I live in an area with hard water, and have these stains pretty often. I simply ignore them and keep cooking.
HELP, there is Water Trapped in The Handle of the Glass Lid of My CrockPot!
Ew. This happens if you don't have a tight seal on the handle of the glass lid and you run it through the dishwasher.
The best thing to do is to unscrew the lid, wipe out the water, and then hand-wash the lid from now on.
I'm sure you could hunt down a rubber gasket from a hardware store to make the seal tighter, but usually the glass lids don't get so dirty you can't just hand wash them.
Do you peek while slow cooking?
Yes. I am not the best at following rules, and I often taste, stir, and poke at my food while it's in the slow cooker near the end of cooking time (when I'm certain the food isn't raw anymore!!).
I've heard from reliable sources that you can lose up to 20 minutes of valuable cooking time each time you peek, but I have not noticed that to be the case.
Peeking and tasting makes me feel like I'm doing something, and it makes me happy.
I like being happy.
Do you Brown Your Meat, Onions, etc.
Sometimes. If I'm cooking for a party or I'm trying to impress (like on a Holiday), I do take the time to brown my meat and caramelize my onions and garlic.
Taking the time to brown the meat and aromatics provides a more pronounced flavor profile and a bit of color and texture.
But unless you are doing a side-by-side taste comparison most people simply can't tell the difference. So on a busy Wednesday when I'm just trying to throw dinner in the pot?
No. I do not bother to brown anything.
:-)
The Handle Fell off the Glass Lid and it's Broken and I Need a New One.
You can order new glass lid handles from the Crock-Pot main website.
You'll need to get the model number from the bottom of the heating element before seeing what type of knobs are available.
Or, you can go to a hardware store and get a single screw drawer-pull and use that instead for a new handle.
The Glass Lid is Broken.
You can order replacement glass lids from the Crock-Pot or Hamilton Beach website (again, have your model number ready), or you can use a few layers of foil as a lid.
Crimp the edges tightly, and cook your food the same way. Be super careful when removing the foil, the steam will be quite hot!
Which Slow Cooker do you Recommend?
I have all my recommended slow cookers and accessories listed on the Store page of the website.
Lead. I've heard that crockpots have lead! OH NO!!!!
I first heard about this last year in the middle of the slow cooker challenge. It seems to be a bit of an internet rumor, thankfully. I contacted Jarden (parent company of Crock-Pot) and heard that they routinely check for lead levels and that their reports haven't found anything.
this is the exact wording I got back:
Jarden Consumer Solutions (JCS) continues to proactively test its products for lead and other toxic metals, with the results continuing to come back favorably. Lead is not an additive in the Crock Pot® slow cooker ceramic glaze. JCS is diligent in its efforts to ensure that its products are compliant with applicable regulations regarding the presence of lead.
JCS tests for lead and other toxic metals on its products to ensure they are safe for consumers. In addition, we periodically use accredited third party lab testing to reveal that our slow cooker stoneware is far below the U.S. FDA and California Regulation Prop 65 requirements for extractable lead and cadmium in ceramic wares, thus supporting our results.
also, a bit ago a blogger decided to check this out for herself, and these are her results.
What Do I Do With the Temperature Probe My Slow Cooker Came With?
Throw it in a junk drawer. I don't use the temperature probe, and none of my recipes call for using one, because I try to keep them pretty simple.
If you are cooking a whole chicken or a fancyish piece of meat and would like the meat to turn off when it reaches a desired internal temp, use the probe.
The probe is not to be used as an instant-read meat thermometer, but as a tool to turn the pot to a "warm" setting once the desired temp is reached.
I Only Have a 6-quart. How Do I Make Recipes that Call for a 4-quart or 2-quart?
Slow Cookers work the best when they are pretty full---about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way full.
You can still use them if they aren't to this capacity, but your food will cook faster.
If you are making a smaller recipe in a 6-quart, you can load the ingredients in and shorten the cooking time, or you can insert an oven-safe dish and then load the food into that.
I recommend a Pyrex or Corningware-type dish, although a metal loaf pan or baking dish would work fine also.
It's okay if the food mounds over the top, or overflows.
This is also what I use to make creme brulee or cheesecake.
I hope this proves helpful to you! Have a wonderful day, and happy slow cooking!
steph