To wonder if you can overcome that slow cooker taste?

There really is a distinctive 'slow cooker' taste. My son dislikes it even more than I do and I even tried a second slow cooker - ceramic rather than aluminium. Browned off any meat, pre cooked the onions - still odd.
I've gone back to the oven on a low heat and my le Creuset casserole dishes.

Agreed, it’s just slow cooker taste

It’s definitely not this.

I brown everything before it goes in the slow cooker (several other posters have said they do the same).

Reading this I suspect the difference in people’s ability to taste is quite significant

thats why you’ve never tasted it. It’s the onions. If you just bung everything in the slow cooker and turn it on everything has a slightly raw onion taste (if using onions). If you brown everything or at least the onions on the hob first it tastes fine.
its why I gave up using mine. The only point to them was to be able to bung everything in at the start of the day. If you have to brown everything first you might as well just cook it on the hob.

Oh, I've mentioned this for years to DH and my mum and neither of them have known what I've been on about! I think it's where the liquid shrinks away from the edge of the pot a bit and browns/burns ever so slightly. Then it all gets stirred in. You know like when you're cooking on the hob and get distracted and then the sauce catches a bit on the bottom, so you scrape and stir it like mad to mix the few black bits in? There's always the very slightest taste.

DD and DS refuse to eat slow cooker food as it tastes of slow cooker apparently. A friend is the same. Nothing to do with browning or reducing liquid. Maybe it's like coriander and some people can't taste it and some people can.

Yea I get this too kind of like a slightly celery taste ( I hate celery) really puts me off. ive put the slow cooker away and resurrected many times over the years. However I think I’ve cracked it, the slow cooker is on.too long.. from when I leave until I get home could be over 9 hrs. I bought a WiFi plug so can turn it on from work about 10-11 am rather than when I leave at 8. So far it’s working and I haven’t noticed the taste the last few things I’ve made!

I honestly think this is a thing some people pick up on and others don't! I got given one, cooked a bunch of different things, followed recipes exactly, ended up getting rid of the thing because everything had a weird undertaste to me.

This thread has made me feel better. I always thought it was just me with this problem.

I agree there is a slow cooker taste. I think it's because when you cook in an oven (or even on the stove), the exposed parts (eg meat that's sticking out) caramelises, and the sauce reduces and concentrates flavour. So for example you can bung in half a bottle of wine and it evaporates leaving a lovely sauce, whereas if you used the same in the slow cooker it would just taste too 'winey'. So yes there is a definite slow cooker taste and doesn't mean your slow cooker is broken.

As to how you overcome this, I think it's difficult ans involves some extra steps that negate the point of a slow cooker. I'd suggest browning meat and sautéing veg before adding. Season really well and add a bit of sugar to replace the natural caramelisation. And afterwards consider draining, reducing the sauce in a saucepan at a rolling boil, and then adding back in. It's unlikely to taste the same as roasted though.

But that doesn't explain why you can cook a meal for say, four people, and not all those people can taste the weirdness.

I genuinely think it's just that some people have a stronger sense of taste than others.

People generally add less seasoning than they nedd in my experience. That's why slow cooker food tastes weird sometimes

I suspect you're right. I might have occasionally had a hint of it when using canned tomatoes, but I usually use fresh, then I don't notice it.

Use my airfryer most days and never had any issues with it, everything tastes great.

Previous Poster.

Yep me too - my slow cooker is ceramic and I always use decent butchers meat and mutti tomatoes.

This thread has totally validated me - my slow cooker is going in the bin

This is useful to know because I was worried about getting an air fryer incase it had the same issue! I also can’t believe I’ve found so many other people on here who have found this too.

I gave mine away due to this! I made a few different things and they all had this weird taste. Glad it’s not just me!

I think it’s just a case of some people being able to taste it and some people not.

Like a PP I’m autistic and a bit of a super taster around food, so I suspect that comes into it for me.

My food doesn’t have a specific slow cooker taste but never tastes as nice as when it is slow cooked on the hob or in the oven. I brown meat and fry off onions/soffrito mix etc but it’s never as rich when you do it in a SC.

Tend to only use mine for pulled pork and keeping things warm on a buffet now.

Yeah, those recipes are grim. It always makes me laugh when the whole thing consists of throwing in multiple cans of soup, loads of msg-laden seasoning, and a bag of grated cheese. That’s not cooking 🤢.

Not sure if it’s been mentioned already, but the Taming Twins website has some really good slow cooker recipes. I’ve never had one of those go wrong.

food cooked in my slow cooker definitely tastes different from food cooked in a casserole dish in the oven, I prefer oven cooked.

I used high quality ingredients in a new cooker.

Still tasted horrible.

I'm so glad to read so many people get this weird taste from a slow cooker! I thought I was just rubbish using it. When I have to brown and fry in a different pot anyway to make it edible, I see no need for a slow cooker. Much happier with a cast iron casserole dish.