance (onions, garlic, carrots, ginger) to remove excess moisture from the foods and give the dish a rich flavor.

Give preference to dried herbs.

In the process of long cooking, fresh greens become very soft, lose useful qualities and turn brown in color, so add it at the very end of cooking. Together with the main products, it is allowed to immediately add dry herbs and spices. In the process of preparation, their beneficial properties are gradually and fully revealed: the dish turns out to be spicy and aromatic.

Reduce fluid volume when adapting a recipe

The cooker lid is tightly closed, so when cooking the water does not evaporate. In addition to the sauce, the products emit a lot of juice, which is why it is possible to spill liquid out of the pan and contaminate the space between the walls of the case and the bowl. Subsequently, cleaning up such places is extremely problematic. To eliminate the problem, pour a little water initially: fill the bowl 2 / 3–1 / 2, and the sauce should only cover the products.

Do not leave the dish to cool in the slow cooker

Putting the finished dish out of the multicooker bowl

The bowl retains heat for a long time, which contributes to the accumulation and active reproduction of bacteria, rapid spoilage of products. If after lunch there are leftovers in the slow cooker, put them in a container. Allow the food to cool completely at room temperature, then put it in the refrigerator..

What foods are better not to cook in a slow cooker

  1. Rice. Cook on the stove for about 20 minutes. With long processing, the grains soften around the edges and remain hard in the center. Try to cook another cereal instead of rice, for example, barley.
  2. Pasta. Long cooking too softens them – the risk of getting a mushy mass is high.
  3. Seafood. Shrimp, squid and fish are cooked very quickly, and long processing makes them rubber.
  4. Too soft and green vegetables. Long stew is ideal for carrots, cabbage or potatoes. Spinach, tomatoes, asparagus will boil excessively and lose shape or color.
  5. Tender meat. It is better to leave the chicken fillet for frying or baking in the oven, otherwise the fibers will turn out to be hard, dry.
  6. Beans and other legumes. These products contain a toxin that is destroyed after 10 minutes of boiling at a temperature of 112 degrees. In a slow cooker, the maximum temperature is much lower, so discard beans and beans or soak them for at least 12 hours before cooking.
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Comments: 2
  1. Cambria

    Can someone please explain how to properly use a slow cooker? I’ve just bought one and I’m unsure of the correct steps to follow. Any tips or instructions would be greatly appreciated!

    Reply
  2. Zoey Wright

    Can someone please provide detailed instructions on how to effectively use a slow cooker? I recently acquired one but I have no idea where to start. What type of recipes work best? Any tips or tricks for optimal results? Thank you in advance for your guidance!

    Reply
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