What can be cooked in a slow cooker

For many, the multicooker is the “magic pot” that is prepared at the behest of the owner. Indeed, quite simple commands and setting settings to get a tasty result as a result. But is this device really that unique? Are there any restrictions on what can be done in your multicooker, or not? In this and to understand.

Talented unit

The creators of the apparatus tried to do everything so that the device was represented by a sufficient number of modes, each of which will provide an opportunity to prepare a dish of a certain type. And it’s up to developers to add a lot of additional features. Finally, users check whether it is possible to recreate dishes from the stove or oven in their multicooker and to conduct their ownexperiments.

Each multicooker comes with a recipe book. Some models have more than a hundred of them. You can focus on this Talmud, and even better - to diversify your horizons with tasty tips from various thematic sites and forums.

One thing is clear - this unit does everything to be as useful as possible thanks to:

• its versatility (the ability to stew, steam, fry, bake);
• the ability to preserve useful properties, vitamins and minerals in foods;
• reliability of use (the food will not burn and will not run out, and upon completion of cooking it will simply turn into heating);
• saving time and products;
• mobility and compactness.

All these and other points are confirmed by the practical talents of the device.

How to cook eggs in a slow cooker

Let's start with breakfast (although boiled eggs can be both a separate dish and a constituent element of other food delights). Traditionally, it was suggested to cook on the stove, but the creators of the unit offer as many as three ways to do it.

1. Boil eggs can be with water: it is necessary to lay them down on the bottom of the tank and cover with a sufficient amount of liquid (so that it covers the product).It remains to choose the “Steaming” command and build the time settings manually (a soft run will turn out in 4-5 minutes, 7–9 minutes will be enough for a “bag”, and it will take 10-12 minutes to boil the way).
2. In the slow cooker is included basket double boiler. Eggs can be put into it, and under the bottom, in the bowl, pour two multi-cups of water. 15-20 minutes of the same “Steaming” mode is enough to make a beautiful hard-boiled egg, in which the yolk will be perfectly separated from the protein. For the recipe "in the bag" time is reduced to 8-10 minutes, and for "soft boiling" to 5-7 minutes.
   

3. To cook poached eggs, you will need to pour the contents into silicone moldpre-lubricated with sunflower oil. Pour hot water into the bowl itself, put the molds and turn on the three-minute “Steaming”. As a result, the protein will boil, and the yolk will remain liquid.

Tasty soups

Of course, you can cook in a slow cooker not only eggs, but many other products. Soups cooked under pressure are surprisingly tender and tasty - they retain all the nutrients. We can say that they even languish a little - this compares them favorably with those cooked on the stove. In these recipes there are a couple of secrets.

1. If you intend noodles in chicken broth, then the dish can be prepared and in one cycle. Here, all the ingredients are thrown at once (both poultry, and noodles, and onions) - all that remains is to turn the valve and turn on the “Soup” mode (usually it is automatically set for 12 minutes).
   

2. Other meats are best cooked as soup. in two cycles: first - the beef, pork or lamb itself, and the second to add the remaining products. The inclusion of the mode is already on the above template.

By the way, with the “Soup” function you can cook dumplings in a slow cooker.

Useful vegetables

Any product brewed in a similar technique will retain all its beneficial properties. Especially if you cook it steamed in a slow cooker. However, for each ingredient it is better to adjust the time manually (similar to the traditional method). It is best to pre-cut it into large pieces. But it is worth being prepared for the fact that vegetables will differ from those prepared in the traditional way: for example, steamed potatoes are more sticky and stick to hands when sliced ​​into salads.

Thus, it is possible to cook beets in a multicooker: the vegetable is peeled, washed under running water and placed on a special steamer basket. In the tank under it should be no less than a liter of water.Now it’s enough to turn on “Steaming” for 40 minutes - upon completion of the process, you can be sure that all the useful vitamins and elements are left in the product and not gone into the water.

A special recipe for condensed milk

Soups, vegetables and boiled eggs are not limited to the capabilities of the unit. Many users go further, offering to cook condensed milk in a slow cooker. The recipe will be as follows.

1. From the ingredients you will need 2 multi-glasses of sugar, 5 multi-glasses of milk and a little soda (at the tip of the knife).
2. Sugar is first poured into the container, and then milk is poured (fresh, with 3.2% fat). Soda is added so that it does not curl during cooking.
3. Cooking modes In the found recipes, different ones are mentioned: if you put “Steaming”, you can choose 60 minutes. In the case of the Quenching Team, the time will be 2.5 hours. The whole secret is that excess fluid must be boiled down.
4. There is one more important detail in how to cook condensed milk: do not increase the portions yourself. Nevertheless, there is milk here, which will boil and there is a risk that, with an excess amount, it will simply start to crawl out of all the cracks of the device (which can spoil the equipment).

If you follow the prescribed rules, the result will be a delicious and fragrant condensed milk, many times exceeding its store counterparts in its usefulness.

Frying under control and without

The answer to the question whether it is possible to fry in a slow cooker is positive: both can and should be done. The fried diet is varied - from cabbage as a filling for patties to meatballs. In any case, the dish will not burn, cooked faster and will be much more useful than the traditional version.

Heating takes place to a predetermined temperature and the necessary time will be maintained (for meat, at least half an hour). There are other advantages - a minimum amount of oil is required, which means burning and spraying.

The lack of users is called only one - the lack of crispy golden crust, because the temperature of the tank will not rise above the mark. Yes, and time for this process will have to spend more in contrast to the usual way.

Baking nuances

Another popular talent of the device is a complete replacement of the oven. In addition to the usual desserts, is it possible to bake fish and meat in a slow cooker? Of course, but it’s better to do it in models with multi-pair settings (multishef). This advantage will allow you to set the optimum cooking time for the product.

Baking mode is good because you can open the lid and check the readiness of the baked dish. But it is better to do it for meat and fish: for example, in biscuits it is better to do without it, because the cake can “fall off”.

Many users may have encountered a problem "pale "top at the pies. Everything is solved by commonplace caking: at the end of the process, the dish turns over and the multicooker once again switches to the Baking mode for no more than 10 minutes.

In models with 3D-heating such difficulties are not encountered.

Is it allowed to use Silicone forms in the slow cooker? Without a doubt, only they should be of quality material. Before placing the contents into it, the form should be well lubricated with olive or vegetable oil (so that nothing burns or sticks to it). The bowl itself is also smeared. If we are talking about souffles or desserts, then they are prepared in special steamed pallets.

Is it possible to bake, using foil? Of course, but it is necessary to follow certain rules.

1. It is necessary to put under the bottom of the silicone mesh or gasket.It is important to ensure that the foil does not touch the walls of the bowl - this can spoil them.
2. It will be even easier to use the basket (pan) for steaming.
   

In this way, everything can be cooked - from meat to fish. A delicious recipe of the latter can be cited here.

1. Any fish in a slow cooker can be baked in foil. If it is large, then it will be enough 1 piece, smaller, you can take 2 or more fish.
2. The foil is folded into a rectangle proportional to the size of the source. In the middle of it we place the main “heroine”, sprinkle with spices, lubricate with mayonnaise or sour cream.
3. On top you can put vegetables and onions. Again, smear with mayonnaise and cover with slices of cheese.
4. It remains only to fold the boat out of foil. Everything fits into the container and turns on Baking mode for half an hour.
5. In this situation, the bottom of the device itself will remain clean (you will not even have to wash it).

How to defrost products

That's not all - the multicooker can help to thaw out products from the freezer. It is possible to speed up the process by placing the "ice" on the steam basket and turning on steam cooking mode. It takes 8-12 minutes to make the piece become soft. Each product - meat, vegetables or poultry - will be thawed depending on the degree of icing,but it is better for the user to periodically check under the lid so that they do not cook: the powers of the instruments are different.

So, to the question of what can be done in a multicooker, we confidently answer: “Everything!” It is better to start with the recipes from the book attached to the model, and then boldly experiment and move to new culinary horizons.