Pros
Hotter crockpots are making food safer. The goal is to get the food through the danger zone as quickly as possible. Since millions of Americans get food poisoning every year, and since 5,000 die from food poisoning every year, that is far more important than having to throw out some burned food.And it's not difficult to individually adjust cooking times so the food doesn't burn. Consumers have to know how their appliances work. This isn't that different from adjusting cooking times for microwave recipes, depending on the wattage of your microwave oven.
Cons
Food is burning, chicken is overcooking, and food is being wasted. And are we really safer? Most food poisoning really occurs because of improper handling by the consumer, which includes:- Not washing hands
- Leaving perishable food at room temperature
- Under cooking food
- Not promptly refrigerating leftovers
- Mixing uncooked with cooked foods
Appliance cooking temperatures really don't make that list.
Where It Stands
So it seems I'm going to have to change my recipe writing style. Manufacturers are not going to return to the lower temperature settings of yore. So I'm going to give two cooking time directions for crockpot recipes; one for older crockpots, and one for newer appliances. It's up to you to know your crockpot and to follow the times for the type you have.It's also very important to test your own crockpot to see if it cooks hotter than the older varieties. It's impossible to write recipes for every single variable in the kitchen.
Always use a meat thermometer to check that meats, including chicken, beef, pork, and seafood, are cooked to the correct final temperature.
And make a note about how your crockpot cooks. You'll need to adjust every single recipe on the internet and many cookbooks according to that particular appliance.
And add your voice! Tell us about your experiences on Do You Like the Newer Hot Crockpots?
