I agree while reading the comments on the slow cooker. I have tried 3 and ended up giving them away. The food, to me, has a very off taste. Not everyone agrees. I think it is the person because for example some people can take certain medication without side effects where others take the same meds without any side effects at all?

It's the onions. Skip them or saute before you put them in.

Anonymous wrote:This is one of the reasons I use a pressure cooker instead of a slow cooker. I think the huge amount of time food cooks in a slow cooker makes it taste off.

+1. A pressure cooker is basically the reverse of a slow cooker -- it cooks everything really fast instead of really slow. And if you use an instant pot, it will finish everything and then keep it warm for you for 8 hours or whatever time you need.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Slow cooker food is nasty. You are just tasting nasty American style food.

Not everything -- but I agree most things. You can make a good pulled pork, a good chili (although I do brown the meat and par cook the veggies and garlic) and even a good beef stew (again with the browning of meat.) Other than that, I think slow cookers are kind of terrible.

I have never understood the reason to use a slow cooker. If I am at work, I will be away for at least 9 hours which is too long to cook most things. If I am at home and I have 5 hours, I just cook it on the stove or oven, which is always a better result.

A lot of crockpot have timers and most recipes call for more than 5 hours on low. I use it on nights I know I need the meal ready immediately after work, like on days I have a meeting I know could go late, and we need to eat early because my son has a club/Boy Scouts/whatever that night.

We have a handful of recipes we like. It is not gourmet food. But it is fine.

All of these sautéing and browning tricks sound like just about every meal I make in a Dutch oven. I've never seen the point of a slow cooker other than to keep something warm at a buffet.

I use my slow cooker mostly in the winter to make soups. I've never noticed a strange taste and nobody in my family has mentioned this. My soups are always meatless, maybe it's the meat?

"Slow cooker meals have a strange taste."

Yep, they sure do. My guess is that a good many raw foods just don't do well when cooked all day on extremely low heat. Everything ends up tasting like it came out of a can, even if all the ingredients were fresh.

For a fresh, clean taste, ditch the crockpot and get an Instant Pot. Use the pressure cooker function. Otherwise, use your oven/stovetop the old-fashioned way, like your grandma did.

PP here. And I use it to keep things I've cooked on the stove warm for a party. Like chili from the stove, or meatballs.

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the op. The best and nearly only thing I make in it are potatoes. Wash and wrap in aluminum foil, cook on low all day. Sweet potatos turn out very sweet, like candy. Don't even need butter on them. White potatoes have a slighty weird consistency but taste amazing. Easy to do mashed potatoes with either.

Yep, I use slow cookers for sweet potatoes and Yukon Golds for Thanksgiving. I don't make many other things in it, but it's a great time and space saver for Thanksgiving since I don't need to take up precious oven space.

Agree...sauté/brown before.

Also, add some vinegar at the end....Balsalmic, white wine, apple cider...what we makes sense to your dish. But it helps brighten everything up.

i only use it now to hold meals so they stay warm. I prepare whatever and put it in the slow cooker to stay warm. We have three older kids that often eat at different times so it is easy for them to get dinner themselves. This works best for soups, stews or "saucy"dishes. For example, I will make meatballs and leave them in sauce so the boys can make subs later on. I cook on the stove or oven.

Uh, I have had the same cheapo crockpot for 30 years and never had this issue. Maybe it's your crockpot OP. Try another one.

Anonymous wrote:Everything I ever cooked in my slow cooker tasted like bad hospital food. I got rid of it in the end.

Yes, exactly. I can’t figure out how anyone enjoys meals from a slow cooker. I’ve tried with a few different popular recipes and got rid of the thing.

I agree with the op. The best and nearly only thing I make in it are potatoes. Wash and wrap in aluminum foil, cook on low all day. Sweet potatos turn out very sweet, like candy. Don't even need butter on them. White potatoes have a slighty weird consistency but taste amazing. Easy to do mashed potatoes with either.

This is why we threw out crock pot away