Slow cookers convenient as long as they're not too slow to heat

What could be better than opening the front door on a cold winter evening and being greeted by the inviting smells of beef stew or vegetable soup bubbling in your slow cooker?

A slow cooker can make your life a little more convenient, but you need to make sure it's cooking at the proper temperature.

For food safety reasons, food in your slow cooker needs to reach 140 degrees within three hours (four hours maximum), and 180 degrees to 200 degrees at the end of eight hours.

The minimum temperature at which bacteria are killed is 165 degrees.

You can test the rate of heating in your slow cooker by filling the crock with refrigerated water to near capacity. In a 3 1/2-quart size, use 3 quarts of water. Heat on low setting for 8 hours.

Check the water temperature with a thermometer at the end of three hours and again at eight hours to make sure it's reached the temperatures given above.

If your cooker does not reach 140 degrees within three hours to four hours, brown or boil the food before transferring to the slow cooker or cook the product on high for one hour, then reduce to low heat.

Here are some tips for slow cooking:

The moist, low temperature is ideal for cooking meats. Even less- tender cuts become very tender when cooked at low temperatures. Always defrost meat or poultry before putting it in the slow cooker. If foods are cut into small pieces they will heat up more rapidly. Trim off as much fat as possible before placing in your slow cooker.

Chili, soup, stew, spaghetti sauce and casseroles are great for slow cooking. Fill the cooker no less than half full and no more than two-thirds full.

Vegetables cook slower than meat and poultry, so if using them put the vegetables in first at the bottom, then add the meat and cover with about one cup of liquid, such as broth, vegetable juice, or water. Remember: Little or no water evaporates during slow cooking.

Avoid lifting the cover to peek to see how the food is cooking. Every time the cover comes off you lose heat that is equal to 30 minutes of cooking time.

To adapt recipes for the slow cooker, reduce the amount of liquid by approximately one-half. One cup of liquid generally is enough unless the recipe contains rice or pasta.

In casserole recipes with noodles, macaroni or rice, reduce the amount of liquid by one-fourth.

There are other uses for a slow cooker that you may not have thought of. You can use it as a rice cooker, a fondue pot, or beverage server (hot punch or cider).

It can be used to warm rolls without drying them and for cooking cracked cereals all night for breakfast.

- Ryan is a consumer and family-education agent for Colorado State University Cooperative Extension. Contact the Springs extension office: 636-8920

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