Spitler Sue - Classic 1000 Slow Cooker Recipes

The first slow cookers appeared on the market in the early 70s and their popularity has never stopped growing. The original slow cooker was called a crock pot, because of the ceramic casserole inside the cooker, and the name crock pot is now often used generically. Today, the numbers of slow-cooker enthusiasts are growing, as they learn from their friends how useful a slow cooker can be. From students to business people, slow-cooker users cant praise enough the joy of being able to get a meal together with the minimal amount of preparation and then to come home after a busy day to a hot meal thats ready to eat. These days, too, as people aim to save on fuel for cooking for economic as well as environmental reasons the slow cooker has earned its place in the modern kitchen.

Because on average it saves about 80 per cent of the energy of normal cooking, you couldnt ask for a better way to produce a nourishing and healthy hot meal thats eco-friendly. The attraction goes further than this. Cheaper cuts of meat that need longer cooking are transformed into meltingly tender and flavourful meals. Food keeps moist, and the flavours and nutrients are trapped in, because the gentle heat creates less evaporation, and as the steam condenses on the lid it drips back into the casserole taking the flavours with it. The flavours of soups, casseroles and stocks blend and meld beautifully, meats cook to be rich and tender with little shrinkage, and because food is not turned during cooking, it doesnt break up, so softer ingredients such as fish and fruit cook perfectly and remain whole. With the steam sealed in, you will also notice that there is less in the kitchen than when you cook with a conventional cooker.

Because slow cookers have at least two settings, you can choose to cook on Low so your dish cooks all day while you are out at work or on High taking half the time. The perfect option for our busy lifestyles. Another advantage is being able to keep your meal warm once cooked. Todays busy families often need to eat at different times. The Low setting means that food will keep warm for several hours without spoiling so that everyone can enjoy a freshly cooked meal even if they eat it later than the rest of the family. All in all, the slow-cooker experience is one that is appealing to more and more people.

This book contains a selection of the tastiest and quickest dishes to appeal to veteran slow-cooker users and those who have just discovered this wonderful piece of kitchen equipment.
We hope you will enjoy them.