Slow cookers and making meals ahead of time go hand in hand. What couldn’t be better than returning home from work to a house filled with mouthwatering smells coming from that little, but powerful kitchen appliance? If you are not yet a proud owner of a slow cooker, after reading these slow cooker benefits, you may want to make the small investment to reap the plentiful rewards!
- Convenience: This is probably the number one benefit for most people. Simply put all your ingredients in before you go to work in the morning and come home to a home cooked meal. To make your slow cooker meal even more convenient, you can prepare your meat and vegetables beforehand and freeze them, so you don’t even have to do any prep work, other than letting it defrost in your fridge before you place them in your slow cooker.
- Economical: Slow cookers use the same amount of power as a light bulb. Low wattage over a longer period of time costs less than high wattage for a short period of time. They are also ideal for less expensive cuts of meat, as the cooking process tenderizes the meat. The long slow cooking will breakdown the connective tissue of these types of meats without toughening the muscle. Not to mention softening fibrous vegetables.
- Flavourful: Long cooking times make for better distribution of flavours in recipes. All the ingredients in the one crock pot will share the same delicious flavour.
- Burn Proof: Low temperature of slow-cooking makes it almost impossible to burn food or even over cook. Liquids do not boil away, as they are all contained in the pot. Many models also have a timer or thermostats which bring food to a given temperature and then lower it.
- Frees up Oven and Stove Top Space: Perfect for holiday meals, when you run out of space. Simply cook veggies or your turkey dressing in the crock pot. If you are a bulk cooker, it also helps in getting certain meats cooked with little effort for recipes, while you are preparing other meals.
- Easy Clean Up: When cooking a meal all in one pot, there is only one pot to clean up and fewer dishes to wash!
What do you like best about your slow cooker?