5
• Never leave uncooked food at room
temperature in the slow cooker.
• Do not use the slow cooker to
reheat food.
• Uncooked red beans must be
soaked and boiled for at least 10
minutes to remove toxins before use
in a slow cooker.
• Insert a meat thermometer into
joints of roasts, hams, or whole
chickens to ensure they are cooked
to the desired temperature.
Looking after the
crock pot
• Authentic stoneware is fired at high
temperatures therefore the crock
pot may have minor surface
blemishes, the glass lid may rock
slightly due to these imperfections.
Low heat cooking does not produce
steam so therewill be little heat
loss. Due to normal wear and tear
through the products life, the outer
surface may start appearing
‘crazed’.
• Do not put the crock pot or glass lid
in an oven, freezer, microwave or on
agas/electrical hob.
• Do not pre-heat before adding
ingredients.
•Do not subject the crock pot to
sudden changes in temperature.
Adding cold water to a very hot pot
could cause it to crack.
• Do not allow the pot to stand in
water for a long time (you can leave
water in the pot to soak) as there is
aporous unglazed area on the base
of the crock pot that has to remain
unglazed for manufacturing
purposes.
• Do not switch the cooker on when
the crock pot is empty or out of the
base.
Tips for slow cooking
• The slow cooker must be at least
half full for best results.
• The slow cooker works by building
up heat and maintaining an even
temperature. To get the best
cooking results, do not remove the
lid during cooking, since this will
lose heat and therefore slow down
the cooking time. The glass lid
allows you to monitor the cooking
progress without interrupting the
cooking time. Each time you remove
the lid allow 10 minutes extra
cooking time.
• The lid is not a sealed fit. Don’t
remove unnecessarily as the built
up heat will escape. Each time you
remove the lid allow 10 minutes
extra cooking time.
• If cooking soups, leave 5cm space
between the top of the cook pot
and the food surface to allow
simmering.
• Many recipes require all day
cooking, if you do not have time to
prepare food that morning prepare it
the night before and store the food
in a covered container in the fridge.
Transfer the food to the crock pot
and add boiling liquid / gravy.
• Most meat and vegetable recipes
require4-6 hours.
• Do not use frozen meat or poultry
unless it is thoroughly thawed out
first.
• Some ingredients are not suitable
for slow cooking. Pasta, seafood,
milk and cream should be added
towards the end of the cooking
time. Many things can affect how
quickly a recipe will cook, water and
fat content, initial temperatureof the
food and the size of the food.
• Pieces of food cut into small pieces
will cook quicker, a degree of 'trial
and error' will be required to fully
optimize the potential of your slow
cooker.
• Vegetables usually take longer to
cook than meat, so try and arrange
vegetables in the lower half of the
pot.
•All food should be covered with a
liquid, gravy or sauce. In a separate
pan or jug prepare your liquid, gravy
or sauce and completely cover the
food in the crock pot.
• Pre-brown meat and onions in a
pan to seal the juices. This also
reduces the fat content if separated
g
4
Before using for the
first time
1Remove all labels and tags from the
product.
2Wash the crock pot and glass lid in
hot soapy water, with a sponge or a
dish cloth, rinse thoroughly and dry.
Warning : Do not immerse the
appliance base in water.
•During initial use you may notice a
slight odour due to the burning off
of manufacturing residues. This is
completely normal and will
disappear after a few uses.
Control knob and
temperature settings
The control knob on the slow
cooker offers low, high and medium
temperaturesettings.
The med (medium) setting is the
standard setting for slow cooking
with this appliance. This gives you
an average of 6-8 hours cooking
time.
However, if you wish to extend the
period, you can use the low setting
and if you wish to shorten the
cooking period you can use the high
setting.
Using
1Place the base ‹on a dry,level,
heat resistant surface, away from
the edge of the work surface. Do
not use on the floor.
2Place the ingredients into the
ceramic crock pot ¤,and place the
pot into the base. Cover with the
glass lid ⁄.
• If you need to pre-cook or brown
foods prior to slow cooking, this
must be done in a pan. Do not try to
brown or pre-cook food in a slow
cooker.
3With the control knob ›set to the
off position, plug the appliance into
the mains socket.
4Set the heat control to low, high or
medium and cook for the
recommended time given in the
cooking guide.
5Switch off and unplug the appliance
after cooking and remove the crock
pot using oven gloves.
Warning: Be careful not to
touch the base unit after
cooking as it remains hot.
About slow cooking
Slow cooking has always been the
best way to prepare nutritious hot
meal with minimum preparation and
maximum free time away from the
kitchen.
Traditionally slow cooking has
centred on soups and casseroles
but with this slow cooker you can
also produce most modern family
meals and dinner party dishes. The
pot is convenient as well as looking
good enough to take straight to the
table for serving (always place crock
pot on a heat proof mat or surface).
Slow cooking is ideal for preparing
tougher cuts of meat, giving them
the long, gentle simmering that
ensures that they become tender
and full of flavour.
Suitable foods
Most foods are suited to slow
cooking methods, however there
are a few guidelines that need to be
followed.
• Make sure all frozen ingredients are
well thawed out.
• Cut root vegetables into small, even
pieces, as they take longer to cook
than meat. They should be gently
sauted 2-3 minutes beforeslow
cooking. Ensure that root
vegetables are always placed at the
bottom of the pot and all ingredients
areimmersed in the cooking liquid.
• Trim all excess fat from meat before
cooking, since the slow cooking
method does not allow fat to
evaporate.
•If adapting an existing recipe from
conventional cooking, you may
need to cut down on the amount of
liquid used. Liquid will not
evaporate from the slow cooker to
the same extent as with
conventional cooking.