Slow Cook Settings

[Ghodur]

My Rival crockpot has 4 settings: 4 hours, 6 hours, 8 hours and 10 hours. The 4 and 6 hour settings are labeled High and the 8 and 10 hour settings are labeled Low. If my recipe says "cook on low for 4 hours," should I put it on the 4 hour setting or just put it on the 8 hour setting and give it 4 hours there?

 

[pacanis]

Is it just me, or do others also wish these appliances would do away with their low/med/hi settings?

If it was me, and I read that recipe, I would barely turn the knob above off and leave the dish cook for 4 hours. It sounds like the recipe wants low heat and a specific amount of time.

 

[Hoot]

Is it just me, or do others also wish these appliances would do away with their low/med/hi settings?

If it was me, and I read that recipe, I would barely turn the knob above off and leave the dish cook for 4 hours. It sounds like the recipe wants low heat and a specific amount of time.

I agree....
On a side note, Mrs Hoot niece wanted today to know how long to cook a $15.00 roast in the crock pot. I asked if that included tax.

 

[pacanis]

I agree....
On a side note, Mrs Hoot niece wanted today to know how long to cook a $15.00 roast in the crock pot. I asked if that included tax.

That's too funny. Everyone knows tax is cooked in the resting process.

 

[Ghodur]

I finally just let it cook 4 hours on the 8 hour setting and that worked fine. I agree re: the canned settings. Slow cookers need to be able to set the time, the temp, and the desired keep warm in any combination.

 

[SherryDAmore]

I finally just let it cook 4 hours on the 8 hour setting and that worked fine. I agree re: the canned settings. Slow cookers need to be able to set the time, the temp, and the desired keep warm in any combination.

I have the Hamilton Beach with the probe, and it allows you to cook to temperature on high or low.

 

[Addie]

I have finally decided to get a slow cooker. Maybe I will eat more healthy foods if I don't have to stand over the stove. It is just too hard on my hips. So after reading the reviews on the Rival Crock Pot, I decided to go with this one. I have no idea what I am supposed to do with the little one or how to use it. But I will find out when it arrives.

This is the one I decided on. I finally decided against getting a bread maker. I don't even like bread. I just like to make it.

Amazon.com: Hamilton Beach 33258 Slow Cooker, 5-Quart: Crock Pot: Kitchen & Dining

 

[RPCookin]

Is it just me, or do others also wish these appliances would do away with their low/med/hi settings?

If it was me, and I read that recipe, I would barely turn the knob above off and leave the dish cook for 4 hours. It sounds like the recipe wants low heat and a specific amount of time.

Actually, I like our old fashioned Rival that just has low and high - no ambiguity. No timer, nothing fancy, and I usually choose the setting by how much time I have if the recipe isn't clear.

To be honest, I don't use the Crock Pot as much as I did when I was working, because now I plan that type of meal for days when I have the time to do it in a Dutch oven, either on top of the stove or in the oven. I like the added control I get that way and I have both a standard size round one and a larger oval (don't remember the capacity of each), so I have that added flexibility too. My wife doesn't like the big one because it gets pretty heavy when we're doing something like braised short ribs for 6 or 8 people. Those are officially my days to cook.

 

[RPCookin]

I have finally decided to get a slow cooker. Maybe I will eat more healthy foods if I don't have to stand over the stove. It is just too hard on my hips. So after reading the reviews on the Rival Crock Pot, I decided to go with this one. I have no idea what I am supposed to do with the little one or how to use it. But I will find out when it arrives.

This is the one I decided on. I finally decided against getting a bread maker. I don't even like bread. I just like to make it.

Amazon.com: Hamilton Beach 33258 Slow Cooker, 5-Quart: Crock Pot: Kitchen & Dining

Like the write up says, the little one is for warm cheese or artichoke dips and the like. I see them a lot at pot luck gatherings where someone brings a dish like tortilla chips with a nacho cheese dip.

 

[Addie]

Like the write up says, the little one is for warm cheese or artichoke dips and the like. I see them a lot at pot luck gatherings where someone brings a dish like tortilla chips with a nacho cheese dip.

Thanks. I don't think I will be going to any party, so it may just gather dust.

When I read the reviews of the Rival Crock Pot, one of the reviewers stated that she read an article that stated a laboratory found that their crock pots are made from clay that has lead in it. She immediately tossed her crock pot out. I have the feeling it was made in China. But it was enough for me to pass on it. I know that there are several layers of glaze over the pots, but If you scratch the inside, can it be enough to allow some of the lead to leech out?

 

[RPCookin]

Addie - I googled it and got several hits. Some were indeterminate, but this one seemed a bit more certain that most don't seem to have any such issues. Read this excerpt, then decide for yourself.

Determined to get a true and accurate test of the risk of lead leaching into food, I found an inexpensive used Rival crock pot and planned to take a sample from it and have WeeCycle send it to the lab for a leach test (for obvious reasons, I didn’t want to take a chip out of my fairly new crock pot!). I ended up with quite a selection of crock pots, covering four of the five major brands (I couldn’t find anyone with a Cuisinart crock pot for some reason!) in several colors, since each color could have a slightly different chemical make-up. I think the wonderful ladies at WeeCycle were a bit surprised when I schlepped them all down to their office this morning to do the XRF test.

The results absolutely caught me off guard. Not one of the crock pots we tested had any lead in it at all. We tested each crock pot twice and threw a couple of red herrings (a dish made in China and some tiles from Italy that the WeeCycle staff keep in the office because they know they have lead in them) just to make sure that the XRF was working correctly.

Obviously, I did not test every crock pot on the market, nor can testing half a dozen crock pots on a single day account for things like a bad (read “lead-laden”) batch of glaze or a new color that uses slightly different chemicals. Some of the manufacturers themselves certainly seem to be leaving the door open for using lead in the glaze if they need to. But we tested the following crocks this morning and, again, they showed ZERO lead:

West Bend – black
Rival – black
Rival – dark green
Rival – beige
Rival – white
Hamilton Beach – white
Crock pot – black

Being a natural skeptic, I have to admit this was not what I was expecting to discover. I didn’t even get to smash the stylin’ $5 beige Rival crock pot I bought just for that purpose because there’s no point in doing a leach test on a crock that contains no lead to begin with. My frustration that the FDA has a standard (or many, actually) that I do not believe is actually safe, and that manufacturers do not arm their telephone representatives with accurate, detailed information to answer consumer questions about safety aside, I feel a fair level of comfort with the results of this test, and with continuing to use my crock pot to cook things that I might otherwise have bought in BPA-laden cans. Woot.

- See more at: The skinny on lead in crock pots – It may surprise you! » Terminal Verbosity

 

[Mad Cook]

I have finally decided to get a slow cooker. Maybe I will eat more healthy foods if I don't have to stand over the stove. It is just too hard on my hips. So after reading the reviews on the Rival Crock Pot, I decided to go with this one. I have no idea what I am supposed to do with the little one or how to use it. But I will find out when it arrives.

This is the one I decided on. I finally decided against getting a bread maker. I don't even like bread. I just like to make it.

Amazon.com: Hamilton Beach 33258 Slow Cooker, 5-Quart: Crock Pot: Kitchen & Dining

I love my slow cookers. I'm sure you will find a use for the little pot even if only as a Christmas present for someone

Wise move re the breadmaker. Mine was a good make but it was a work of the devil. It was more trouble than making bread by hand because the bread went soggy if I didn't whip it out as soon as it was done so I couldn't go out while it was worlkingand if I wasn't neurotically accurate with my measuring or I used a flour it didn't like it produced horrible bread. Breadmaking by hand is such a pleasure and it fits around your lifestyle.

 

[Mad Cook]

Thanks. I don't think I will be going to any party, so it may just gather dust.

When I read the reviews of the Rival Crock Pot, one of the reviewers stated that she read an article that stated a laboratory found that their crock pots are made from clay that has lead in it. She immediately tossed her crock pot out. I have the feeling it was made in China. But it was enough for me to pass on it. I know that there are several layers of glaze over the pots, but If you scratch the inside, can it be enough to allow some of the lead to leech out?

I've come across this before in connection with terracotta cookware but it seems to be something of a red herring. I think the glaze in the crockpot would be too thick to scratch and if it did or it got chipped you be in more danger of contracting food poisoning - remember how our mothers made us throw away chipped cups (well, mine did anyway).

In any case, isn't it illegal to sell ceramic cookware and table ware that contains lead?

The following comes from the "Cookware Manufacturers Association Standards Manual" and discusses both US and EU regulations. (You're in Massachusetts, aren't you, Addie)

"Massachusetts 105 CMR 460.200 Lead Poisoning and Control. This regulation makes illegal the acts of applying any lead-based paint, glaze or other substance to any toy, furniture, cooking, drinking or eating utensil and the sale, intent to sell, delivery or give away of items to which a lead based paint, glaze or other substance as been applied. “Lead based” means that when tested by ASTM Standard Method C 738, the results are greater than 2 ppm lead."

"7.5.1.4a LEACHABILITY OF LEAD AND CADMIUM FOR GLAZED CERAMIC SURFACES

FDA has established maximum levels for leachable lead in ceramicware, and pieces that exceed these levels are subject to recall or other agency enforcement action. The Division of Compliance Programs of the Food and Drug Administration interprets the regulations for food additives, which covers the leachability of lead and cadmium for glazed ceramic surfaces, by use of the Standard Method of Test, ASTM-C738-72 . Limits of lead range from 0.5 ppm for mugs to 3 ppm for plates and flatware. See 21 CFR 109.16 for further guidance regarding cadmium and lead in ceramics."