There are a number of ways to prepare meals, and while some convenient favorites might be those that are quick and easy to prepare, there is also something to be said of those that take even longer to prepare than what you’re used to. The slow cooker is even specifically designed to accommodate this kind of approach – which does raise the question, what are the benefits? There must be so much effort to go into supporting them.
Well, as always, it will depend on the meal that you’re making, as well as the actual circumstances around you – as you have to be prepared to accommodate this long cooking time.
The Taste
Primarily, this was always going to rank highly. Why else do anything to do with food? Well, when it comes to meals that have a lot of ingredients, you might find that everything having more time to stew together leads these flavors to impact each other more than they otherwise would. This can lead you to a greater realization of the original idea than if you simply whipped up the meal as quickly as you possibly could. This can help to get more out of each individual ingredient, as well as help the taste of the combination to truly shine.
If you’re someone who cares about making yourself the nicest meals possible, this will be something that catches your eye, but it might not be enough for those who don’t feel like it’s worth the effort.
Your Free Time
This might sound bizarre as if you’re not cooking these meals at the end of the day, you likely have to cook them earlier on – something which not everyone will have the time for. However, if you do have time to do that earlier in the day, you might find that you’re able to fit it into your schedule much more easily, saving you from scrambling around in order to get everything ready in time for it to be served later on.
This can not only lead you to a more stress-free day and a more focused period of preparation, but it can also allow you more time in the evening. This is time that you can use however you see fit, perhaps finally giving you time to focus on your interests. Whether this is pursuing a pet project that you’ve struggled to find the time for or even just relaxing with some games, like the pokies online for Aussies, there’s bound to be something that you’d rather be doing at this time than stressing over a meal.
Using Less Electricity
Another practical benefit that might jump out at you when it comes to slow cookers is how they might save you more money year-round than an oven. If you manage to find a lot of slow cooker recipes that are capable of being entirely cooked within that device, without needing to rely on the oven at all, then this could be something of a money saver for you. You might not even be aware how much of your electricity bill can be attributed to your oven until you find an alternative.
However, there is a ‘but’ to consider here. A lot of recipes are going to need you to use the oven in some capacity before you start, such as by roasting or frying certain ingredients before you begin so that they can be included in the recipe in that form. Therefore, it might be simply about using the oven less rather than cutting out of the rotation entirely, which still might be something that saves you money.
