| Author | |
SaraP
Forum All-Star
Joined: Dec 15 2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 531
|
| Posted: Dec 08 2009 at 6:17pm | IP Logged
|
 |
|
This thread reminded me of something I have been meaning to ask . . .
Whenever I run my crockpot for a long time - more than 6 or 8 hours - the edges of whatever I am cooking are burned. This has happened with at least two different crockpots and with all sorts of recipes. Is this normal or have I had two bad pots? Is there a way to avoid it? I'd love to do crockpot breakfasts, but burned oatmeal, etc. just doesn't go over. 
__________________
Mama to six on earth, two in heaven and two waiting in Russia. Foxberry Farm Almanac
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
guitarnan
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Maryland
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 10883
|
| Posted: Dec 08 2009 at 7:53pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I have this happen, too, with my 6-qt. and it happened with my (sadly dead) 4-qt. I try to keep an eye on the cooking process, but, of course, that's not what a crockpot is all about. Sometimes I'm away for the last 3 hours of cooking time.
I hope someone has the inside scoop on this!
__________________
Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JodieLyn
Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 06 2006
Location: Oregon
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 12234
|
| Posted: Dec 08 2009 at 8:07pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I think I've read that the newer crock pots are hotter than the older ones.. so recipes that worked with older pots.. are being cooked at a higher temp. I vaguely recall now a friend saying something like the low on her new crockpot being closer to the high on her old one.
__________________
Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
RamFam
Forum Pro
Joined: Feb 21 2008
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 425
|
| Posted: Dec 08 2009 at 8:13pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I too experience this but my biggest crockpot problem is that no matter what I put in it comes out tasting the same.
__________________
Leah
RamFaminNOVA
Tom ^i^, Kyle (my Marine), Adeline '00, Wyatt '05, Isaac '07 Philip '08,Michael '10, and John Xavier Feb '13
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
CrunchyMom
Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 03 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 6385
|
| Posted: Dec 08 2009 at 8:33pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
RamFam wrote:
| I too experience this but my biggest crockpot problem is that no matter what I put in it comes out tasting the same. |
|
|
__________________
Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Paula in MN
Forum All-Star
Joined: Nov 25 2006
Location: Minnesota
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 4064
|
| Posted: Dec 08 2009 at 8:39pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
You have to keep it on the lowest setting and shorten the cooking time. I don't think I cook anything longer than 5 hours. I also spray the inside of mine with Pam before filling.
__________________
 Paula
A Catholic Harvest
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
melanie
Forum All-Star
Joined: June 28 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 563
|
| Posted: Dec 09 2009 at 5:21pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I have found my latest couple of crockpots to cook fast too. Basically I use "low" when the recipe says "high" and "warm" when it says "low. I almost never use the high setting.
__________________
Melanie
homeschooling Maria (13yo), Kain (10yo), Jack (5yo), Tess (2yo), and our newest blessing, Henry Robert, born 4/23!
slightlycrunchycatholic.blogspot.com
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Maddie
Forum All-Star
Joined: Dec 27 2005
Location: N/A
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1804
|
| Posted: Dec 09 2009 at 5:59pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I was also going to recommend greasing the inside of the crock first.
__________________
~Maddie~
Wife to my dh and Momma of 9 dear ones
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Mary G
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5790
|
| Posted: Dec 10 2009 at 5:58am | IP Logged
|
|
|
I read somewhere that crock pots should be full to get the most benefit and flavor ... in other words a smaller pot filled to the brim is better than a larger pot with excess space. Also, you might want to cover the crock with a bathtowel to help hold in the heat/steam from the process; I've found that when I can seal it "almost" air-tight, I get a better result.
Leah ... dh is right with you ... he can't stand anything cooked in the crock! 
__________________
MaryG
3 boys (22, 12, 8)2 girls (20, 11)
my website that combines my schooling, hand-knits work, writing and everything else in one spot!
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Karen T
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 16 2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 927
|
| Posted: Dec 16 2009 at 3:17pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I don't think it's just newer ones; I think old ones get hotter as they age. I have a slow cooker, the kind with a metal pan that can go on the stove to brown meat first, then it goes on a base that works like a crock pot. It was a wedding present 20 yrs ago and still going strong but even on the very lowest setting, I can't leave something like spaghetti sauce in there more than about 5 hours or it burns. It's bubbling even on low.
I recently bought a "new" crockpot at Goodwill, the regular crock kind, and as long as I keep it on low, and have it pretty full, it's working better.
Karen T
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JodieLyn
Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 06 2006
Location: Oregon
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 12234
|
| Posted: Dec 16 2009 at 3:41pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
My problem with mixed dishes like crockpot or soups or casseroles coming out the same is because I tend to want to add more.. with these dishes LESS is usually better.. for instance.. chicken soup with noodles and green beans, salt, pepper, sage and thyme will taste a lot different from beef with carrots and potatoes and cabbage and salt and pepper and caraway. But chicken with noodles and green beans and carrots and cabbage and italian seasonings won't taste a huge difference from beef with potatoes and green beans and carrots and cabbage and italian seasonings.
So less in each dish so that you can increase the difference between dishes.
__________________
Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Nina Murphy
Forum All-Star
Joined: May 18 2006
Location: California
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1546
|
| Posted: Dec 16 2009 at 11:31pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Paula in MN wrote:
| You have to keep it on the lowest setting and shorten the cooking time. I don't think I cook anything longer than 5 hours. I also spray the inside of mine with Pam before filling. |
|
|
How interesting.
I just made a beef stroganoff the other day where it required spraying the pot with Pam first and I have never done this before. It cooked for almost 7 hrs (on low) and it was perfect....no "edges". This must be the big secret!
__________________
God bless,
~~Nina
mother of 9 on earth,
and 2 yet-to-be-met
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: crockpot problem
