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It's interesting that you mentioned the stove. There's something called a "blech" (CH as in "challah"), quite common in Jewish communities. It's when you turn all four burners to very low heat, then put a sheet of metal over them. You then place pots and pans of pre-cooked food on top. It's meant to enable families to enjoy hot meals on Shabbat (Saturday), while getting around the prohibition on cooking and lighting a flame. The practice is quite hazardous if not done right; local fire departments (FDNY in parts of Brooklyn in particular) even took to distributing pamphlets on fire safety with using a blech.
In recent years, blechs were supplanted by hot plates and slow-cookers, which are safer, but still carry hazards of of their own. Interestingly, many stoves manufactured in Israel come with a "Shabbat mode", which basically means the oven is kept warm with a very low, continuous flame (stronger than a pilot light, but weaker than normal cooking heat), and presumably comes with an automatic shutoff of some sort.
Some ranges here in the US come with a Sabbath mode, but it's not what you are describing.
You can read about it on page 10 of the manual at this link. I think all Whirlpool ranges come with a Sabbath setting.
When I was a single mom, who commuted 45 minutes each way, often in snow - ugh - before and after dropping my daughter off at day care - ugh - I loved my slow cooker.
I'd throw ingredients into it before we left in the morning, dropped off my daughter, went to work, quick trip to grocery store, picked up my daughter, 45 mins commute each way, often in horrible weather, often she'd fall asleep during the drive, carrying her up into the house, open the door.....and the smell of dinner wafts before us....ahhhhhhh. It doesn't get any better than that.
I used to think of my slow cooker as my personal cook. I just never worried about leaving it on, anymore than I worried about leaving the porch light on or anything else that was plugged in and running, like the fridge.
As with anything -- particularly anything that plugs into an electrical outlet -- there is always a slim chance of a freak accident. In general, though, if the wiring in your home is in good shape, your slow cooker is in good condition and you're using it like you're supposed to, you really shouldn't have anything to worry about.
I can't live my life worrying about every possible freak accident that could possibly happen. If you've ever watched the Final Destination movies or that show 1000 Ways to Die, there are so, so, so many things that could go wrong and end up with disastrous results.
In the end, though, many, many people use slow cookers every day with no problems. And really, that's what homeowners insurance is for at the end of the day...in the highly unlikely event that something were to happen with a slow cooker, or the HVAC system were to randomly catch on fire or whatever...
Sorry, had to laugh at that (the bolded)! The whole POINT of a slow cooker is that you CAN start cooking before you leave for work, then come home to a great meal (and usually a great-smelling house, too!) in the evening. Slow cookers are MEANT to be unattended for many hours.
One of mine (the newest) automatically turns itself to "keep warm" once a pre-set time limit is met (I can vary that time). I can't remember if it turns itself off entirely after a certain amount of time on "keep warm" -- it's never come up!
And for the person who said, "What if you start the slow cooker, leave the house, then decide to go on a trip for 2-3 days" -- really? Do that a lot, do you? I have never done that in my life without going home first.
I love my slow cookers -- all of 'em!
Laugh all you want but I'll bet that the warnings caution against what you claim to be the raison d'etre for slow cookers.
I read the manual. Parts of the Shabbat mode on the oven aren't compliant with the Jewish law, actually. Timed cooking, for example. However, setting the oven to 180*F and using it to keep already-cooked food warm is very much permissible.
Perhaps the same can be done with slow-cookers. That is, keep them at a constant temperature for the duration of Shabbat, so that hot meals can be enjoyed. And because most Jewish families are at home on Saturdays, their slow-cooker isn't unattended. The only remaining question is whether a specific slow-cooker can be used continuously for that long.
Laugh all you want but I'll bet that the warnings caution against what you claim to be the raison d'etre for slow cookers.
Actually, on the Crock-Pot.com website's FAQ's, it says:
Q: "Can the Crock-Pot® Slow Cooker be used unattended?"
A: "Yes. Crock-Pot® Slow Cookers are safe for countertop cooking for extended periods of time. If holding food on the warm setting for a long time, cut back on the cook time accordingly to reduce overcooking."
Oh no I would never leave anything running while I was gone I don't care how new they are . I have seen many a house fire caused by someone who thought oh im only going to be gone a few minutes and they will be fine ….NO NO NO . I never leave my house with anything running and I never ever leave lights on . My aunt left a lamp on for her to return home after dark and it shorted out and caused her house to burn to the ground . NO thank you I like my house and im not willing to loose it to something silly as leaving something turned on while im gone . Everyone can risk it if they want but nope I wont do it .
In recent years, blechs were supplanted by hot plates and slow-cookers, which are safer, but still carry hazards of of their own. Interestingly, many stoves manufactured in Israel come with a "Shabbat mode", which basically means the oven is kept warm with a very low, continuous flame (stronger than a pilot light, but weaker than normal cooking heat), and presumably comes with an automatic shutoff of some sort.
I live in the US, and my Kitchenaid gas stove has something similar.
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relax a little bit will ya?
I have never done that in my life without going home first.
