Cookaholics Bulletin Board

I'm pretty sure that I read in CI somewhere (recently) that if you heat 4 qts of water in a slow cooker on the low setting, that ideally, it should be between 195-205. First, I want to double check that I'm right here so if anybody knows where this is - that would be great.

Second, I tried my old cooker using this method and found that after 6 hours, it was running at only 180 degrees. My thought was to continue using it and maybe just cook everything a bit longer. I've used it so much that I'm not really worried about food being in the danger zone for any prolonged period of time.

In addition, a friend has the slow cooker that CI recommended (touchscreen something or the other) and at least on their's, it ran a bit hot (211 degrees).

So I guess the 2nd question is whether my slow cooker is worth replacing given that its running low and whether to replace it with another one that might run a bit hot.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Gerard

My understanding is that newer slow-cookers run a bit higher than older ones because of safety concerns. Anecdotally, I've probably owned 5-6 slow cookers of varying vintages through the years and that trend has held true for me. Personally, I like the newer, hotter models. I've never been able to cook beans in the old ones.

from CC 8\01\10



Retest your machine using the high setting. If it meets the suggested parameters, judge results vs the fun of stimulating the economy.

If you opt for stimulation, you could purchase and test, and report back on a multicooker with searing option for a modest premium over a uni-tasking slow cooker. TIA.

Thanks Jim,

Did that experiment wrong, thanks so much for the correction (where did you find the article?). Will do a side-by-side comparison this evening when I get home and report back tomorrow!

Gerard

It's from the summary page of the most recent review of Slow Cookers.

Thanks!

I just realized that I'll be home late this evening so I might not get to my side-by-side comparison for a couple of days. I'll post my results as soon as they're available.

Gerard

I have two slow cookers that reach what I think is a perfect temp. of 195-200º (the lower temp. when fairly full), one very old, and a fairly old one, the larger one I use the most. Much closer to boiling, and they are no longer slow cookers, at least it seems that way with some friend's slow cookers. My newer one (probably at least 15 years old!) has a nice feature - auto - which puts it on high for 45 min., then switches it to low, and this takes a good amount of time off the cooking, but doesn't cook it too high for too long.

I have always figured that if mine bites the dust I'll buy one, then test it overnight, and see if it stays low enough; if not, return it, and try another model! Might take a few tries, from what I've seen...

So, the results are in.

As I mentioned, the CI recommended TouchScreen Crockpot (my friend's), the water was "gently" boiling on the low setting at the 6 hour mark. On the high setting, it was rapidly boiling at the 3.5 hr mark. The boiling was so intense that the cover was rattling. Don't know if this was specific to this particlar unit or not but if it's universal - the high heat and rattling are deal breakers.

Also - experimented with my CI recommended Farberware slow cooker. After 6 hours on a high setting, the water was boiling here as well - indicating that the temperature was too high. The boiling was not nearly as rapid as with the other slow cooker but still registering 212 degrees.

So -I think I'm in the market for another slow cooker. Not sure whether I should give the Touchscreen one a shot and see if I get a better unit. Any other suggestions? I've noticed for years that chicken cooked on a high setting in the Farberware is not as tender as I would hope for a slow cooker.

Also - any thought on this: when I tested the TouchScreen slow cooker on the low setting yesterday - the water was kind of simmering after 6 hours. There was really one column of bubbles that was breaking the surface. When I took the temperature - I was surprised to get a reading of 211-212, because it was more like a simmer. Any chance this might not be an accurate read. As I mentioned - I clearly got 212 when the water was rapidly boiling at 212 degrees on the high settting.

Gerard

http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-33135-6-Quart-Stainless/dp/B000R8A1OK

I have this one. I really like it, but it's not progammable. I don't know if that's a deal-breaker for you. On the other hand, you can put the 4-quart insert in and tell the cooker that you are using the 2-quart. I've never gotten all sciency and actually measured what that does and it is definitely off-label, but it might solve your dilemma. Mostly, I've cooked CI and CC recipes in it with no problems using normal setting.

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'm going to try one of those Touchscreen slow cookers and see if the unit that is sent runs within the proper range. Can always send it back if it doesn't work. If not - I'm not sure what to do. I do want it to be programmable - in the sense that it can go from cooking to keep warm - for at least a few hours. I'll keep you posted on how I do with the Touchscreen but I'd appreciate any other suggestions for a 6 quart or larger slow cookers that seems to run within the right temperature zone and have a keep warm feature.