In the age of fast food and instant gratification, why should we try a slow cooker?
Beth Hensperger: Grills and microwaves are fine, but there are things they don’t do well. With a slow cooker you can have soups, stews and braises–the kind of hearty traditional meals that feed your body and warm your heart. But isn’t the slow cooker, well, slow? Who has that kind of time these days? The actual cooking is slow–as much as 7 to 9 hours–but your part is done early in the day. When you leave the house in the morning, dinner is in the pot, cooking. Eight hours later you come home to a hearty meal. How exactly does this work? A slow cooker is a stoneware crock that’s set inside a metal casing. The heating element in the casing warms the pot to a temperature between 200°F and 300°F. When the lid is in place, it creates a closed environment that draws moisture out of the contents and cooks the food. Is it a healthy way to eat? Absolutely, because you cook in liquid instead of sautéing in fat. The slow cooker also makes excellent stocks, broths and soups, which are good staples
