25
Using the Ovens
Slow cooking
The benefits of slow cooking have
been recognised by cooks for cen-
turies, and are still appreciated by
cooks today. The “S” slow setting pro-
vides the facility for extra low temper-
ature cooking.
The advantages of slow cooking are
as follows:-
Food can be left to cook unattend-
ed for several hours - whilst you
are at work or out for the day - or
cooked overnight.
Inexpensive cuts of meat become
deliciously tender when slow
cooked.
Slow cooking helps to produce
moist, tender “roasts” with mini-
mal meat shrinkage, and
reduced oven soiling.
Dishes including soups, vegeta-
bles, puddings, savoury dishes,
and preserves are also suitable for
slow cooking.
There is no topping up of steamers,
steam filled kitchens or constant
checking to do.
Cooking times
The cooking time varies according to
the type of food being cooked, and
experience will show how long foods
should be cooked, according to per-
sonal preference.
In general, foods should be cooked
for at least 6 hours, and may be left
up to 8 - 10 hours without spoil-
ing, if covered. As a guide, foods
cooked using the slow cooking
method will take about three times as
long as by conventional methods.
Meat and poultry dishes should be
cooked at 160 - 190˚C for 30 min
-
utes, and then the oven set to 120˚C -
Conventional / 110˚C - Fanned and
the food slow cooked for the remain-
der of the time. Delicate foods such as
custards and preserves can be cooked
using the low temperature setting only
throughout the cooking time.
Utensils
Any oven-proof utensils may be used
for slow cooking, provided they have
a close fitting lid. To rectify a badly fit-
ting lid, a piece of cooking foil may
be placed over the dish, underneath
the lid.
For convenience and to save washing
up, the most useful utensils for slow
cooking are the flameproof type,
which can be used over direct heat
and for oven cooking, and are suffi-
ciently attractive to use as serving dish-
es.
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