How many times did we wish the food cooked a little faster? And sometimes the reality is very different: come back from work expecting your slow cooked food to be ready–to–serve but just to find out the crock pot burned your food, or is defunct, or only part of the meat is cooked or potatoes did not cook properly! Then you have to put it back on the stove to finish cooking. The whole experience of cooking becomes irritating and painful… This is when you feel the need to get the best crock pot.
Let’s admit it, we gave into this long 12-18-hour cooking method for a couple of reasons including convenience and also because the sales person said the nutrients in the food stay intact. On the contrary, slow cooking in metal or ceramic inserts actually does just as much damage to food as with regular cooking in pots made from these materials.
Cooking pots made from pure clay can be your healthier slow cookers. They can go on both stove top and oven and cook in superfast time with no compromise on nutritional value of food, no additional gadgets – just a simple pot and lid made from an all-natural, tested and certified non-toxic material that is time-honored and safest for cooking. This healthy way of cooking takes a lot less time and cooks by retaining all the nutrients! Here are some model recipes that can help you adapt any slow cooker recipe to these fast slow cookers made from pure clay by Miriam’s Earthen Cookware (MEC):
Beef Stew
It takes about 6-8 hours to cook in a conventional slow cooker but with a pure clay slow cooker you can cook the same recipe in less than 2 hours with little to no oil. Just put a tbsp oil into the pot and add chopped onions, tomatoes, carrots, bay leaves, thyme, beef and water. Start on low and let it stay there for 5-10 minutes, increase to medium after and let it cook at that heat for 45 mins of cooking & boiling. Reduce back to low and check for doneness at 1.5 hours. Turn stove off when meat is cooked to your satisfaction. You will find beef tenderly cooked and the stew very savory.
Thai Chicken Curry
This recipe usually takes 6-8 hours in a conventional slow cooker but with MEC, it’s a 1.5 hours process: pour 1 tbsp oil, coconut milk, Thai green curry paste, chicken thighs, chopped aubergine, ginger, lime leaves, brown sugar, into MEC pot. Start on low and let it stay there for 5-10 minutes, increase to medium after and let it cook at that heat for 30 mins of cooking & boiling. Reduce back to low and check for doneness after 50 mins to 1 hour of cooking. Enjoy the fast cooked and better tasting Thai Chicken Curry!
Vegetable Curry
The cooking time for this recipe is 6 hours in a conventional slow cooker. Here’s how to cook it in less than an hour or so in MEC slow cooking pots: put 1 tbsp oil, coconut milk, sliced garlic, green chilli, chopped ginger, coriander, vegetables into the pot, stir well and let it cook at low for 5 mins, increase to medium after and check for doneness 45-60 minutes. Treat your taste buds with the rich taste and nutritionally dense vegetarian curry.
The reason these recipes cook faster with MEC is because of the unique far infrared heat that radiates from the walls of pure clay pots. It is a food friendly heat that penetrates deep into every grain and gently cooks food evenly and thoroughly, in faster time but without nutritional loss. Unlike metals and ceramics, MEC doesn’t leach toxins or destroy nutrients, so the food is completely non-toxic. This makes MEC the preferred slow cookers by health enthusiasts and enlightened cooks who care about the nutritional & real health value of their food.
If the idea of faster slow cooking intrigues you, get a pure clay pot for your kitchen!
