Slow Cooker Safety: 5 Foods You Should Never Put In Your Crock-Pot

A slow cooker has emerged a highly versatile device that can come to your rescue when you want to prepare healthy meals on a lazy Sunday, holidays, or parties. The device is equipped with stunning feature of “set it and forget-it” and therefore ideal for cooking nearly all meals in a nutritious way. However, there are a few foods that you should always avoid putting into your slow cooker and few ingredients may also heighten food safety risks.

5 foods you should avoid putting in a slow cooker

Frozen Chicken: Preparing frozen chicken in a slow cooker can pose health hazards, According to a report featured in Southern Living, it is not ideal to cook frozen chicken in a slow cooker. It is because the danger zone for food temperatures may vary between 40° and 140°F. Such range lets bacteria multiply that is the reason why you should not let food remain in that temperature for more than 2 hours. As the device takes some time to heat up and cook slowly, it implies that frozen chicken may remain in that temperature for a longer period. Chicken requires to arrive at an internal temperature of 165°F to be safe for consumption. You must ensure to thaw frozen chicken before putting it in the appliance. The device has emerged highly beneficial healthy slow cooker recipes.  

Dry Kidney Beans: Never cook dry kidney beans as they contain phytohemagglutinin (PHA), a protein known as lectin. PHA becomes harmful in high doses. The toxin can get eliminated when boiled at 212°F for a period of 30 minutes, added the Southern Living report. It also implies that the food can be prepared using a stovetop, however, slow cooker may not reach the required temperature that fast. 

Tender Veggies: Vegetables containing high water content such as zucchini, asparagus, peas, spinach likely to melt when they are slow-cooked for several hours.

Rice & Pasta: Starchy dishes such as pasta and rice can be cooked faster but slow cookers are not ideal for fast results. Slow cookers are appropriate for making dense meats or thick root vegetable tender. But the device can provide rice and pasta a mushy texture that you may not love. For ideal outcomes, you should prepare rice and pasta on a stovetop separately.  

Seafood: Cooking seafood should be avoided in a slow cooker because the flesh is delicate and just an extra minute can extensively worsen the texture. You can prepare sea food using any other appliance.