crockpot/slow cookers...recommendations?

[Mr_Mxyztplk]

put the lime in the coconut, shake it all up.

[edfurlong]

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Is there any commercial/professional kitchen on the planet that even has one of these?

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We used one to keep crappy gumbo hot at a craphole I used to work at.

[RunDownHouse]

I guess the only upside I can imagine would be if they had some sort of safety feature that made them different than an oven. Otherwise, why wouldn't you just buy a ceramic pot or something you could use?

[JackInDaCrak]

I imagine it's cheaper in terms of energy bills to put your crock-pot on low and leave for work for the day, than to leave your oven on at 250 for 8 hours with a crock in it.

[RunDownHouse]

So people are buying crock pots by the thousands to save on their energy bills?

My mom was a big crock pot cooker, and even she only used it once every couple of weeks. Also, that's probably why I really despise crock pots. My gf has been hassling me to get one and I keep telling her no way. I'm not close to impartial on the crock pot issue.

[A S U]

They are compact, easy to transport and keep food heated for a long period of time. You can't leave your oven on all day while you are out of the house, you can with a crockpot. Also who wants to have the oven on all day during the hot summer months. How do you not see this?

[RunDownHouse]

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You can't leave your oven on all day while you are out of the house, you can with a crockpot.

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Well, that's why I included the caveat about safety features. If there's some auto-shutoff or something, then a crock pot makes a lot more sense for a home, where the cook is going to be absent, than a real kitchen, where people are always there. But even that doesn't make a ton of sense to my limited electrical knowledge. Why is there a greater danger of an oven electrical short than there is a crock pot electrical short? Is it something to do with the oven heating a bigger space than a crock pot?

[A S U]

Alot of ovens are gas powered. Obviously there is a risk with everything, but you understand how it just feels more safe to leave something electrical plugged in (alarm clock, fan, vcr, crockpot) as opposed to an oven.

[Tony_P]

RDH,

I usually like your posts, but you're being pretty ridiculous here.

[The Bus Driver]

RDH, it basically boils down to the crockpot being more convenient and efficient for what it's doing.