Can you leave a slow cooker on all day?

[ItsAllFun]

This is probably a dumb question, but say a recipe requires 6 hours, but you're going to be gone all day 6am - 6pm for example, do you just set the slow cooker at 6am and then let it cook for six hours and leave it sitting in slow cooker until you get back or would the food acquire bacteria while being kept warm effectively may be overthinking this

Thinking of buying a slow cooker, but with work, obviously I won't be there to supervise it lol this is possibly exactly what slow cookers are for but I'm going to be dumb and ask the question anyway

[Stephisaur]

Basically everything in my slow cooker goes on low for about 12 hours 😂 doesn’t matter what it is, that’s what it gets.

The slow cooker goes on at 8am as I leave for work and then we eat around 7.30pm in the evening. The slow cooker is turned off after this.

The meat is always tender and lovely, so I don’t really see an issue lol

[UnaOfStormhold]

I tend to give it a little longer if it's from the fridge, and longer from the freezer, and a little less time if the food is going in hot.

[PurpleCrowbar]

Cold - sometimes even from the freezer (e.g. frozen Veg, stock, things like half a tin of coconut milk in a curry).

It all comes out the same!

[OnlyTheDepthVaries]

All. If leaving for 8-12 hours do you switch the slow cooker on and put the ingredients in cold? Or do you boil it up first so it starts off from hot?

[ferrier]

overcooked meat and despair!
😅

[BrownTurkey]

I use a timer plug too and get it to start cooking at 10am or 12 ready for tea.

It keeps it really hot, it just takes a long time to get up to heat. I must do a pot roast sometime.

[PurpleCrowbar]

I leave mine on low from 7am till 6pm.

It's fine for meat. Veg tends to end up very squishy but that's good as kids can't pick it out .

I've had some minor disasters with stuff like lentils & pearl barley turning to complete mush - better to cook those recipes when you can add halfway through or reduce cooking time.

My go to is: lots of halved tomatoes, onions (better if fried first), any other veg. Roll chicken (thighs better than breast) or beef in flour & sear in pan before adding. With mince also fry off but you dont need the flour!

Carton of tomato puree, cup of veg/chicken stock (I make it & freeze in small pots than add to SC from freezer). Add any herbs & spices.

Switch on, go to work, come home to lovely casserole/curry/chilli etc.

[shins]

@ferrier overcooked meat and despair!

[happymummy12345]

My dh is a chef and he always leaves ours on all day when we use it. I'm a sahm currently and the smell when the slow cooker is on and I'm home all day is amazing.

[allchangenochange]

I had one in the UK with a timer and then a keep warm function so I could put a meal in before I left at 7am and then eat it at 7pm. Not every meal works in them but they are a good add for families although I have heard great things about instant pots as well.

[ferrier]

What did 1978 smell like? 😅

[shins]

I had to give mine away, it made the kitchen smell like 1978

[Stormsurfer]

Sorry I have tried to find it now at John Lewis and they don't seem to have them anymore. You can just search for one that has a stay warm feature?

[ferrier]

Mine's a separate oven in my cooker and yes, I just treat the timings as a minimum. Have often left in for 5-6 hours longer and still delicious.

[ItsAllFun]

Wow, thank you all so much for the advice. I'm new to the slow cooker phenomenon so all your advice is very much appreciated.
@Stormsurfer - how much approx. did the JL one cost? It might be out of my price range...
It's all really useful information.
@colleysmill - thank you - I will join the FB page.

[MonsieurBing]

I would definitely do a couple of trial runs while you're around. Even the low setting on mine has it bubbling and I could never leave it for 12 hours without coming back to an inedible mess

[PestoSurfissimos]

That’s the beauty of slow cookers, you don’t have to worry about timings.

[xyzandabc]

The time given in recipes is the minimum cooking time. You can leave them on low for hours afterwards with no bad effects.
I put mine on low about 7.30am, we eat around 6. It's on the whole time.
However if I forget and am at home, could put the same meal in at 2pm on high and it would still be ready at 6pm.

[Oblomov18]

Mine doesn't turn off. But I put it on low, and it's fine, no matter how late we get back.

[SilverGiraffe7]

I've got an instant pot (pressure cooker / slow cooker / rice cooker / yoghurt maker combo) which you can tell how long to cook for, then it switches to 'keep warm' mode until you feel like eating it... I love my instant pot

[Stormsurfer]

I bought a John Lewis own brand one and it switched to warm automatically after the cooking time is finished. I would highly recommend paying a little extra to get one that does that then you can always leave it all day.

[mrspapalazarou]

I've got similar to pesto but it has digital display and the removable pot can be used on the hob so you can sear meat before adding the rest of your ingredients, minimum washing up, can thoroughly recommend it. You can cook on low for 8 hours then it will automatically switch to keep warm for 2 hours

[UnaOfStormhold]

I use a plug-in timer with mine. I work on the basis that if I put the crock and contents in the fridge overnight and then pop them into the slow cooker the next morning the contents will be take a while to warm up and so will be fine waiting a few hours before they cooking. But slow cooker recipes are fairly flexible on timing if you are using the low setting.

[Theimpossiblegirl]

I bought a cheap timer plug from Wilkos.

[colleysmill]

If you do fb theres a great group called UK slow cookers recipes tried and tested thats worth joining.

I leave mine on all day on low :)