Crock Pot Safety Tips

Cooking with a crock pot is so easy that it shoud be foolproof.  But, there are a few things you should know so that you don’t run into problems.

1. Food needs to reach at least 140 degress as quickly as possible.  You need to be home one day when you use your slow cooker so that you can test the food temperature.  Your food should be at least 140 degrees after cooking on LOW for 4 hours.  If it is not, you run the risk of growing bacteria that can make you sick.  If your crock pot doesn’t reach this temperature within 4 hours, you probably need a new crock pot.

2. If you can, try to cook on HIGH for the first hour of cooking to bring the food temperature up fast.  Most of us are throwing things together before we run out the door in the morning, but if you are at home, be sure to try this.  The LOW setting is roughly 200 degrees and the high setting is about 300 degrees, so you should be fine if your crockpot is working properly.

3. Never put frozen food into the crock pot.  Make to sure to thaw before cooking.  If you don’t, food can’t reach that magic 140 degrees quickly enough and bacteria can form.  Some people ignore this rule.  I believe better safe than sorry in this case.

4. Never store your food in the refrigerator in the crock pot line.  I know it’s easy to just take the liner out of the crockpot, put on the lid and put it in the refrigerator.  That liner is very thick.  It takes much too much time to cool down the food when it’s in that thick liner. Again, we want to avoid bacteria formation, so don’t do it.

Follow these few simple rules and enjoy your crock pot cooking! Think you need a new crock pot? This is one of my favorites! Plus you get a baby crock pot with it!

Rival 6-qt. Crock-Pot with Bonus Little Dipper, Chrome