There's a culinary revolution taking place and it's not in a hurry. Like many things from the 1970s, slow cookers are back in fashion with some retailers reporting sales up by a third in recent years. Driven by the trend for slow-cooked meats such as pulled pork, and their general cost effectiveness, the kitchen gadgets are making their case for an essential piece of kit. source: BBC news
Now I don't know about you, but I've been using mine (on and off) since...well, the 70's! But I must admit to using it rather more of late. Its great for cheap cuts of meat. Although, as has been noted by others, there is an unfortunate tendency for everything to come out looking a uniform brown! How often do you use you slow-cooker? Do you possess one? What kind of things do you cook in it?
A potted history
In 1936, inventor Irving Naxon applied for a patent for a cooking device in the US that was portable and would heat food evenly. He started selling his device, the Naxon Beanery, in the 1950s. In 1970, Rival Manufacturing acquired Naxon and, in 1972, the Beanery was rebranded as the Crock-Pot - the name slow cookers are still known by in the US.
Sales exploded in the 1970s as women began to enter the workforce. Slow cookers allowed them to be at work all day and still produce a meal for the family. At the height of the gadget's popularity, about 40 different companies were making their own version but the market began to cool in the 1980s, at around the time microwave ovens surged in popularity. Read more here.
Now I don't know about you, but I've been using mine (on and off) since...well, the 70's! But I must admit to using it rather more of late. Its great for cheap cuts of meat. Although, as has been noted by others, there is an unfortunate tendency for everything to come out looking a uniform brown! How often do you use you slow-cooker? Do you possess one? What kind of things do you cook in it?
A potted history
In 1936, inventor Irving Naxon applied for a patent for a cooking device in the US that was portable and would heat food evenly. He started selling his device, the Naxon Beanery, in the 1950s. In 1970, Rival Manufacturing acquired Naxon and, in 1972, the Beanery was rebranded as the Crock-Pot - the name slow cookers are still known by in the US.
Sales exploded in the 1970s as women began to enter the workforce. Slow cookers allowed them to be at work all day and still produce a meal for the family. At the height of the gadget's popularity, about 40 different companies were making their own version but the market began to cool in the 1980s, at around the time microwave ovens surged in popularity. Read more here.
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