Slow Cooking
The electric slow cooker is one of the best time saving appliances in the kitchen. It is ideal for inexperienced cooks because all you have to do is, prepare the ingredients fill it and turn it on. Hours later, you come home to a house filled with wonderful aromas and a meal ready for the table.
Slow cooking offers many advantages; as it improves the flavour of the food and does not burn or boil over. The slow cooking time allows the flavours to develop and blend resulting in wonderful tasting, wholesome and nutritious food.
The electric slow cooker is versatile, excellent for making soups, stews and casseroles. It even allows you to cook fish and delicate fruit and vegetables which remain whole even after long periods of cooking. Whole chickens and joints of meat remain succulent, retaining their juices without shrinking. Its use as a water bath allows the preparation of pate, pudding and even sponges. Hot punches and Mulled wines can be served straight from the slow cooker, ideal for any winter festivities.
During the slow cooking process very little steam escapes which benefits the flavour of the food. This process also aids to tenderised cheap cuts of meat, such as shin of beef and neck of lamb, all which can be used to create great dishes. You do not need to brown meat before cooking it in a slow cooker, but there are advantages to searing meat first. If you coat meat with flour and seasonings and sear it with a little oil in a hot skillet for a few minutes, it can develop a more complex flavour and appealing colour than it will in the slow cooker alone.
Slow cooking is one of the few cooking methods that allow you to cut the cooking time by turning up the temperature and still get great results. The food will not burn in the slow cooker because it retains moisture so well, and because the heat is so evenly and gently distributed around the sides as well as the bottom of the pot. If something takes 10 hours on the “low” setting, you can safely cook it for 5 hours on the “high” setting with very similar results. Happy cooking.
Glyn Jones
[http://www.the-recipe-book.com]
Author: Glyn Jones
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Slow Cooking – Convenient, Healthy, Delicious and Economical
We live in a world of immediate responses and fast-foods, so the idea of slow cooking sounds old-fashioned and inconvenient. But, the reality is the art of slow cooking is gaining popularity because it actually saves time, is a healthy way to eat, provides absolutely delicious foods that take very little time to prepare and save on the expenses of heating up your range and your kitchen!
Convenient: When preparing meals in the oven or on the stove-top, you need to spend time preparing the food – perhaps browning or coating the meat, preparing multiple ingredients in multiple ways (boiling, searing, etc.). With slow cooking, simply put the ingredients in the slow cooker in the morning – including any spices you may wish to use – and the meal is ready when you come home. There is no need to keep turning the food, or watching the burner – crock pots are self-regulating. In today’s computer age, crock pots and slow cookers also come with programmable controls, for an even more precise cooking process-and when the food is done, the heat will be turned down. If traffic keeps you from getting home on time, the slow cooker will continue to keep your dinner freshly prepared.
Healthy: Also, unlike stove-top meals, the ingredients stay together during the cooking process and the healthy nutrients in your food stays in the slow cooker – rather than being released into the air as steam. By cooking meats slowly, the connective tissue is broken down, and the meat is much tenderer when it is completed. Whether you use lean meats or the more economical cuts, the meat will be tender and nutritious.
Delicious: The ingredients you use in the crock pot will blend together during the long cooking process and produce a taste sensation! Use the spices your family enjoys (only in a smaller amount) and the spices will combine with the other ingredients to enhance their flavor. If you like your vegetables crunchier and you are able, put them in later in the cooking process. I like to put carrots in for 2-3 hours before mealtime when I am able to – this produces delicious cooked carrots that are not mushy.
Economical: One hundred years ago or so, houses often had summer kitchens in order to prepare meals without heating up the entire house. Today, with air conditioning, you do not see separate buildings for kitchens, but in today’s economy, it is essential to find a way to save energy. By using a slow cooker, you do not have to turn on your oven or range and generate the heat required to cook foods in this way. You can also purchase the less expensive cuts of meat and know that by cooking them slowly, the chuck steak will be just as tender as that rib-eye! You don’t need to use as much of the expensive spices in your cupboard because the flavors blend together throughout the cooking process.
As we rush through our everyday world, slow cooking allows us to actually save some of that precious time and prepare for our families an economical and nutritious meal that is ready when you are! Now, you can spend the time you usually take to prepare meals at the end of the workday and do the things you want to do! Enjoy!
Lynda Viken is the co-owner of CounterTopChef.com, a business devoted to the convenience and joy of counter top cooking. Lynda has a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and is currently in the process of completing her MBA. She and her husband Brad have three teen-age children. You may learn more about the advantages of slow cooking and other counter top appliances by visiting her website at http://www.countertopchef.com
Author: Lynda Viken
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Slow Cooking Has Many Benefits
Getting dinner ready day after day can become a tiresome and repetitious task that you may very well become tired of doing after a long period of time. There may be days when you simply don’t want to deal with having to get something ready for your family because you’re too tired or you don’t have the time to devote to the task. In these cases, you may want to consider slow cooking something. There are many benefits to slow cooking including saving you time, locking in the flavor, and providing flexibility to your mealtime.
Slow cooking has many benefits for you and your family and one of the main benefits that we can all make use of is being able to save a little time by slow cooking your meal instead of preparing it another way which requires to devote all of your attention to that process. When you slow cook your meal, all you need to do is prepare the dish in the slow cooker and the let it cook on its own. You don’t need to constantly watch it, and you can come back to it when the required time needed for your dish to cook has expired. At that time it will be ready to serve and you won’t have to worry about cooking anything else to go with it. Your family will appreciate the quick meal, and you will appreciate the trouble saved by not having to babysit the meal while it was cooking.
Another benefit to slow cooking is that when you slow cook something, there is less liquid lost because of the sealed environment. Your food will be more moist and flavorful than if you were to cook it in a conventional oven or a microwave. The slow cooking process allows the moisture to be locked in so it does not evaporate. It simply collects inside the compartment where it is absorbed by the food being cooked. This means that your meats will be more juicy and tender.
Finally, when you slow cook your meal you don’t have to serve it immediately after it has finished. You can leave it sit and your family can help themselves to it when they have the time or when they are hungry enough to eat. This is a huge time saver for you because you now are not required to set the table or prepare side items for the meal. You can just sit back and relax and let your family enjoy the meal at their own pace. What could be better than that?
For information on the slow cooker cookbook and other great products, visit SlowCookerCookbookPlus.com.
Author: Matt LeClair
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Guest blogger
Harvesting Fresh Herbs: 5 Hints on Drying Herbs
From: Article2008.com
By : D. J. Bettencort
If you have a herb garden at home, you already know using using fresh herbs adds so much delicious flavor to your cooking.. What happens if you are fortunate enough to have a fresh herb garden which growns more herbs than you can use? It would be a shame to discard garden fresh herbs, so the best way to save their delicious flavor is to dry left over herbs.
This informative article will review five helpful hints about how to successfully dry herbs including suggestions on the best time for harvesting, and when, where and how long to dry your herbs.
Dry Freshly Harvested Herbs
To help sustain the magnificent qualities of your herbs, harvest immediately before you prepare to dry them. The preferred time to pick and dry herbs is when they are fully mature and have just begun to flower. Before drying, make sure to remove any damaged leaves or stem.
Ways to Dry Herbs at Similar Rate
To be certain that the herbs are all drying at about the same rate, collect them in groups which are about the same size. For drying, bunch about 8 – 10 stems together and tie securely with string.
Hang Herbs Upsidedown To Dry
Once you have grouped your herbs together, you will need to hang them upside down to dry. Do not cram herb bunches tightly together. Leave room for air to flow around the herbs.
Dry Herbs in a Dry, Dark Place
The preferred place to dry herbs is in a dark, dry spot. If necessary, guard herbs from wind by covering with a paper bag. The ideal temperature for drying herbs is 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
Herbs Need 5 Days to Dry
Herbs will usually dry in five days, although in cooler weather, the process can take up to two weeks. When herbs feel papery to the touch, they are dry and all set for storage. Take away leaves from stems, and store herbs in an airtight bag away from sunlight.
It is best to store herbs as leaves, but crush right before using. Crushing will help the herbs to release their full properties. Just picked herbs are delicious, home grown, dried herbs are equally as wonderful and a easy way to have tasty herbs at your fingertips ready for your next meal.
Hopefully the information provided to you in this article will imbue you with a multifaceted comprehension of the complete picture. Depth of knowledge in even mundane, everyday topics such as the one at hand, is an important component of achieving an understanding of the myriad of mysteries of our surrounding world. Once one has acquired a comprehensive understanding, then one is poised to act in a manner that facilitates maximum realization of the easy, joy-filled life we all seek. With that stated, please enjoy.
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What should I look for when purchasing an herb mill?
If you have been cooking with fresh herbs and spices, chances are you’re annoyed with the process of finely chopping herbs for your dishes. Dried herbs and spices do not present this problem because they already come finely minced or chopped.
However, when you are turning out large batches of food for a special occasion, the task of mincing becomes almost overwhelming. Using a sharp knife, and a cutting board is a common way to get your herbs to the texture that you would like to have them. But you might consider purchasing an herb mill if you are not accomplished at chopping, have trouble holding knives or do not have good, sharp ones at hand in your kitchen.
A herb mill is a machine that does the job of mincing and chopping without the monotony of manual labor. If you know how a grinder works, you will understand the concept behind the herb mill. With the ingredients poured into the receptacle above, all you need to do is turn the handle on the herb mill. The handle moves the blades within and pushes the herbs and spices through. Once the ingredients are completed, they drop into a receiving area below.
These machines can also be referred to as an herb grinder, spice mill, or even an electric herb mill. You don’t even need to crank the handle on the electric mill because it is push button remote and similar in that regard to a blender.
These products can be found in many home stores, and are manufactured by many different companies. Prices will vary among the many different brands available for you to choose from.
When considering a herb mill there are a few things to appraise. First ask, how often will this be used? When you are comparing the different models and various prices, factor in how often you will use the appliance. If you do not plan to use it often, then a cheaper model that uses manpower to grind with the handle may be acceptable.
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