On Feb 12, 5:18*pm, Jerry Avins > wrote:
> ship wrote:
>
> * *...
>
> > One of the best stews I ever had was cooked by my uncle in the plate
> > warmer section of
> > an old Aga. I dont know what the temperature was but he brought it to
> > the boil on the top
> > and then left it there for about 2-3 DAYS.
>
> > I think you'd need to make sure you had an EVEN COOLER slow cooker for
> > such
> > long cooking periods.
>
> > That reminds me - what range of temperatures are these slow cookers
> > supposed to
> > be running at in any case? Anyone know?
>
> I have left stew overnight on the stovetop BUT I knew what I was doing.
> The pot, a Wagner Drip-Drop roaster, has a smoothly machined cover-pot
> interface, making for a nearly hermetic seal. Before putting the stew to
> bed for the night, I brought it to a vigorous boil with the cover in
> place, sterilizing it, Then I let it sit without opening the cover. In
> effect, the stew was canned. When it came time to serve it for lunch, I
> again brought it to a boil just in case. Stew and soup are almost always
> better the day after they're made. This didn't depart from that perception..
>
> Your uncle's wonderful stew didn't sit raw for half a day before heating
> began. I don't think it addresses Stephanie's point.

The question at stake is how quickly raw meat goes off in a cold
larder.
In the winter, in my larder I simply do not see a problem.
In the summer months you could have a point.

But you havent addressed my question of cooking temperature.
Are you implying that bacteria can breed (or even survive) at the same
temperature
as a slow cooker runs at? Otherwise what's all this about
sterilisation.

Also you havent address my point about getting to have a REALLY slow
cooking by having a lower temperature - and whether it would work
to cook for a really long time at this low temperature.


Ship