opinions please Abers.........

[jack daniels]

Just wondering views of other cooks out there - do you think what your food is cooked (utensil/pot) in makes a difference to the flavour or texture? and if so how and why

for example: stew cooked in the oven for 2-3 hours doesn't taste as overdone, cooked in a pressure cooker.

TIA

Anna xxx

[Mick-Talbot]

almost everything tastes better cooked in the oven.

[Prudentia]

No self respecting cook, let alone a chef would own or use a pressure cooker.

[jb190281]

Using your example of stew, I prefer to use a slow cooker, I personally feel the meat tastes so much nicer.

[20SilkCut]

My pressure cooker is my best friend...lol...its the biggest pot i have...but then again, i dont profess to be a cook! ;-)

[jack daniels]

I do use a pressure cooker & would be lost without it. I do lentils in it and have cooked meat curries in there - a huge difference from 3 hours to a mere 15 minutes! however I must admit the flavour is completely changed.
Those of you that use a slow cooker - many a times i've read where the meat "just falls off the bones" - surely it's overdone?????

[jb190281]

No, the meat is beautiful cooked in a slow cooker

[20SilkCut]

I dont use my pressure cooker as one 'per se'. I have lost the weight thingy that goes on the top, so in essence its really just a big pot that lets steam out the top...

[Prudentia]

A slow cooker can be convenient, but there is a sacrifice, flavour, texture and taste, there really is no substitute for freshly cooked food. Prudentia, xxxx

[askyourgran]

I find the slow cooker makes a lovely stew. Or even to do a piece of brisket in it.

[Mick-Talbot]

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ..........use the oven

[RATTER15]

Any meat cooked in a slow cooker is so tender and tasty.

Jack, meat falling off the bone is not overdone, its just very tender!

[rowanwitch]

Lamb leg rubbed in rosemary, garlic and honey in a low oven in a sealed casserole overnight ...with rice and salad mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm used to have a slow cooker... brilliant for a really creamy rice pudding......need to replace it at some point,,,

[jb190281]

rowan, what a great idea, rice pud in the slow cooker... trudging off to see how much milk ive got...

[woofgang]

a decent heavy based frying pan cooks better than a nasty thin one

[MrIncredible]

Most definalty, I highly recommend buying a tagine. its a moroccon cooking pot and it makes all meats juicy and succulent, we use ours as much as we can.
you can cook other things in there too!
http://www.lakeland.c...d/tagine/product/7184

[ethandron]

the thing that cooks food worst in my opinion is a george foreman grill. i know there are a lot of people who absolutely love them but i think they're the kiss of death to any meat. all that 'fat' that drains out of the meat? that's the stuff that keeps the meat juicy and succulent. meat cooked on the george tastes, and has the texture of, soggy cardboard. a few minutes either side in a hot frying pan is quicker, cheaper and far more delicious.

[ludwigvan]

Oh Pudenda you are such a snob.

[McMouse]

It's the cook that makes the difference. My ex used the smoke alarm as a timer.

[merciasounds]

Slow cookers are wonderful, as are tagines, chicken bricks, casseroles (i mean the actual container, not the food), marmites, croc pots all produce beautifully cooked meat especially cheaper cuts where the fibres of the meat need long slow gentle cooking to break them down, giving the other flavours you've added, eg vegetables, herbs, wine, spices etc to amalgamate and infuse the food. My advice to anybody who wants to take cooking seriously is, buy the best equipment you can afford, (this goes for knives too) a good set of heavy bottomed saucepans will save you time, money and fuel in the long run as they hold the heat - where as a thin bottomed one will quickly burn and the heat dissapates quickly and unevenly spoiling the food.