We take out the slow cooker from the mezzanine: what else can be cooked in it

Thanks to the efforts of marketers, there are multicookers in almost every kitchen. But not everyone took root: for many, the comparison of a stove with a saucepan and a slow cooker did not work out in favor of the latter. But even if the multicooker did not suit you personally, this is not a reason to refuse it – in some cases this kitchen appliance can be indispensable.

The main difference of the multicooker is the ability to maintain a certain temperature for a given time. Especially this property becomes in demand if you need to maintain a low temperature for a long time – 40, 60 or 80 degrees. It remains only to see what products are prepared in such conditions.

Yogurt
Yoghurt is cooked at a temperature of 36–41ºС; if underheated, the starter microorganisms of yogurt will multiply much more slowly, if overheated, they will die and the product will delaminate. It is most convenient to cook yogurt if the multicooker has an appropriate mode , or if you can manually set the temperature and heating time in it (usually this mode is called “Multipovar” ). Then the preparation of delicious natural yogurt will not cause any problems even for a child.

Multicooker-pressure cooker Moulinex CE5A0F32 bronze 8 999 *
It is necessary to pour a liter of pasteurized milk, two teaspoons of sugar and half a liter of natural yogurt without additives and flavors into the bowl. Instead of yogurt, you can use dry yogurt sourdough, after dissolving it in milk – it will take only 1 g. Cooking temperature – 37-38ºС, cooking time – 6-8 hours.

Please note that the dishes in which yogurt is prepared must be cleanly washed, preferably sterilized. Therefore, many people recommend preparing yogurt not in the bowl itself, but in prepared glassware, placing it on the bottom of the bowl and filling the gap with water.

You can also cook yogurt in a slow cooker, which does not have suitable programs. True, in this case, some (simple) control is required. It is necessary to prepare the products in the same way as described above and turn on the “heating” mode for 15 minutes. Then turn off and, without opening the lid, leave the multicooker to cool for an hour. Then the process is repeated – 15 minutes of heating, an hour of “rest”. If after two cycles the product is still too liquid, you can repeat the process 1-2 more times.

Ready warm yogurt should be put in the refrigerator for several hours. For example, at night – and for breakfast, delicious natural yogurt will be ready. You can add jam, pieces of berries or fruits to it.

pasteurized milk.
Buying homemade milk today is not a problem – there are many farm shops and “one and a half” with supposedly fresh milk can be found in every second of them. Many people like the taste of milk that has not undergone technological processing at the dairy, much more than store-bought. But raw milk can be a carrier of many dangerous diseases, so drinking it directly from under the cow is still not worth it. But what to do if there is no faith in store-bought milk, and you don’t like the taste of boiled milk?

Farm milk can be pasteurized. Pasteurization kills most pathogens, while retaining a maximum of useful substances of milk and without changing its taste. For pasteurization, milk must be kept for 40 minutes at a temperature of 65ºС – this is the so-called long-term pasteurization, which gives the best result and is rarely used in dairies.

Multicooker Redmond RMK-M271 silver

[5 l, 830 W, control – buttons, programs – 16, temperature maintenance, delayed start]
5 999 *
320 3
Stores: 2 stores
Before pasteurization, the bowl should be thoroughly washed (preferably sterilized) or, as in the case of preparing yogurt, use a water bath.

Aspic
Many people love to eat this traditional winter dish, but hardly anyone likes to cook it. Indeed, in the classic recipe without gelatin, mosly (or meat) for jelly is boiled for six hours. In a slow cooker, broth for jelly does not cook faster, but for this time you can simply forget it, which is unlikely to work with a saucepan on the stove.

Multicooker Polaris PMC 0517 Expert black 8 499 *
As a result, cooking jellied meat becomes much easier – you just need to pour beef mosls (pork, chicken, turkey – whichever you prefer) into water and leave in the “stew” mode for 6-8 hours. Then filter the broth, separate the meat from the bones, pour it with broth and put it in the cold.

Dough
It seems that everything is as always – the ingredients are the same and the same, but the dough does not rise. Has it happened? It lies for an hour, two, but in volume it’s okay if it increases one and a half times. And then, when laying out the pies, you have to justify yourself with old yeast or an inappropriate phase of the moon. It would seem, how can a multicooker help here?

The fact is that here, too, it cannot do without microorganisms. Fermentation of the dough is associated with the rapid reproduction of yeast fungi, causing the fermentation of carbohydrates in flour and sugar with the formation of carbon dioxide. And best of all, fungi reproduce at the right temperature. Just place the kneaded dough in the multicooker bowl for 1.5 hours at a temperature of 38ºС and your pastry will surprise everyone with its splendor and softness.

By the way, if you prepared the dough for homemade bread, you can even bake it without removing it from the slow cooker.

not food
If you are completely disappointed in the slow cooker as a kitchen appliance, still do not rush to get rid of it – it can come in handy in a completely unexpected way. In the slow cooker it is convenient to produce natural cosmetics, candles and soap. Who knows, maybe this will become your new hobby or even business. Here are some recipes:

Natural soap
This soap does not contain fragrances and dyes, and all components in it are natural. Cooking it is quite simple, but you will need to find all the ingredients and prepare the dishes. The non-stick coating of the multicooker bowl is destroyed by alkali, so soap cannot be boiled directly in the bowl. You will either have to choose a bowl of a suitable size made of stainless steel, or use glassware, filling the gap between it and the bowl with water.

The ingredients can be found in specialized stores. There are many recipes for hand soap, one of the simplest will require:

Multicooker Polaris PMC 0567AD black

If you want to change the color or add some flavor, natural colors and flavors can be purchased at the same store where you bought the ingredients.

Natural aroma oils
The extraction of aromatic substances from plants can be done by heating them for a long time at a low (40–60ºС) temperature. As already clear from the above, a multicooker is perfect for this. You will need a base oil – it is better to take olive, coconut, almond or jojoba. It is better not to use sunflower and flaxseeds – they quickly go rancid. And you will also need fragrant plant material – it can be green spruce or fir cones, orange peel, clove buds, cinnamon, lavender flowers, roses or lilies, and many other options.

The plant material is tightly packed in a glass dish and completely filled with base oil. After that, the dishes are placed in a water bath in a multicooker and heated in the “Yogurt” mode (temperature about 40ºС) for 6–8 hours or in the “Heating” mode for 3–6 hours. At the end of the process, the oil remains only to be filtered.

This is how you can use the device, which for some reason seemed useless to you and just takes up space on the far shelf in case “it suddenly comes in handy”. Natural yogurt and bread, a family recipe for jelly and environmentally friendly cosmetics – something that can be easily prepared in a slow cooker. Also, children can be involved in this activity in order to spend time together with benefit. And, who knows, maybe it will become a family tradition or a matter of life.