If you frequently make dishes that require browning foods as as step, you might want to find a model with a function called "brown," "sauté" or "manual." Is the appliance's sole function to slow cook, or can you steam, air fry, pressure cook or sous vide as well? We also recommend those with an automatic “keep warm” setting that usually holds your cooked food at 165☏, which is above the food-safe temperature of 145☏ but won't overcook the food. ✔️ Functions: One major factor is whether you can sauté foods right in the slow cooker. Is it too tall to fit under your cabinets? Will it hog an entire shelf if you store it out of sight? ✔️ Footprint: Consider how much space this appliance will require. A newer trend is inserts that allow you to divide the main crock into smaller zones so you can cook more than one food at the same time. Slow cooker pots can range from as small as 1½ quarts to as large as 10 quarts, so you can find the size that suits your household. ✔️ Capacity: The main thing to consider is the size of the crock or pot. Pressure cooker models that have slow cook features did well, too, but with slightly lower scores. What we found was interesting: Traditional slow cookers performed well and were consistent. We assessed the “keep warm” function, the tenderness of the meat and the flavor development of dishes. We also evaluated each slow cooker’s design, safety features and ease of use without the help of an instruction manual. We do this by coating the pot with shortening and a thin layer of flour and then heating the slow cooker until the flour browns the level of browning is then evaluated against a standardized chart. We tested each cooker's heat distribution ability to see if there were hot spots (when parts of food cook faster than others). We put thermocouples in the cooking liquid as well. We inserted thermocouples (sensors that measure temperature) into the breasts and thighs of whole chickens so they could transmit data to temperature-tracking software on a laptop. We assessed temperature control and consistency during cooking by measuring the temperature of the food and liquid throughout the cooking process. We made more than 100 servings of stew and cooked up more than 30 whole chickens. During our side-by-side analysis, our culinary experts tested slow cookers by making beef stew and chicken soup.
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