Slow cooker: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 05:32, 5 September 2004

Revision as of 05:35, 5 September 2004

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In food preparation, a '''crock-pot''' (also crock pot) is the name given by some manufacturers to their brands of ''[[slow cooker]]s''. It is a trademarked term in many countries, but is often used generically. When used to refer to the trademarked brand of cooker, both words are capitalized.

This type of slow cooker consists of a pot (typically 10" across and similarly high) made of fired clay and usually glazed, surrounded by a housing, usually metal, containing a [[thermostat|thermostatically]] controlled [[electric]] heating element. A crockpot has a loosely fitting lid of glass or plastic to keep in the fluids. Cooking is done at atmospheric pressure and up to the boiling point of the fluid (typically 212 F / 100 C). Many crockpots have two settings for power. The physics of [[boiling_point|boiling]] prohibit a temperature riseof the contents above the boiling point while there is still liquid changing into stem (most of which condenses back into the crock).

In use, the food is placed inside the pot, immersed in water, the lid applied, and the unit switched on. Cooking times vary with the recipe and with the food quantity, but are typically several hours. Temperatures are low in comparison with traditional ovens, and with broiling and baking. Cooking is sufficiently slow that, if the food is not removed promptly at the specified time, little harm is done.