Leaving the hob on all day?

Faith

I want to make a stew soon which will need to be cooked for hours. I don't have a slow cooker, so is it safe enough to leave a pot simmering on the (electric) hob for the day while I'm at college?

foodaholic

It might stick to the bottom, how about putting it in the oven on a low heat instead. But a slow cooker would be best, I bought one in argos for 15eur its great

Dizzyblonde

I wouldn't risk it. As foodaholic said, your best bet would be the oven - at around 160C.
It would use quite a bit of electricity though, whereas a slow cooker only uses as much as a lightbulb.

happyfriday

foodaholic wrote: »

It might stick to the bottom, how about putting it in the oven on a low heat instead. But a slow cooker would be best, I bought one in argos for 15eur its great

Is that the Argos Value one? I have been looking into getting a slow cooker and nobody I know has one so couldn't ask anyones advice. Saw this one and just wasn't sure as I thought might be better to go for a higher end one but I really just want it to do what it says on the tin not really worried about all the bells and whistles.

olaola

I'd be a bit nervous about it tbh! Different story if you had an aga though!

Dizzyblonde

happyfriday wrote: »

Is that the Argos Value one? I have been looking into getting a slow cooker and nobody I know has one so couldn't ask anyones advice. Saw this one and just wasn't sure as I thought might be better to go for a higher end one but I really just want it to do what it says on the tin not really worried about all the bells and whistles.

If you search the food&drink forum you'll find lots of threads about slow cookers. I'm very attached to mine, and there's a thread about recipes HERE

Alun

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

It would use quite a bit of electricity though, whereas a slow cooker only uses as much as a lightbulb.

Well, possibly not ... it's a bit more complicated than that. Ovens have thermostats, remember, and although it will consume a lot of energy getting up to temperature, after that (assuming it's well insulated and you don't keep popping the door open to take a peek!) it only needs to maintain that temperature, and will only be consuming power for a fraction of that time. In principle, a slow cooker will do the same, but it's generally pretty badly insulated (the lids at any rate) and I wouldn't mind betting that it actually consumes power almost constantly. Also factor in that something you might cook for an hour in the oven would take, say, 8 hours in the slow cooker, and making the comparison it isn't necessarily as simple as you might at first think.

Here's an article (US based admittedly) where the same thing is discussed ...

http://www.stretcher.com/stories/01/010528j.cfm

Dizzyblonde

Alun wrote: »

Well, possibly not ... it's a bit more complicated than that. Ovens have thermostats, remember, and although it will consume a lot of energy getting up to temperature, after that (assuming it's well insulated and you don't keep popping the door open to take a peek!) it only needs to maintain that temperature, and will only be consuming power for a fraction of that time. In principle, a slow cooker will do the same, but it's generally pretty badly insulated (the lids at any rate) and I wouldn't mind betting that it actually consumes power almost constantly. Also factor in that something you might cook for an hour in the oven would take, say, 8 hours in the slow cooker, and making the comparison it isn't necessarily as simple as you might at first think.

Here's an article (US based admittedly) where the same thing is discussed ...

http://www.stretcher.com/stories/01/010528j.cfm

I get your point, it's just that the OP wanted to cook her stew on a low heat all day while she was out and in that case I thought a slow cooker would cost less to run?
Mind you, I never thought about it not having a thermostat - that's interesting.

Alun

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

Mind you, I never thought about it not having a thermostat - that's interesting.

Well, it probably does have one (pretty much any kind of appliance with a heating element will), but the question is how long does it stay on versus off, the so-called duty cycle. The slow cooker I have, for example, has a simple ceramic lid, and I'd imagine that means that quite a lot of heat escapes to the outside world, meaning the thing will be consuming energy more often than not. The only real way of telling would be to attach an energy monitor to it and see what the actual energy consumption is like over a typical 8-10 hour cooking period, and then try and do the same for the conventional oven for an hour or so (more difficult, since they don't plug into a normal 13-amp socket).

jeckle

It’s not a good idea to leave anything cooking on a hob or in an oven for long periods if there is no-one there to keep an eye on it. But, if it was a choice between the two I’d go for the oven on a very low heat.

Would you not consider cooking it when you are there & freezing it until you want to use it?

foodaholic

happyfriday I just got the bog standard cookworks one and it hasnt let me down. I dont think u need a fancy one at all.

Faith

Thanks for the replies everyone. My mum's away until Friday and I've been given the task of cooking for my dad. I don't actually like stews, so I'm not going to buy a slow cooker just for one meal! I figured it would be a filling and tasty meal that he could eat two nights running. He also likes to eat a lot earlier than I do, and it's handy.

I'll look into doing it in the oven instead . I might just leave it altogether though!

foodaholic

why dont u make it the night before. It always taste nicer the next day and that way your dad just has to re heat what he wants

Faith

foodaholic wrote: »

why dont u make it the night before. It always taste nicer the next day and that way your dad just has to re heat what he wants

Would it not need to be cooked for hours though?

spongeman

I would'nt take a chance with it.
Better to be safe than sorry.

Dizzyblonde

Faith wrote: »

Would it not need to be cooked for hours though?

No - a beef stew cooks in 2 hours.

Supercell

If you have a pressure cooker you could make a stew in 30 minutes or less depending on the amount you're making.

the beer revolu

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

No - a beef stew cooks in 2 hours.

Depends on the cut of meat - I like to use shin, that takes a good 3 hours to cook properly.

Dizzyblonde

the beer revolu wrote: »

Depends on the cut of meat - I like to use shin, that takes a good 3 hours to cook properly.

I see. I use rib steak and it only takes 2 hours.