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Sunday, January 18, 2009

Cooking Tip - How to Adapt Recipes to Crockpot Cooking

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If it normally simmers for:

15 to 30 minutes = 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 hours on High; 4 to 8 hours on Low

35 to 40 minutes = 3 to 4 hours on High; 6 to 10 hours on Low

50 minutes to 3 hours = 4 to 5 hours on High; 8 to 18 hours on Low



Tips to Remember:

Liquids do not evaporate in a slow cooker, so reduce liquids to about one-half of the original recipe, unless you're cooking rice, then leave the liquid the same.

Any dairy products like milk or sour cream should only be added at the end, no sooner than about an hour before the end of cooking time.

Herbs are stronger and more pronounced if they are added in toward the end of cooking time; if added with the other ingredients they blend in better and are not as strong.

To thicken a sauce, add in flour or cornstarch near the end of cooking time, increase the temperature to High and cook for another 15 to 30 minutes (due to lost heat from having the cooker opened) or until it reaches desired thickness.

To shorten cooking time a bit, start a recipe off on high for 1 hour, then switch to low. One hour on high is the equivalent of two hours on low, so you can shortened your total time accordingly.
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