I love using a slow cooker to make meals that are ready when I come home from work. They are especially great for soups that we typically enjoy during the winter months. Slow cookers are a great kitchen appliance for helping get homemade meals on the table even on busy days. However, there are some things you should know to ensure that slow-cooked meals are prepared safely. Read on for a few tips for safely using a slow cooker.

Just as with any recipe, you should follow basic food safety guidelines when using a slow cooker. That includes starting with a clean slow cooker, utensils, and work area. Make sure to wash your hands before and during food prep, particularly after handling raw meats and poultry. Spraying the inside of your slow cooker crock with non-stick cooking spray before adding ingredients will help keep food from sticking and make cleaning easier.

Perishable foods should be refrigerated until you are ready to prepare them. Slow cookers take time to reach a temperature hot enough to kill bacteria, so keeping these items refrigerated helps ensure that bacteria doesn’t get a head start on multiplying during the first few hours of cooking. Meats and poultry should be thawed before putting them into a slow cooker to avoid bacteria growth and ensure safe cooking. It is a good idea to go ahead and turn on your slow cooker so it can preheat while you prep ingredients.

Enough liquid is important for slow cooked meals since they rely on steam to cook the food. Fill your slow cooker between 1/2 and 2/3 full and be sure the liquid almost covers the ingredients. This creates proper heat transfer throughout the crock. Vegetables like potatoes and carrots cook more slowly than meat and poultry, so place them at the bottom of the cooker. This puts the vegetables in better contact with the heat source so they can cook quicker.

It can be tempting to sneak a peek of your slow cooker meal as it cooks but resist the urge. The lid should be kept on during the entire cooking process. Remove it only when needed to stir the food or check for doneness. Every time the lid is raised, the internal temperature in the slow cooker drops 10 to 15 degrees which slows the cooking process by 20 to 30 minutes.

What happens if there is a power outage while using your slow cooker? If you are not home to know how long the power has been out, throw out the food even if it looks done. You don’t know how long the food has been sitting in the temperature danger zone where bacteria can rapidly multiply. Remember when in doubt, throw it out! If you are home when the power goes off during the cooking time, finish cooking the ingredients immediately by another means such as on a gas stove or an outdoor grill. If you are home when the power goes off and the food is already completely cooked, the food should stay safe for up to two hours in the cooker with the power off. It is always a good idea to use a food thermometer to make sure food has been cooked to a safe internal temperature.

You can test your slow cooker to make sure it is heating properly by filling it 1/2 to 2/3 full of water. Turn the slow cooker on low and let it heat for 8 hours. Do not lift the lid during this time. After 8 hours, check the water temperature with an accurate food thermometer. The water temperature should be between 185- and 200-degrees Fahrenheit.

Slow cookers are convenient and easy to use. Just remember to follow the basic food safety rules shared here for safely using them. What are you going to cook next in your slow cooker? I think I will make taco soup!