Yesterday morning, I put on a beef stew, with chuck steak, onions, potatoes, parsnip and carrots a few other bits and bobs with a tin of tomatoes and a bit of water to make up the volume. We thought 12 hours on low would be ample time to cook it, only to find, 12 hours later, that the beef was still chewy, the potatoes, onions and carrots hardly cooked, and the parsnip half cooked.We had something else for dinner, and stuck it on high for the next three hours and it seems to be better.Has anyone else had a problem with their slow cooker not cooking something when there should have been ample time!It didn't get a stir at all, but then I read on here that people just put it on in the morning and when they get back from work, it's perfect.no stirring mentioned.Should we have put it on high perhaps!12 hours on high seems a bit excessive to me.
lx4000,
Jul 11, 5:37pm
was it on low or high setting! did you add hot water! did you keep lifting the lid!
kay141,
Jul 11, 5:43pm
I would have thought 12 hours on low was ample. It always has been for me, if anything too long. As already asked, did you keep lifting the lid! I read that every time you lift the lid, you add 30 mins to the cooking time. Might pay to check your lid for a good fit as well. The lid on my oval one has to be just so or it leaves a gap on one side. I usually put a piece of tinfoil under it.
jenjen76,
Jul 11, 5:57pm
Yes, I was thinking that after 12 hours we'd have mush. We were out all day, so no constant lifting of lid. It was on low and the lid seems to fit well.We used cold water to start with, but even so would have thought 12 hours enough to heat up the liquid and cook the contents.
patxyz,
Jul 11, 5:59pm
powercut during the day!
davidt4,
Jul 11, 6:09pm
Slow cookers vary in temperatures - maybe yours didn't get hot enough to break down the connective tissue in the meat.
It's best to put it on high until everything is at simmering point, then turn it down to maintain the heat.12 hours should be ample if you do that.
cookessentials,
Jul 11, 7:11pm
I always do mine on high and then reduce the heat after a few hours to low.
jenjen76,
Jul 11, 7:22pm
Would that be the same as the 'auto' function!Defeats one of the purposes of a slow cooker if you have to go home to turn it down, or give it a stir.
fifie,
Jul 11, 7:28pm
Turn cooker on to high to heat up while you prepare dish. When its in cooker turn S/C to auto function that way it should cook on high till bubbling hot then turn it itself back to low for the rest of the cooking time.Remember some veg take a while to cook, i always cut carrots,onions potatoes, etc up into small pieces, try this if your not home, if your around cook on high for a while then down to low.
wasgonna,
Jul 11, 7:35pm
You didn't turn the cooker on to "keep warm" instead of "low"did you! That's if you have it on your unit.
nzhel,
Jul 11, 8:42pm
Almost sounds as if the cooker is playing up as 12 hours should have been more than ample time. Was the power off for a few hours! - tho I suppose you would have realised if that had happened.
jenjen76,
Jul 11, 9:18pm
We only have off, low, high and auto settings on ours.I don't think the power went out otherwise we would have seen our digitial clocks were wrong or flashing.I diced all the veg up pretty small. Ah well, think I'll try it on auto next time, and perhaps make it on a weekend to observe its progress (without tinkering with it).And try pre-heating it too.Thanks everyone.
jaky,
Jul 12, 1:15am
My old one used to do this. After trying it about 8 times to the same uncooked result, decided it was faulty somewhere & threw it out. Got a new 3.5L george foreman one & have had no problems.
rainrain1,
Jul 12, 1:28am
i go out and leave mine on high.but i wouldn't leave for 12 hours on high, 6hrs or so though, then turn to low
grandma,
Jul 12, 1:53am
I put my casseroles etc on High around 9.00 am and serve the meal around 6.00 pm.The older ones appear to need longer higher temperatures - mine suits me fine.
yjeva,
Jul 12, 1:58am
I would have used auto - that cooks it on high for an hour to make sure it reaches a good heat, and then switches to low.
duckmoon,
Jul 12, 2:25am
Did you push the vege against the side!
norse_westie,
Jul 12, 2:37am
I never put water in anything in the slow cooker. The tin of tomatoes should be enough moisture.
kay141,
Jul 12, 2:53am
If I'm leaving mine on all day, it is on low and I've never had a problem. Neither of mine have an auto function.
pgta,
Jul 12, 3:15am
I only have the original crockpot which does low and high.12 hours on low in that and the meat would be falling apart.
Think there is something wrong with your slow cooker
suzanna,
Jul 12, 3:31am
Same scenario here - never ever had a problem and have always put cp on low as I leave at 7:30 and not home until around 6.
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