the philosophical joys of a slow cooker
This week I buy a crock pot
I’ve just finished reading Carl Honore’s cult read In Praise of Slow. It’s been out a while – the best seller (it’s also one of Arianna Huffington’s favourite reads) that was largely responsible for bringing the fashionable Slow Food movement to the time-poor masses, was published in 2004. But that’s OK. As Slow proponents say, everything in the fullness of time.
Slow Food, which began in Italy in 1986, is an aesthetic exercise in taking your languid time to truly indulge in the mastication process. It’s about long lunches in Tuscan courtyards with an old guy at the head of the table wearing a Dolmio-ish grin, eating truffles that were foraged that morning and rabbit stews that’ve bubbled on the stove for days, and imbibing wine that’s been foot-crushed by the neighbour’s elfin children. It’s quaint and rich and mindful and everything eating should be about.
I have to admit, I had this picture in mind when I found myself picking up a crock pot, or slow cooker, at Kmart recently for $35. I’m generally highly skeptical of kitchen appliances that cost $35 at Kmart. They wind up in corner cupboards, impossible to get at, never to be used again. But I’ve been surprised. Mine has been a fixture on my kitchen bench for three weeks, pumping out osso buccos and chilli con carnes at a fiercely slow rate.
Also surprising is that slow cookers are actually far from being a fashionable exercise in slow eating. They’re more a highly perfunctory, no bullshit operation in getting food onto plates. Our mothers and grandmothers had slow cookers, slightly cumbersome crockery cooking vessels that sit inside an electrically heated shell that heats food at a low temperature – about 77-90 C – over the course of the day. The idea is that you dump in the ingredients in the morning, press start and come home to a done dinner.
I guess there’s a certain fashionably recessional chic and nostalgic flavour to them. A few of my trend-forward friends have taken to picking them up at op-shops and a number of culinary brands have come out with crock pot insta- sachets. Slow cookers are also perfect for stews using old-school, cheap cuts of meat – shanks, chuck and blade – which have had a resurgence of late.
But the coolness stops there.
These things are unfathomably daggy. There’s no finesse involved; you literally dump all the hacked up ingredients in at once – no julienning of heirloom carrots, no sweating of wild mushrooms. Most recipes call for liberal dashes of Worcestershire sauce, fruit chutney and… white pepper (who knew they still made the stuff)! Not for retro effect, but because they’re the best way to up the flavours in long haul stewing. As I told my Dad over the phone: “It’s Dad-let-loose-in-the-pantry cooking!”
Plus, as the various slow cooker websites extol – and this pretty much sums things up – they’re perfect for potluck dinners. Hoorah! Simply pick up the crock and tote across town; the food stays warm in transit. Don’t forget the Chablis!
I contemplated getting a pressure cooker instead, which has also developed a fresh parochial following of late. ABC news presenter Jaunita Phillips published the book A Pressure Cooker Saved My Life last year following her love affair with hers. They’re similar in concept, almost as retrospectively daggy (I particularly like the fact they have what’s called a “jiggly valve”), but are fast instead of slow. I guess philosophically I’m more attracted to the slow cooker. Doing anything slowly just seems nicer these days than cranking up pressure. We have enough of that. Slow cookers are also incredibly energy efficient. Plus, cooking stewing meats at lower temperatures is best. Top chefs like Heston Blumenthal are proponents. Long ‘n’ slow preserves the enzymes in the meat and softens the connective tissue.
But you know the most wonderful thing about this week’s slow cooker experiment? The “dinner done” factor. There’s just something so satisfying about having a comforting evening meal sorted by 8am in the morning. You actually can’t fiddle with it (removing the lid disrupts the process). You just have to let it be and get on with things. It’s a truly fuss-free, no-frills way of getting stuff done.
Sometimes I think we need more of this than we do sweated wild mushrooms.
Are you a slow cooker? What are some things you do with yours?
And just as a question I’m contemplating in my book…slow…does it work? Does it appeal to you? Do you try to go slower in the face of the cult of speed?
I love my slow cooker! Just yesterday I made a fantastic beef Osso Bucco. The only problem I have is finding good recipes that aren’t loaded with sugar. Any suggestions for good books/sites?
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April 25th, 2011 at 9:30 pm
There’s an excellent site (http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/) that has really good/easy recipes.
Also, Anupy Singla has an interesting book, samples of her recipes can be found somewhere in) here: http://www.indianasapplepie.com/
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April 29th, 2011 at 11:56 am
Kate the flavours I use in my slow cooker are paprika, garlic, onion powder, salt and pepper – and sometimes fresh rosemary. If I have homemade stock handy, I’ll chuck that in too. No sugar needed!
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Yes, Sarah could you perhaps throw up some slow cooker recipes maybe on your Tuesday Eats day?
(Being a bloke I have no clue about what to put in – I just love the concept of throwing stuff in, hitting a switch, then walking away).
I have a rice cooker which I love – same concept – throw rice into the cooker, add water, flick a switch, come back 20 mins later to perfect rice every time! Prior to this cooking rice was a chore – stir, stir, stir & too much saucepan watching for me.
It was a cheap Sunbeam buy at The Good Guys. I’m a post-skeptic big appliance liker now too. The next item I want is that Breville Automatic Tea Maker & Kettle for my chinese teas – slow brewing!!
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April 24th, 2011 at 7:58 pm
Paul just to give u an idea which perhaps u already know, anyway rice cookers are the best for quinoa. 1 cup quinoa and two cups of water with a teaspoon of stock powder and that’s it or u can chuck in some chicken to cook in with the quinoa . I also add lentils it is delicious and healthy.
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April 25th, 2011 at 12:43 pm
Ooh, thanks Mel, I will try that. Didn’t know any of that already!
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April 25th, 2011 at 10:29 pm
See Alanna’s comment below Paul!
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April 26th, 2011 at 12:46 am
Thanks Sarah.
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I found the blog, A Year of Slow Cooking, about two years ago and searched through the archives for good slow cooker recipes: crockpot365.blogspot.com
The author, Stephanie O’Dea, has so many recipes from appetizers to desserts. Cooking with a slow cooker is so easy that my BF will do it unsupervised.
I use my slow cooker to make beans, broths/stocks, and long-cooking grains, along with soups and stews.
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April 25th, 2011 at 10:29 pm
thx Alanna. Nice tip…the blog’s great for anyone after recipes!
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I have a slow-cooker, a little one I my mother bought me in college. I don’t use it a lot (as a vegetarian, the cooking-unsavory-cuts-of-meat doesn’t really appeal), but I love it when I do.
It’s funny you mention the Italian dinner – I use my slow-cooker most often for an Italian white bean stew recipe – throw soaked white beans, white wine, olive oil, rosemary, crushed garlic, and water in a crock pot when you wake up, and by dinner you have the creamiest, most delicious beans you’ve ever known. The original recipe calls for putting all of this in a chianti bottle and burying it in the ashes of your fire the night before, but the slow-cooker is an excellent replacement.
So I do recommend it for beans (which, I’ve heard, are better if you cook them slowly anyway), and overnight porridge(/oatmeal/rice pudding).
p.s. You were part of the inspiration for my giving up sugar this spring, and I have to say, it’s one of the best things I’ve done for myself in a long time. Thank you!
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April 30th, 2011 at 11:13 pm
I am also vegetarian, so altho I have long been attracted by the idea of a slow cooker, wasn’t convinced I could get much use out of one. Then enticed again by this post, I googled “vegetarian slow cooker” and lo – heaps of sites and recipes, including a blog dedicated to vegetarian slow cooker meals! Bought my slow cooker today and can’t wait to use it.
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I bought my slow cooker a couple of years ago after being seriously impressed with my single uncle-in-law’s dinners when we visited him for a week. His specialty was corned beef.
Yep, that old fashioned dish my mum used to served with grey, soggy cabbage and boiled potatoes.
It is FANTASTIC in the slow cooker, and bugger doing a white sauce from scratch – I buy the packet mix and it’s ready to go when I dish up.
Best of all, corned beef sandwiches are delish!
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After a ‘supposedly’ relaxing lunch with the family, I’d like to put throw them all into a slow cooker and let them simmer for 8 hrs!
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“It’s Dad-let-loose-in-the-pantry cooking!”
so funny! I can identify…the last time my dad cooked he burnt the sausages and stunk the whole house out, so much that it turned me vegetarian for about 6 months!
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Sarah…love to try your chili con carne recipe…
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ha, you have kmart in there? It seems like such an American store, (and i’m not saying that in a proud way), funny to think of it down under.
Regarding your question at the end of the post. Yes, slow works for me! This is just something i’m learning more each day. I’ve really put it into practice over the past few weeks and love it. I find that when i push myself when i’m having a tired day, (i’m recovering from an long-term illness), i have the hardest time and get depressed. Lately i’ve just chosen to rest during those times- absolute rest, no trying to force things to happen. It’s amazing because usually the day following i make up for all i wanted to get done and even more and i’m so much more happy and clear minded about doing it after i’ve allowed myself to slow down and rest when need be. Most importantly I don’t get depressed and I feel this helps really helps recovery in the grand scheme of things!
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I recently bought a slow-cooker… Admittedly, its primary purpose is to facilitate my chef boyfriend being able to cook dinner for me despite the fact that he works when I eat. Perfect solution! (It is not exactly laziness that precludes me from cooking my own dinner, but rather admitting defeat… I have talents and passions, but cooking is not one of them.)
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I love my slow-cooker. I make stocks, stews, casseroles and curries. It and my rice-cooker are my favourite appliances!
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I’m just wondering, since i’m about to start tomorrow, how’s it going with your quit sugar plan? have you stopped having cravings and such? i’m curiuos!
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April 25th, 2011 at 10:28 pm
yep, my cravings went after about a week! But follow my blog posts on it…I explain the process that worked for me.
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I tend to borrow my mom’s slow cooker quite a bit…I do like to use it more in winter, but I love it for making stocks…I do the first part of making a stock over the stove, because you need to boil your bones with vinegar for about 20 minutes and get rid of all the scum that starts to float up, but after that’s done I transfer it to a slow cooker, add veg and just let it do its thing and I just add some water every few hours…
Feels safer then leaving something on the stove overnight…
Love, Jules
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Slow… yes, it works wonderfully for me, but only when I’m not trying to be. The moment I enter my favorite tea shop, for example, time stops without my intervention, and I’m completely relaxed. Easter brunch yesterday with family was marvelously slow and lingering, and it was lovely. But when I try too hard to push against the grain of life and MAKE fast things go slowly, I get anxious and frustrated. And when I grapple with life itself, trying to sow it down… that’s a no-win situation.
Slow has to be unconscious, natural, and fluid to truly work for me.
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P.S. your posts make me think so deeply that all of the comments I’ve ever left here could probably be a thesis.
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Glad the book finally found its way to you – and struck a chord.
Couldn’t agree more: slow cooking rocks!
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We have started the slow food (or at least slow eating movement) at our house. I have found that a really good way for our family to come together at the end of the day is to prepare a platter of tasty morsels… maybe some little chicken meatballs, a great cheese, sourdough bread, garlic oil, apple chutney, cherry tomatoes and basil. Shopping at the local Farmer’s Market is a must and we have relied on our veggie garden all summer. It takes no time at all to prepare this type of meal but it is a taste sensation.
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slow food is the new go food. the complex simplicity of slow cooking is the perfect panacea for our fast paced society that promises much but fails to deliver as much soulfood as my crock pot does – it’s the dalai lama of the kitchen, patience is a virtue that provides
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I made a curry in mine over the weekend and it was fab! Tasted just like a proper curry should with the paste made from scratch and slow cooked beef.
If I remember to put it all together in the morning, I love using the slow cooker. There’s plenty of books out there with recipes or you can do as my mum does – chuck everything in and hope for the best. Luckily, hers always come out great.
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Going through a particularly sad break-up at the moment. So I just went to the Good Guys and bought an electric blanket and a slow cooker. As someone who is usually a rebellious anti-consumer these were both tough purchases but sometimes creature comforts are, well, comforting.
There is something about coming home to a house filled with yummy dinner smells that always makes me smile! There is a certain glee in simplicity. My housemates also loves that his dinners are readymade and nearly fat free, too.
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