Slow cookers are a busy family's best friend. A few minutes prep and you can let your dinner cook away for hours with little extra work. But, these handy kitchen gadgets can turn dangerous if not used correctly. We want all our chefs to be safe, so keep reading for a few tips for keeping your home and family safe while dinner cooks.
1. Test the temperature:Slow cookers are designed to cook at a low enough temperature that the food can be left unattended. However, the slow cooker must also be hot enough to ensure that the food maintains an appropriate temperature, according to
Clemson University. Check your slow cooker's temperature every six months by filling the insert with 2 quarts of water and heating for 8 hours. Quickly insert a thermometer into the water (water temperature drops when the lid is removed). The water temperature should be about 185 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Check out the condition of your cooker: Check for cracks and breaks in your slow cooker basin. While some sources say that you can safely use a slow cooker with cracks if the slow cooker basin is ceramic, others recommend getting a new one.
Recipe Tips says that cracks and scratches weaken the interior. Keep an eye on frayed cords and get rid of your slow cooker if the plug is damaged.
3. Maintenance/Disposal of slow cooker: Most interior portions of a slow cooker are dishwasher safe. You can wash the interior with soap and water. The basin (with the heating element) should never be submerged. Use a damp towel to wash and clean the exterior of the slow cooker.
You can safely dispose of a broken slow cooker in the garbage or find out if a local
recycling company will take it off your hands. One fun idea: Use a worn (or slightly cracked) basin for a planter.
4. Basic Safety Rules: Operate a slow cooker on a flat surface. The slow cooker should be placed away from the edge of a counter or table. Further, cords should be positioned out of the way of little hands and feet. One 4-year-old suffered third-degree burns in 2016 when she tripped over an electrical cord powering the slow cooker, spilling the scalding contents onto her back, according to
Consumer Health Day. Treat a slow cooker like a hot pan.
5. Proper cooking of raw foods:When cooking meat, you should always make sure the meat is completely thawed before adding it to your slow cooker, the
University of Minnesota recommends. Frozen meat may not cook fast enough to reach proper temperatures. When cooking with a slow cooker, follow basic kitchen safety rules including washing hands and sanitizing cooking and prep surfaces. Preheating your slow cooker with liquids (like broth or water) will help speed up cook times.
6. Bean rules: When cooking raw beans in a slow cooker, always soak them for 12 hours and boil them for 10 minutes on the stove to prevent the release of natural toxins into your food.
7. Safely keep foods warm: The warm setting should only be used to keep cooked foods warm. Do
not use the warm setting to cook raw foods, according to the University of Minnesota.
8. Can I safely leave a slow cooker on all day?Technically, yes. Most sources suggested that you should be fine leaving the slow cooker on while you are away since it uses a low amount of wattage to work. Programmable slow cookers are ideal for this type of use because you can set it to automatically switch to warm when the food is finished. One source at
Fox News Magazine says it's always better to be home while it cooks. So, use your own discretion.
9. What happens if the power goes out:If you are home when the power goes out, put your food in the oven or on the stove to finish cooking. If you come home to a power outage, throw the food in the slow cooker away, even if it looks cooked to avoid the spread of a foodborne illness.
10. Store leftovers properly: Food cooked in a slow cooker should be refrigerated or reheated within two hours. If you put the slow cooker basin into the fridge, allow it to warm for a few minutes at room temperature before attempting to reheat the container.
Slow cookers are a great way to get a hot meal on the table even when you don't have time to spend hours in the kitchen. Just remember to follow a few safety rules and stay safe!
