A conventional slow cooker (also known as a slow cooker) is a pot made of metal or ceramic that is used to cook foods such as soups, stews, and meats slowly for long periods of time. They are very useful and convenient for people who are too busy and would like to have their food ready when they get home in the evening after spending the whole day at work.
Food is exposed to low heat for a long period of time, and once cooked, the slow cooker keeps it warm by operating at low temperatures. It is also believed that as the heat is kept low during slow cooking, the nutrients remain intact. Is that true? Let’s find out:
Scientific studies have shown something different:
A test was done on lysine, an amino acid found in peanuts. He showed that 20% disappeared after cooking for an hour and a half at a temperature of 150°F/66°C. After two and a half hours, only 60% of it remained. Most vitamins have less heat stability than lysine when cooked for long hours, even at low temperatures. Therefore, it is clear that cooking for a long time, even on low heat, damages nutrients.
Also, the pots themselves are not as pretty and naive as they seem. At cooking temperatures, they leach their chemicals and metals into the food, especially since it cooks for so many hours. (See information on home tests to verify the learning of your pots)
What happens is that at cooking temperatures, the metal breaks down into ions and these ions react with the food (a biochemical entity) while the heat acts as a catalyst. These metals accumulate in our organs and cells and, over a long period of time, cause serious health problems. All metals, chemicals, varnishes, enamels, etc. leach similar toxins [chemicals like Cadmium, Lead, Petalite (Lithium) and metal ions like Al-Aluminum, Ni-Nickel (steel), Ti- Titanium (steel), Mo – molybdenum (steel), Cr-Chromium (steel), Fe-Iron (steel)] in food during cooking, even over low heat.
A healthy alternative must be free of toxins and not reactive to food. Until a few hundred years ago, clay was the only material used to make cookware, because it is naturally inert. If we look for a similar alternative today, pure clay is a material that is being used to make kitchen utensils. Manufacturers harvest it from uncultivated, unindustrialized land so it stays pure and safe.
In addition, they can retain heat and keep food warm for several hours after cooking. You get healthy and delicious slow-cooked foods that you can never get from a conventional slow cooker (metal/ceramic).
When using pure clay pots for slow cooker recipes, the one important thing to keep in mind is this: The general rule of thumb is to cook anything over medium heat (or a little more than medium heat) until done. Vegetarian soups/stews take 30-40 minutes, cereals 30-40 minutes, and non-vegetarian food 50-1.15 minutes. If you’re interested in making bone broth, it can take about 2-3 hours for beef bones and 1.5-2 hours for chicken and turkey, respectively.