Brabantia BBEK1083D Instruction Manual page 7

bowl to cool down completely.
Hints on slow cooking
1. Cut root vegetables into small sizes, preferably 5cm. Vegetables take longer to cook
in a Slow Cooker. Vegetables should be placed in the hottest part of the bowl, i.e.
on the bottom or against the sides of the bowl. Ensure that they are completely
immersed during cooking. You may like to sauté or partly boil root vegetables
before adding them to the Slow Cooker.
2. Trim excess fat from meat before cooking as the slow cooking method does not
allow fat to drain away.
3. As a general guide, food cooked on HIGH will require 4-7 hours cooking and
food cooked on LOW will require from 7 to 10 hours cooking.
4. For recipes that require the ingredients to be 'browned' first, you will need to
do this in a separate pan and then add the browned food to the Slow Cooker.
This helps to lock in the juices and improves the colour of cooked food.
5. When adding liquid or stock to the Slow Cooker, use warm (not boiling)
liquid as this will reduce the heating time.
6. Resist the temptation to view the food by lifting the glass lid. This will break the
condensation seal around the lip of the bowl, releasing heat, and the seal will take
some time to form again. Each time you lift the lid, you add another 20 minutes
(approximately) to the cooking time.
7. Ensure that the food or liquid comes up to at least half way against the walls of the
bowl.
8. When braising meat or vegetables in liquid (for example pot roasting), ensure that
the liquid only just covers the food.
9. Be conservative when adding strongly flavoured herbs and spices. The slow cooking
process retains most flavours and makes the taste very concentrated.
10. Please note that the ceramic bowl and the heating element surface will be
hot during and after cooking. Therefore, ensure that you use oven gloves when
handling the ceramic bowl and ensure the heating element surface does not come
into contact with any skin. To avoid skin burns, allow the
bowl and the heating element to cool down completely.
11. If you need to speed up the cooking process, remember that cooking the food on
HIGH rather than LOW will generally halve the recommended cooking time.
12. The juices from the meat and vegetables will thin the sauce during cooking,
therefore, start with a thicker sauce than in conventional cooking. Alternatively turn
the appliance to HIGH and stir in a mixture of corn flour and water 30 minutes
before the cooking time is completed. Stir continuously until thickened. Take care to
avoid steam burns when doing this.
13. Remember that the longest cooking ingredients such as carrots, potatoes and dried