History of The Slow Cooker
When it comes to kitchen convenience the crock-pot, or slow cooker, is one of the best things ever invented. That’s largely thanks to Irving Naxon who invented the slow cooking Naxon Beanery All-Purpose Cooker in the 1960’s while trying to reproduce his grandmother's cholent stew.
Cholent is a traditional Jewish food, a stew, that’s made on Friday and set to slow cook for at a low heat until it it’s ready for dinner on Saturday night. This allowed Jews who were highly observant to avoid turning on an oven or stove as doing so would be a contradiction to the requirement to rest on the Sabbath. After Irving invented his slow cooking device The Rival Company wound up purchasing the rights to it in 1970. Technically not all slow cookers are crock pots. That brand name is supposed to identify that it’s a Rival product. All others are simply slow cookers. If you want to learn more there’s a great podcast episode on Nice Try! - The Crock Pot.
Benefits of Slow Cooking
All these decades later the concept of a simple circular or oval cooking pot with a heated element is a useful and popular way to cook all over the world. From simple high-low-off style cookers to multi-featured high-end models this device is great for making no-fuss one pot meals. You set it in the morning and by dinnertime you have a hot and delicious meal ready to go.
A slow cooker is incredibly useful for taking tougher, usually less expensive, cuts of meat and making them very tender. They’re also fabulous when it comes to cooking and shredding meat. Another wonderful benefit is the low energy usage. The device uses about the same amount of energy as an incandescent light bulb (remember those?) which is considerably less than turning on your oven. Plus, because the inner pot is usually removable, a slow cooker is incredibly easy to clean up. Note: I do not recommend using the disposable liners because these are made from plastic and not a good choice for food contact.
If you’re not sure how to use a slow cooker there are a lot of cookbooks that offer wonderful recipes. Check out any bookstore and you’ll find dozens. Chances are your local library has some you can borrow, and your neighborhood used book store may even have some as well.
Recipes
Here are a couple of great recipes that are super simple to throw together and let your slow-cooker do all the work. The first one is my version of a cholent which is inspired by Jamie Geller’s Healthy Chicken Cholent. The second is a Tex Mex Shredded Chicken that’s fabulous for making taco salads, burrito bowls, or just eating plain.
Chicken Cholent
Ingredients
- 2 pounds baby potatoes, diced
- 2 pounds carrots, diced
- 2 - 2 1/2 pounds bone in chicken (I like a combination of breasts and thighs), skin removed
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon dry parsley
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 2 cups cooked chickpeas
- 4 cups bone broth (*see recipe link below)
Instructions
- Place potatoes and carrots in the bottom of a 5 or 6 quart slow cooker
- Arrange chicken on top
- Salt and pepper chicken to your preference
- Top with onion, garlic, spices, and chickpeas
- Add bone broth
- Cover and cook on low for 12 hours or high for 6 hoursEnjoy!
Notes
Tex-Mex Shredded Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken (breasts or thighs)
- 1 1/2 pounds of tomatoes, diced
- 1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced (depends on how hot you like it)
- 4 cups of cooked black beans
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2-3 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Place chicken in the bottom of a 5 or 6 quart slow cooker
- Add remaining ingredients except for limes and cilantro
- Stir to combine all ingredients
- Cook 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high
- 30 minutes before you are done cooking remove the lid and shred the chicken with two forks
- Stir to combine shredded chicken well
- Cover and cook 30 minutes more
- Add lime juice and cilantro and stir wellEnjoy!
Evolution of the Slow Cooker
Although the original idea for a slow cooker started as a low temperature cooking solution for a one-pot meal, they’ve evolved considerably since then. In fact, we now have the Instant Pot which is a multi-function cooker. Now you can brown foods, sauté, boil soups or stews, steam and slow cook all in one device.
It’s possible to buy slow cookers in different sizes depending on what the needs are for your household. When we were raising our kids I had three crock-pots, two large ones and a small one that was great for breakfast casseroles, overnight oatmeal, for appetizers, or for desserts. Crockpots are fabulous for breakfast because the meal cooks while you’re sleeping and you wake up to a hot breakfast with very little effort.
Now that the kids are grown and out of the house I have my original crock-pot which is still going strong after 40 years. The lid has been replaced, but the original device continues to help me easily make delicious meals for my family. I’ve also got an Instant Pot at this point. Initially I resisted it thinking I had a crock pot and didn’t need one. But now that I have it I love the multi-function ability and find that I use both on a regular basis.
When it comes to picking the right device for your kitchen, take the time to think about what’s important to you. What size is you family? How often do you plan to use your slow cooker? What kind of meals or dishes will you make in it? By taking the time to research it you’ll find the best option for you. And who knows, you may even find it’s so convenient that you’ll need more than one.