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Who really has the time to learn what all the buttons and switches mean on your kitchen devices? Many of us just grew up learning how to use the few basic functions that our parents used on the oven or the microwave. And we get in the habit of throwing away the manual for most appliances we bring home. All of that tiny print and pages and pages of information – it’s overwhelming. You know what you’re doing in there, right? You want to make a frozen pizza, you just follow the instructions on the box. You want to make a smoothie, you toss your ingredients in the blender and just mess around with the different buttons until you’re happy with the consistency (or you’re unhappy, but it’s too late now).
There is value in familiarizing yourself with the various functions of your appliances, though. Like with many things, you put in a little bit of time on the front end learning about something and it saves you a lot of time, forever, on other tasks. Many of your appliances are designed to streamline some processes that you otherwise might take the long road to do. And some are capable of tricks you’ll find very useful. Here are kitchen appliances you’re likely using incorrectly.
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Your slow cooker
Your slow cooker can be an excellent tool for making flavorful and rather hands-off recipes in large batches. But there are two key phrases right there: hands-off and large batches. If you use the designated settings in your recipe, your slow cooker will do the rest. Don’t check on it regularly throughout the process, as lifting the lid can release heat and interfere with the cooking process. It’s also important that you load your slow cooker at least halfway full. Any less and the contents can dry out or burn.
