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GUIDE TO ADAPTING RECIPES
This guide is designed to help you adapt recipes to the Crock-Pot
®
slow cooker — your
own favorites and prized recipes collected from friends, food companies, newspapers
and magazines. Our aim is to save preparation time with fewer steps and dishes…and
to keep cooking simple. In most cases, all ingredients can go into your slow cooker in
the beginning and can cook all day. Many preparatory steps are unnecessary when
using the Crock-Pot
®
slow cooker. A few hints:
• Allow sufficient cooking time.
• Cook with cover on.
• Do not add as much water as some recipes indicate.
• Remember — liquids don’t “boil away” as in conventional cooking. Usually you’ll
have more liquid at the end of cooking instead of less.
• It’s “one-step” cooking: many steps in recipes may be deleted. Add ingredients to
the stoneware at one time and cook 8 to 12 hours (add any liquid last).
• Vegetables do not overcook as they do when boiled in your oven or on your range.
Therefore, everything can go into the Crock-Pot
®
slow cooker at one time.
Q
“Must the Crock-Pot
®
slow cooker be covered? Is it necessary to stir?”
A
Cook with the cover on. The slow cooker will not recover heat losses quickly
when cooking on LOW setting. Significant amounts of heat escape whenever the
lid is removed; therefore the cooking time must be extended. Avoid frequent
removal of the cover for checking cooking progress or stirring. Never remove
cover during the first 2 hours when baking breads or cakes.
It is not necessary to stir while cooking on LOW heat. While using HIGH heat for
short periods, occasional stirring improves the distribution of flavors.
Q
“How about thickening the juices or making gravy?”
A
Add some quick-cooking tapioca to any recipe when you want to make a thick
gravy. Add the tapioca at the beginning and it will thicken as it cooks! Or you
may remove the solid foods, leaving the juices. Prepare a smooth paste of
approximately
1
⁄2 cup flour or cornstarch to
1
⁄2 cup water or 4 tablespoons melted
butter. Pour mixture into liquid in stoneware and stir well. Turn to HIGH and
when it comes to a boil (about 15 minutes) it’s ready.
Q
“Can I cook a roast without adding water?”
A
Yes – if cooked on LOW. We recommend a small amount because the gravies are
especially tasty. The more fat or “marbling” the meat has, the less liquid you
need. The liquid is needed to properly soften and cook vegetables.