We live in a busy world. Work, school lessons and homework can take the whole day leaving you with little or no time to cook. Anything that can help out with cooking without needing constant attention will be a lifesaver.
For busy people like me, a slow cooker can make a world of difference. To have dinner ready when we get home is always something I and the kids look forward to. And we have our slow cooker to thank for that.
It’s true that slow cookers have become an indispensable part of our lives, but we should not neglect another important factor, which is taking extra care with the food we cook in the slow cooker.
To help with, we shall be looking at some slow cooker food safety tips to ensure that you are eating healthy.
Food Safety Tips To Observe When Using a Slow Cooker
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) listed 4 important safety measures we should put in place when cooking our foods in a slow cooker. Let’s check them out with 5 more extra tips!
Observe Cleanliness
Before using your slow cooker, everything should be clean. All your food ingredients must be properly washed. Also, the work area, the slow cooker as well as other utensils you might need should be clean.
Leave Perishables in the Refrigerator
Perishable foods when left at room temperature can easily catch bacteria. Therefore, they advise that you leave all perishable foods in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook it in the slow cooker. If making use of vegetables, put them in first before placing your meat or poultry on top.
Defrost Meat and Poultry
If you are making use of frozen meat or poultry, you should thaw or defrost it first before putting it in the slow cooker. Putting it in the slow cooker without thawing will encourage more bacteria to grow and could lead to food poisoning. Aside from that, defrosted meat and poultry cooks better and evenly in the slow cooker.
Cut Down Meat Sizes
When it comes to meat, it’s advisable that you cut it into smaller pieces so that it cooks through and achieves a safe internal temperature. You can also make use of chicken parts as against whole chicken for even cooking. And yes, you can cook big chunks of meat or whole chicken in a slow cooker, but always check the internal temperature to make sure it is evenly cooked.
Add the Right Quantity of Water
You must always add enough water to your food in a slow cooker if you don’t want it to dry up and burn while cooking. Most recipes specify the quantity of water that should be added. However, your slow cooker must be filled with water up to half or two-third of the pot when cooking. This will ensure it cooks properly without spilling over.
Don’t Overstuff Your Pot
It can be tempting to stuff your slow cooker with more food items than it can take. No matter how tempting, don’t do it! This can lead to the content spilling over. Stick to the rule of filling or stuffing your pot to not more than half or two-third full.
Use the Right Temperature
It’s possible to cook your meal on low heat all through using the slow cooker. However, it’s advisable that you cook on high heat for the first one to two hours before reducing the heat, especially when you are home.
This will ensure that your slow cooker achieves a bacteria-killing temperature to kill any bacteria in the food before slowing down to cook evenly. But if you will be out all day, you can go ahead and cook your food on low heat all through.
Don’t Open the Lid before Time
Your slow cooker needs to retain a certain stable temperature to be able to cook evenly. Removing the lid to check your food before it’s done can allow some steam to evaporate. And this means that you have to increase the cooking time.
You should only remove the lid when it has reached the cooking time to check for doneness. Also, you should make use of a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of the food to avoid eating food that is not properly cooked on the inside.
Store Leftovers in the Refrigerator
Once you are done cooking in the slow cooker, ensure that you package and store leftovers in the refrigerator within two hours. You don’t want to leave your food in the slow cooker for too long after it’s done cooking.
Some slow cookers are detachable. That is, the inside can be removed and stored in the refrigerator. But if yours isn’t refrigerator-safe, then store the food in a shallow container and store it in the fridge.
Frequently Asked Questions
You may have some questions regarding cooking your food in a slow cooker. Here’s hoping that the following questions and answers help out:
What foods should never be cooked in a slow cooker?
To ensure food safety, there are some foods you should never make in your slow cooker and they include ice cream, bread, cookies, salad and coleslaw. You can make use of an air fryer to bake your bread and cookies if you don’t want to use a conventional oven.
Apart from soups and stews, what else can be cooked in a slow cooker?
There are different things you can cook in your slow cooker. Some of them include pot roast, glazed pork tenderloin, pulled pork, for turning chicken thighs and skinless turkeys into shredded meat, steamed puddings, as well as many vegetables.
A slow cooker or stovetop, which is safer to make my food?
You can safely use both to make your food. But having a slow cooker makes it much easier to make most of your meals. Both stovetops and slow cookers attain the required hotness needed to kill bacteria in food and cook food properly.
Conclusion
A healthy food can easily turn into an unhealthy one in a matter of minutes. Since food is very important to us as humans, taking care to observe all safety measures when cooking it is equally important.
The food safety tips we listed in this article is not just for slow cookers but can be used for stovetops as well.
And if you follow the steps listed above, you will always end up with meals that are not just delicious but safe for you.