Читать книгу Slow Cooking: Easy Slow Cooker Recipes - Katie Bishop - Страница 6

Slow cooking achieves three main things – it tenderises (the different proteins in meat are affected by heat at quite low temperatures, far below the heat of a normal roasting oven, between 55–65°C/ 131–149°F), it flavours (particularly when reaching temperatures around 100°C/212°F), and it kills harmful bacteria (at 68°C/154°F). When meat in particular is cooked for a long time at a low temperature the tough protein, collagen, which holds the muscle fibres together slowly disintegrates and the gelatine that is produced dissolves into any liquid added, which helps to make a rich gravy.

The principle of slow cooking is one of retained heat. In conventional cooking any heat applied to the pot or pan after it reaches boiling point is merely replacing heat lost to the air by the pot. In slow cooking the insulated base and pot prevent most of the heat in the food from escaping into the environment, so little energy is needed to complete the cooking process and moisture is retained in the pot too.