Crock Pots and Slow Cookers :(

I offended a few of my friends and fans last week on Facebook when I made a negative comment about crock pots.   So I feel I need to state more clearly how I feel.  I really HATE crock pots and slow cookers.  Not because I don't see them as the useful tool that they can be sometimes and not because I  think that nothing should be cooked in them.  If used safely, some of the things that are meant to be cooked slowly all day like beans, chilies, rice, and other whole grains, homemade tomato sauces, tough stew meats and meat balls (only after they have been seared in a frying pan first) are just fine.  Also, certain ethnic foods, like Indian and Middle Eastern foods, do very well in slow cookers.  Crock pots are also good for keeping things warm at parties like soups, cheese and chocolate sauces or an extra cooking device at the holidays.  It's a very useful tool if used properly.  

But,... The slow cooker is not a replacement for your oven and stove.  The problem is that some people treat it like a hobby; how many crazy things can I make in the crock pot - Like how many clowns can I  fit in a volkswagon.   Just because you CAN make it doesn't mean you SHOULD make it.  This is not real cooking. Cakes, breads, lasagnas and wasting beautiful, tender cuts of meat like prime rib and fillet mignon in a crock pot is doing the quality and flavor of the food a real disservice.  These foods benfit the most from being baked and roasted properly in the oven.  Veggies take only a few minutes to cook.  There is no reason to cook them to literal death in a crock pot until they become grey, mushy, tasteless, overly starchy and lose a lot of their nutritional value.  Many people and kids don't like vegetables because this is the way they have always been served to them.  In my classes when I cook a vegetable properly for a client for the first time, they are amazed and foods they thought they hated before they now love. 

One more point.  I also notice when I look at many crock pot recipes, too many unhealthy convenience foods, full of preservatives and additives are suggested as ingredients.  So I feel that in general they promote a lower quality of food - edible, but not generally the tastiest and most healthy.   

Listen I know we are all busy and short cuts are necessary, but instead of spending your time searching  for  crazy slow cooker recipes look for recipes with short ingredient lists, quick prep and cook times that can be made in one pan or pot.  Here's are some good resources :  http://search.cookinglight.com/ck-results.html?Ntt=5+ingredients&x=32&y=16  or http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/quick-easy/twenty-minute-meals-00000000028853/index.html   This kind of cooking is convenient, tasty and healthy.

I know that some people feel their skills are not up to par and resorting to cooking everything in a crock pot feels safe, but cooking skills are like muscles; They need to be exercised on a regular basis.  The more you do it the better you get at it and the better you get at something  it becomes less of a chore and the more you will begin to really enjoy it.