slow cookers

[Patf]

What's the name of slow cookers in France? I think it's something to do with simmering.

I've got a small one called Cordon Bleu which I bought in France and hardly used. Giving it to someone here but need an instruction booklet.

[idun]

Mijoteuses, or maybe cocotte.

[mint]

cocotte minute

[idun]

No, sorry mint but a cocotte minute is a pressure cooker, so the inverse of a slow cooker.

I hated my slow cooker, but love a pressure cooker[Www]

[Patf]

I think mijoteuse is the word.

I tried to explain to the person I was giving it to that I think you have to pre-heat it, and pre- fry the ingredients before putting them in . It must have been one of the early ones because you don't have to do that now.

I now have a much bigger one which I use regularly.

[mint]

Oops, you are right right, Id.  I don't know why but I was thinking of a pressure cooker.  Slow cooker must be mijoteuse because to mijoter something means that you boil it for hours.

I don't have much use for either of those things.

[Loiseau]

I think maybe mijoter means more of a simmer than a boiling.

[pomme]

Here is a link to slow cookers on Amazon France https://tinyurl.com/vqg4g6b

So it seems crock pot/mijoteuse électrique programmable are the common descriptions

[mint]

[quote user="Loiseau"]I think maybe mijoter means more of a simmer than a boiling.[/quote]

Yes, Loiseau, you cook it for hours, maybe even overnight, depending on what fuel you use.  Although I hardly eat any meat these days, all this talk about mijoteuse, makes me long for a daub!

[idun]

mint, I realise that you don't cook meat much, so a pressure cooker for cheap cuts is probably not something you would need, or want[:)].

I seal braised steak and then when my wood burner oven is not in use, I pressure cooker it, usually lovely. In fact I have noticed them being used on some master chef type programs for cheaper cuts, or say, tongue.

I also cook my xmas puds in it, save a LOT of time.

The only omlette I think is OK is a spannish one with potatoes. Boy have I tried with the others, and with savoury souffles and I am not that keen on fruit souffles either. Not for me at all.  Although I do love authentic quiche lorraine, and there are a few other of these tarts that I rather like, including fishy ones.

I use a lot of eggs, but am funny with them, and cannot stand snotty whites, OR the yolk still being bright but firm, both literally make me [+o(]. Ofcourse my OH and son don't mind either of these, and I will cook them like that, if they want.

[Patf]

Idun you sound so energetic - I'm running out of steam when it comes to baking and cooking.

And we don't do deep frying any more, husband has a stomach problem and oily foods make him ill.

I do shallow-fry fish though and use a tiny bit of sunflower oil, which seems tasteless to me.

No chips [:(]

[idun]

LOL I have very little steam left, but I suppose that cooking is my not only something we do to eat, but a hobby as well and it is one of the few things I can do well.

Not by any means masterchef, not British Bake off, just good home cooking and baking. And I am rotten at serving, no fancy plating up from me, whether it be a meal or cakes even. That is my other 'talent', being cack handed when I serve food.[Www][:$]

[Geordie]

Be very careful what you buy. We were assured the one we bought was a slow cooker but in fact it was some kind of rice cooker and boiled everything rapidly. I think what you need is something like this:

https://www.darty.com/nav/achat/petit_electromenager/cuisson_quotidienne-cuiseur_mijoteur/mijoteur/crock-pot_csc061x-01.html

[Judith-aka-Judith]

I have several slow cookers, of various ages and sizes.  Some are much speedier than others, so you need to check how things cook before you leave one alone for a long time.  I have come back to find some things burnt, others hardly cooked.  I now know which one to use when.  But couldn't live without one. 

[Patf]

Geordie and Judith - both good advice.

I have a french one which works well, but will be searching for another one here in the UK.

I'll try Lakeland, there's one near us.

[idun]

How we are all different with our cooking things.

 

None of my cooking was any good when I used my Tefal slow cooker, OK that was a very long time ago,   a wedding present as it happens. I would never have another.

My current best casseroles are Wilko's own and a Tefal, my Lakeland, far dearer, I do not use, didn't get away with that either, I have only had it for three years.

As I said, we are all different with our cooking things and probably the way we cook.[:D]

[Lehaut]

No chips Sad [:(]

We don't have a deep fat fryer, one on the stove I consider too dangerous, and I don't like the smell of them. (Even worse when you can smell it on people in the shops).

For chips at christmas I use the commercial ones, otherwise toss a few chip shaped potatoes in oil, melted butter and salt, in the hot oven and volia.

[Patf]

I agree about the smell Lehaut. We had a deepfryer in France but it lived in the barn where I plugged it in sometimes.

When our eldest was in his late teens he sometimes came home late at night but we always knew when he was home (relief) because of the smell of the deepfryer as he made himself some chips.

[nomoss]

We have chips quite often, cooked in a stove-top fryer, which we have had for donkey's years.

The oil gets thrown every so many batches, so the smell is minimal, and doesn't get anywhere else, as we have a well-placed  hotte, plus a powerful ceiling extractor fan, and open a kitchen window slightly.

As my wife has had a broken arm since before Christmas I have been doing most of the cooking, and bought what I thought were frozen chips to cook in the oven, to reduce my work load a little, although we are not very fond of them.

When I opened the packet I found they were simply frozen, ready-cut chips, maybe partly cooked, so had to cook them in the fryer anyway. I was surprised and pleased when they turned out to make far better tasting, crispier chips than the oven cooked ones, which tend to be hard and dry, and also much better than those made with spuds we buy locally, even those marked as being for making chips.

I think the quality control of the spuds they use must make a big difference, so have decided the very small extra cost over buying whole ones is worthwhile.

[idun]

I still use a cooker top chip pan. I have a great extractor fan, and the smell really is not a problem.

In fact the worst smell from frying we ever have and then we set something up outside is frying prawn crackers.

I will fry bugnes in the house, but they are a far smellier thing than chips.

I don't fry chips very often, strange we can go weeks without them, and then maybe have them a couple of times in a week.

[nomoss]

[quote user="idun"]...........................................In fact the worst smell from frying we ever have and then we set something up outside is frying prawn crackers. ...........................[/quote]

Don't try frying Bombay duck or ikan bilis in the kitchen then!

They won't even make you popular if fried outdoors.

[idun]

Never had Bombay Duck, and reading about it, don't think it is for me and the anchovies certainly are not. They have their place, but only in very very small doses.[:D]

[mint]

Actually bombay duck is surprisingly tasty.

Don't like ikan bilis though because they are like whitebait and I don't eat things whole with all their guts still inside!