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I have a (meat) slow-cooker and very occasionally want to be able to slow-cook dairy foods. Is it possible to adapt my existing appliance for this purpose?

The slow-cooker consists of a glazed clay crock with a glass lid that sits in an electric heating element. (My crock is removable, though that is not always the case.) As the name implies, the appliance is run for many hours -- overnight, or morning to evening, or sometimes longer (24+ hours).

Possibilities that have occurred to me:

  • Get a second crock (and lid?). Does the meat crock transmit its meat-ness to the heating element, making this problematic (so I would need a whole new slow-cooker), or is that not a concern because food never touches the heating element?

  • Use some sort of disposable liner. I undertand that one can buy plastic liners but I have no experience with this. (That may be a question for Cooking.SE.) Or use a disposable foil pan (wrapped in foil) to hold the dairy food. If this is a valid approach, it would be less of a storage problem (and probably expense) than buying a second crock.

  • Place a (dairy) casserole inside the crock. Does the dairy casserole in the meat crock pose a problem? Does there need to be something between them, like foil? (This approach involves no waste from disposable liners/pans/etc.)

  • Forget about using the slow-cooker to slow-cook and just leave the oven on all night instead (consumes more power and, in summer, heats up the house). This is what I do now, unless I just give up on the slow-cooked dairy food entirely.

msh210
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Monica Cellio
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1 Answers1

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Technically, flavor does not transfer from one utensil to another unless some liquid is present as a conduit. Practically, however, there will usually be spillover that can cause problems. In theory one could use a separate crock with an aluminum liner to catch any spills, but this is not very practical either. Probably the best bet is to buy a dedicated crockpot for dairy; they are pretty cheap, and it will save you lots of hassle in the long run.

Edit from comments: or use a "plata" style slow-cooker like this one; you could use a dairy vessel with that if you put foil over the heating element.

Monica Cellio
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Dave
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    "Technically, flavor does not transfer from one utensil to another unless some liquid is present as a conduit. Practically, however, there will usually be spillover that can cause problems." Right: and for that reason, we do not (if I recall correctly from when I learned basar v'chalav) rely on that rule l'chatchila. As always, consult your rabbi rather than relying on me! – msh210 Jan 13 '12 at 17:38
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    Thanks. The storage problem is actually more significant than the cost. – Monica Cellio Jan 13 '12 at 17:47
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    @MonicaCellio - I suspected that storage was part of the issue. But if you were already willing to get a separate crock, the heating unit wouldn't take up that much more space. – Dave Jan 13 '12 at 17:54
  • If the storage problem is the primary concern, I think the only thing you can do is stick with the oven. The same storage problem will probably exist whether you replace the crock (and lid) or the entire slow cooker unit. Option 2 in the question is not an option (if I understand it correctly); the fact that plastic liners tend to leak - trust me - as does foil is not even the only problem. I'm not sure I understand #3. – Seth J Jan 13 '12 at 17:57
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    @msh210 - correct you are, as per Rama in Yoreh Deah 92:8, quoting Shaarei Dura. However, Badei Hashulchan there explains that the reason for not relying on this rule l'chatchila is because it is subject to dispute. – Dave Jan 13 '12 at 18:00
  • If I have to buy another crock anyway then you make a good point: a new heating element doesn't really add much to the cost. If I can do something to allow use of the existing crock, that would be much better (no big thing to store). – Monica Cellio Jan 13 '12 at 18:01
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    @SethJ - Re: plastic liners, aside from the leakage problem, I would note that the manufacturers recommend pouring water underneath so that it won't melt. This would basically make the liner useless from a kashrus perspective, I think. – Dave Jan 13 '12 at 18:03
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    @MonicaCellio - actually, I'd assume that buying a new unit would be cheaper than specially ordering a separate crock. – Dave Jan 13 '12 at 18:04
  • @Dave Right, as I said, it's not even the only problem. I can think of a few other problems that are inherent or likely to arise as a result of some malfunction of the bag/foil/wrapping. – Seth J Jan 13 '12 at 18:07
  • @MonicaCellio - The "flat plate" style of slow cooker would be much easier to deal with in this regard; a simple covering of aluminum foil would do the trick. You could just cover the element and use a dairy casserole dish. These elements don't take up very much space, either. – Dave Jan 13 '12 at 18:07
  • @SethJ, #3 is to put the food in a dairy casserole that's small enough to fit in the crock, then put the whole thing in (perhaps on a layer of foil). Kind of like Russian nesting dolls, I guess. We already know that the casserole is leak-proof, unlike foil. – Monica Cellio Jan 13 '12 at 18:33
  • Dave, I haven't heard of flat-plate cookers before; thanks for the tip. You're not talking about hot-plates, designed for keeping food warm, are you? Those don't get as warm as a crock pot; I don't think I could cook, say, yogurt on my hot-plate. – Monica Cellio Jan 13 '12 at 18:34
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    @MonicaCellio - The flat design is popular in Israel, where it's known as a "plata." Here are two examples that are sold in the US: http://www.digitalbundle.com/products/West_Bend_84905_5-Quart_Oblong-Shaped_crock_pot_Slow_Cooker_flat_____072244849059.html and http://www.thebuzzelectronics.com/West_Bend_84716_West_Bend_84716_Ve.htm – Dave Jan 13 '12 at 19:16
  • Dave, thanks! I've never seen that kind of slow-cooker before. – Monica Cellio Jan 13 '12 at 21:15
  • dead link [15c] – Double AA Aug 15 '16 at 22:13