Just got a crockpot on sale

[eridani]

Instructions caution against using it to reheat food. Has anyone on the list ignored that instruction and lived to tell about it?

[Lucinda]

1. Yup. I'll even store food in it, and then reheat it.

Not dead yet. :)
I do make sure its heated fully though...

[elleng]

3. Sounds good to me!

ps, I've made my 2d Chicken Soup after suggestions from folks here; stays on the stove top, and I've HAD many meals! Gets better all the time! THANKS!

[Lucinda]

4. Good chicken soup is a wonderful thing! It really does stretch a long way, doesn't it?

And it's soooo good! Now I want some. :)
Might have to make some this weekend now!

[TreasonousBastard]

2. I'm thinking that this warning, like so many others...

is primarily to deter the naive or stupid from killing themselves.

Unlike reheating on a stove or oven, where you'll get up to safe kill-the baddies-off temps quickly, the crockpot could take hours to get to a slow simmer on "low" and you just give the nasties a beautiful breeding ground for the afternoon while you wait what seems like forever for the stuff to get to eating temperature.

That said, like Lucinda sez, let it get up to a safe temp and you should be ok.

(I still prefer the stove, or the microwave, though, but just because it's quicker.)

[eridani]

5. True, it's faster. I was thinking the Crockpot might use less energy, though

Maybe thawing it and then nuking it for 30 seconds or so would be the way to go. I usually have 2 servings of soup or stew per quart recycled yogurt container. I really would just like some convenient way to get it thawed enough to ladle into 2 bowls. At that point I could nuke the bowls.

[The empressof all]

7. Here are my rules for crock pot food safety

I'm a bit of a worry wart about food borne illness so I'm a bit on the cautious side.

Always start with a hot crock pot. It takes time for the pot to heat to temp. Plug it in and get it going while you prep your food.

Always use food that is as close to room temp as possible when you start cooking

Never put frozen raw meat in the crock pot---In fact the only frozen product I will put directly into the crock pot is frozen veggies or fruit and frozen bread. The defrost time in the cooker just seems too long to me to be safe for other kinds of foods. Use the microwave to defrost food not the crock pot.


It may be over kill but it's what I do ---and I'm still alive.

[troubleinwinter]

10. "frozen bread"

Is this frozen dough? Is this for thawing and rising? Cooking?

[The empressof all]

11. You rise and cook in the crock pot

You don't get a really brown loaf but the smell of the bread lasts soooooo much longer. It's easy and convienent to do this. I have an Oblong Crock pot and I use a loaf pan set on a rack in the pot. I don't use canned coffee but my sister does her's in a regular crock pot in a coffee can.

http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/2/Frozen_Bread_Dough_in_the_Crockpot56246.shtml

[troubleinwinter]

12. That is so interesting!!

Do you use store-bought frozen like Bridgford?

I have used Bridgford for 40 years to make Russian Piroshki.

[The empressof all]

13. Yes, I used frozen store dough

I don't really eat bread anymore so I haven't done this in years. I use to make a Monkey Bread kind of thing in the crock pot with frozen bread dough, cinnamon, chopped nuts and raisins. It was nice to wake up to in on Sunday mornings. I don't have the exact recipe but I put parchment in a loaf pan with some melted butter, the cinnamon, chopped nuts and raisins. Plop the dough on top of that and stick in my little Nesco which has the slow cook function.

My sister who used the coffee can method did this with frozen rolls and layered the butter, nuts, cinnamon and raisens in between the blobs of dough.

[Warpy]

6. The warning is for going from fridge to crockpot on low power

meaning the food is warmed slowly and can easily become a nice comfy home to all sorts of nasty bacteria and never get hot enough to kill all of them.

Reheating can be done, but make sure the pot is on high for a bit when the food is up to temperature just to kill the bugs.

I'd only do soups, really. You're begging for trouble with more solid foods.

[flamin lib]

8. On sale? You actually bought a NEW crockpot? I have about six

from the days of cooking for the whole yacht club and never paid more than a $ for any of them at garage sales. Bread machines go for about $5.

[Lars39]

9. Putting a folded up beach towel on it helps the temp go up faster

and helps retain heat better. :)