For many people their best-loved kitchen tool is the slow cooker. What other small appliance can transform basic ingredients into long-simmered deliciousness and turn tough budget cuts of meat into melt-in-your-mouth meals while they’re at work? From pot roast to soups and even desserts, the slow cooker can do just about anything. However, not everything can go in a slow cooker. Some things will surprise you, while others won’t. Here are the three foods you should never cook in a slow cooker.
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| Frozen Meat — Meat thawed and fresh from the refrigerator will come up to temperature within a safe time frame, so slow cooking is absolutely safe. However, frozen meat should never be cooked in a slow cooker. That’s because it will develop bacteria before it can reach a safe temperature zone in the slow cooker. Always defrost meat in the refrigerator overnight before adding it to a slow cooker. |
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| Kidney Beans — Cooking dried or even soaked kidney beans in the slow cooker can make you very sick. That’s because dry kidney beans contain toxic levels of a protein called PHA, and cooking them in a slow cooker makes them even more toxic. Just 4-5 beans cooked this way can cause nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and cramps. Soak kidney beans overnight, then boil them on the stove in fresh water for 30 minutes. After that, they’ll be totally safe to slow cook. Of course, you can avoid all that by opting for canned kidney beans, which are perfectly safe for the slow cooker. |
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| Too Much of Any Food — Slow cookers are designed to heat a specific volume of food safely. If you cram too much food into a slow cooker, it will struggle to bring everything up to a safe temperature. Overfilled slow cookers also run the risk of spillover, which is not only messy but can ruin the inside of the appliance. Never fill your slow cooker more than ½ to ⅔ full. |
