cooking modes
The slow cooker has three cooking modes:
low for traditional “slow cooking”. You must preheat the cookpot, in the slow
cooker, on high for at least 18 minutes before cooking at low.
high for “fast cooking”, using the slow cooker as an electric stewpot. Keep an eye
on it, to make sure that the food doesn’t dry out. If it looks like drying out,
add hot water, not cold water – you might crack the cookpot.
warm for keeping food warm – but only after it has been cooked to readiness in
the slow cooker.
caution Don’t use the warm setting to heat food up – you won’t kill the bugs.
general
1 Thaw frozen food completely before adding it to the cookpot.
2 Brown the meat and sauté the vegetables in a pan, not in the cookpot.
3 Don’t use the cookpot for cooking anywhere other than inside the slow cooker.
4 Don’t cook on the low setting without first preheating the cookpot, in the slow
cooker, on the high setting for at least 18 minutes.
5 Soak dried peas and beans for 8 hours (or overnight) before cooking, to soften them.
warning boil dried beans (e.g. red kidney beans) for at least 10 minutes before
adding to the slow cooker. They’re poisonous if eaten raw or undercooked.
6 You don’t need to soak lentils overnight.
7 Store ingredients prepared beforehand (e.g. the night before) in containers in the
fridge. Don’t put the slow cooker or the cookpot into the fridge.
8 Root vegetables, tubers, and bulbs (carrots, potatoes, onions) take much longer to
cook than meat, so cut them down to about 5mm (¼ inch) thick slices, sticks or dice,
and sauté them gently for 2-3 minutes before adding to the cookpot.
9 All vegetables (including dried veg) must be immersed in the cooking liquid.
10 When cooking with rice, use at least 150ml (¼pt) of cooking liquid for each 100g
(4oz) of rice. We’ve found that “easy-cook” rice gives the best results.
11 Pasta isn’t suitable for slow cooking, it becomes too soft. If your recipe requires
pasta, it should be stirred in 30-40 minutes before the end of the cooking time.
preparation
12 Set the slow cooker before you leave for work – come home to a fully cooked meal.
13 The slow cooker will cook for up to 10 hours, then keep warm for another 10 hours,
so time shouldn’t be a problem.
14 Sit the slow cooker on a stable, level, heat-resistant surface.
15 Put the plug into a wall socket (switch the socket on, if it’s switchable).
16 The display and lights will flash, then the lights will go out, and the display will settle
at two flashing dashes “– –”.
preheat
17 Put the cookpot into the slow cooker, and fit the lid.
18 Press and release the b button
a) the low light will glow
b) 6,0 (hours) will flash on the display
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