Slow cooker recipes are amazing and everyone would want to come home to the aroma of food that has been prepared in a slow cooker. The heat wraps around the house. It is like the dinner has been preparing for you to come and sit down and eat it. I still remember the first time that I had the privilege of using a slow cooker. I had just graduated school, lived in a small apartment, and was ready to prove to the world that I was independent. My mom gave me her old Crock-Pot which had been used to prepare food for our family for so many years. It became my most used appliance. Add all the ingredients and set it on low heat. In eight hours you will have your next meal.

But one time, I was craving for some hot and heavy meal and so I thought of preparing a beef stew. It required a handful of fresh herbs which I had chopped and threw into the pot. Besides, some crumbled bacon was added to give it a good flavor. I put the food into the slow cooker and continued with my activities. I looked forward to the tasty stew that I would eat later that evening.

When I got home, it was not what I had in my mind to expect. Instead of a delicious and aromatic soup that I had in mind, I got something else. I was given a kind of gray, rather tasteless, and even slightly bitter meal. It was not what I wanted to have.

What I learned is that slow cookers are really useful in saving time but not all foods can be prepared in slow cookers. I discovered that there are some things you should never cook in a slow cooker.

Dairy

There are certain foods that are not suitable to be prepared in slow cookers. Dairy products are one of them. Some dairy products such as milk, cream, and cheese are known to curdle when cooked in a crockpot. This happens because of the long cooking time. Once I had the misfortune to put the cream into the soup at the beginning of cooking. Finally, I was left with watery and curdled liquid that had the cream at the bottom.

Seafood

Seafood is very delicate and can become overcooked in a slow cooker. This makes shrimp, fish, or scallops become rubbery and not enjoyable to eat. Once, I tried to make seafood stew in my slow cooker thinking it would simplify the process. Instead, I received shrimp that were overcooked and chewy. They did not have that appealing texture to them. When cooking a particular dish, you may need to include seafood. This should be done in the final one hour of cooking.

Fresh Herbs

Cooks often use herbs like parsley, basil, and cilantro when preparing meals. These herbs taste best fresh, as they develop a bitter flavor when cooked on low heat for a long time. It is better to introduce them at the last steps of the cooking process. This way, they will not lose their taste. To bring out the real taste of herbs in your dish, use the dried ones. They last long in the cooking process.

Alcohol

If there is one thing that is not to be done when cooking in a slow cooker, it is to add wine or beer to a dish. This does add an extra dimension of flavor to it. The problem is that the alcohol doesn’t have a chance to evaporate as it would when you heat the mixture in a pot on the stove, for example. This means that your dish may develop an interesting, quite possibly unpleasant flavor of alcohol. If the recipe has a bit of alcohol, it is advised to cook the alcohol first on the pan and then add it to the slow cooker.

Rice

Do not prepare rice in a slow cooker. It has a tendency of sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning. This makes it have a very poor texture that is neither fluffy nor crispy. If you want to prepare any of those dishes with rice, you should avoid adding the rice to the slow cooker. It is best that you cook the rice separately and incorporate it near the end of the cooking time.

Pasta

Also, pasta does not do well when prepared in a slow cooker. Under intense heat it becomes soft and doesn’t look very appealing to eat. I was able to learn this the hard way when I once tried to make lasagna in the slow cooker. The noodles became soggy and stuck together into a single massive portion that resembled a grayish. paste.

Leafy Greens

Avoid cooking delicate green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, or arugula for too long, especially on low heat. They tend to lose their texture and become soft and watery. They end up as lumps that are not pleasant to the eye and will not improve the looks of your food.

Delicate Vegetables

There are some vegetables that do not work well in slow cooking such as zucchini, bell peppers, and asparagus. They become soft and tasteless after quite some time of being cooked. These are some of the most sensitive vegetables; it is best to incorporate them towards the final stages of the cooking process.

Lean Meats

Some of the lean meats like chicken breasts or pork loin become very dry in a slow cooker. They turn out to be tough and tasteless. Slow cookers are particularly suitable for gravy cuts, fatty cuts, or beef chuck or pork shoulder, for instance. These meats become tender and juicy after a long time of cooking. If you have to use lean meat, then you should ensure that you add liquid or fats to increase the tenderness of the meat.

Bacon and Crispy Ingredients

Searing bacon or onions with other food in a slow cooker may seem like a good idea. However, by the time the meal is ready, the bacon or onions will be soft and not crispy. Some guidelines can be followed. For instance, add foods that are likely to become soft such as the crispy ones towards the last process of cooking. Alternatively, add them just before serving to enhance their crispiness.

Too Much Liquid

This one is a bit of a technicality. It’s not about a certain item of the list but rather the quantity of the liquid you are going to use. Slow cookers do not have much evaporation so if you put a lot of liquid at the beginning of cooking, your food will be too soft. Starting off with a smaller amount is preferable.

While slow cookers are a great tool to use when making juicy and tender foods with rich taste, not every food is good for slow cooking. When you use the slow cooking method to prepare a dish, make sure the ingredients can withstand long cooking times. Sauté delicate foods that overcook easily on the stove instead.