Slowcooker

[Gemizzel]

Hi Everyone,
For some, very annoying, reason every time I cook something in my slow cooker it always has a bitter taste. I cant see how I can be doing something "wrong" with a slow cooker but I have never heard of anyone else having this problem!
Its usually with something like a chilli or a curry rather than a joint type dish.
Am I missing something?

Not come across that before.

Is the dish metal or ceramic? Any scratches? How do you wash it?

The only other thing I can think is that if there is something like cream/milk in and it is on low it could turn to yoghurt or curdle but surely that would be sour rather than bitter.

One way to find out would be to try one of your recipes in a different cooker.

Post your recipes on here and see if we as a collective can think what is happening.

try adding a dash of sugar and some people say something vinegary like red wine vinegar can help slow cookers. so you could try adding some chutney?

its a ceramic dish. no scratches that I can see. either dishwasher or handwash, depends on how full d/washer is.

I don't put milk or other dairy in chilli so cant be that.

my recipe for chilli would be something basic along the lines of:

Mince
Chopped toms
worcestersauce/maggi
herbs
cumin
tom puree
red wine
onions
peppers
if im leaving it on while im at work I usually put more liquid in, if im there to stir it I don't usually bother

think that's about it really. I have used two and both have done it - it drives me nuts!!! cant understand why

I have had to add sugar before to get rid of the bitter taste.

Could it be that it "catches" around the edges? should I put more water in

i use very little water, or liquid of any kind. i have heard people moaning before on here about this - though not had problem myself. you are making chilli but not adding any chilli powder. could you try doing that? I don't add herbs or cumin to mine. what is maggi? try removing red wine - again thats not something i'd put in mine.

my recipe is mince, chilli powder, stock pot but no water, chilli beans, chopped onion, 1 garlic clove, 1 teasp sugar. you could try doing that and seeing if you still have a problem?

Just looking at your chili recipe, I would add some tomato paste, as that is sweet and counteracts the bitterness of the chopped tomatoes (which are acidic, hence the plastic lining in the tins).

I use 2 tablespoons in most tomato-based recipes.

Whoops missed the tomato purée..ignore me

sorry, forgot yes I do add chilli (flakes or powder) and garlic and kidney beans (at the end)

Maggi is a liquid seasoning. I will try without the wine. I usually brown my mince off and add wine and let it reduce to add some depth to the flavour.

Will have a play around with ingredients and see how it turns out

so frustrating though because the end result isn't exactly nice.

sorry forgot tin of toms and tom puree. well spotted someone. trying to do too much too quickly. i don't bother browning, too much effort

I think it's the garlic. I no longer put garlic in the slow cooker. I either leave it whole while I'm frying onion/meat and remove it before putting it in, or sometimes I drizzle a little olive oil in it or cook the onions in a mix of olive and garlic oil. Whenever I leave garlic in my food comes out bitter and awful.