I use my slow cookers a lot and with the price increase in fuel, have been thinking a lot about insulating them to make them even more efficient. I have taken to wrapping my small one in a pair of oven gloves, held in place with a clothes peg, and it works a treat. So with the oven glove idea as a starting point, I want to make a wrap for it and would love some suggestions about what to use as insulation.
Perhaps the stuff you buy to make oven gloves? Is there different types? Would I be able to do a couple of layers of it and does it need to be quilted? Does anyone else put an overcoat on their crock pot? I’m thinking about making a hole in it to fit around the control knob for easy access. Any suggestions gratefully received (as would be any tried and tested slow cooker recipes )
I use Insul-Bright wadding for oven gloves etc. available from The Cotton Patch.
Not sure about using on a crockpot though as may cause problems with the thermostat, they are built to not overheat. Reviews online say it will take longer to cook with wadding so could be negative to save costs.
I’ve been experimenting using the ‘hay box’ technique - get pot to boiling on stove then putting it in a cardboard box lined with blankets and wrap up so is insulated. Only tried soup so far and works really well - 5+ hours later it was perfectly cooked and still roasting hot.
I see you can buy ready made padded covers you can buy to wrap the pot in so I was also thinking of making something similar, albeit not for an electric slow cooker. At the moment I’m just using loose fleece blankets so was thinking of just using anything I can find that is insulating e.g. old fleece fabric, bits of an old duvet or similar as doesn’t need to be pretty.
I’d also be concerned about cooking the electrics.
Thank you, that’s given me food for thought. I too was worried about cooking the electrics which is why I’m thinking about a wrap or scarf design rather than something which encloses it, just to insulate the walls while leaving the electrical bits clear. The hay box method sounds amazing, I follow a FB group where some members use it successfully. I have seen ‘super insulators’ for sale online, like a great big fabric pumpkin to completely surround your (non-electric) pot, but they are very expensive.
I’ve also bought an air fryer, the one that was being sold at Iceland. When I saw how big it was compared to how small the actual cooking compartment was, I was really disappointed and would have asked to return it if I had been able to find the receipt! But I have used it twice this week and I’m so pleased I kept it.
Also, folks are raving about the Ninja (??) Food Multi Cooker which saves so much time and it cooks everything from roast chicken dinner including all the veg … I haven’t used one, but I know of folks who have, and they rave about how much electricity they save by using it. It’s just a thought. Some are expensive, but if you are a ‘Pre-Loved’ or ‘Gumtree’ fan I’ve always found these sites have lots that I buy!!!
We have something called a Remoska, bought from Lakeland years ago and still going strong, apparently originally invented in the Czech Republic. It is basically a deep metal dish on a small stand, with a metal lid (with a toughened glass see through bit). The two layer lid has an electric element between the two metal bits and the heat comes downwards on to the food. We are now vegetarian, and use it to roast vegetables with just a sprinkling of oil and herbs and a squeeze of lemon, but it also makes wonderful meat casseroles at a fraction of the cost of using the oven in the cooker. They are quite expensive now via Lakeland, but were quite cheap when we bought it about 20 years ago.
That sounds interesting, I’ve never heard of those but will look it up. I love to layer up vegetables, any vegetables, in my slow cooker, even ones I don’t normally like turn out delicious.
I too purchased the Remoska about 25 years ago and after using it a couple of times in the beginning it went up to the loft and stayed there. I brought it down about 6 weeks ago and have been using it ever since. It’s still works perfectly and, like you, we are vegetarians and have made some super meals in it, even with TVP. I notice that Lakeland have none in stock at the moment but the Standard is now around £169. Funnily enough, a seller on eBay sold one yesterday, it was a used one and had 29 bids…the final sale price was £158 plus £8 postage so the buyer paid virtually the same price of a new one for a used one.
Yes, well worth taking down from the loft! I even use it as a plate warmer by balancing a couple of dinner plates on the top before serving - though this isn’t covered in the instructions!
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