I purchased this for travel days and potlucks. I did not realize how much I would use it for everyday meals and such. It is much safer than an electric slow cooker and produces far superior results with only a small learning curve.
This is much better constructed than the cheaper foam filled models. I expect many years of service from this high quality setup.
It is quite easy to use.
-Place the ingredients being cooked into the SS inner cook. pot .
-Bring it up to temp and hold for 10 mins or so.
-Place the SS lid on the inner cook pot.
-Insert the SS Cook pot into the thermal outer pot.
The dish will finish cooking and stay hot for 8hrs.
The vegetables maintain their shape, color and flavor. They are not cooked to a colorless,flavorless mush which is often what a conventional slow cooker does.
I have foundaccessories purchased for the 4.5L cooker from the thermalcookwaredotcom website to be a terrific setup. The cooker itself is too heavy to be shipped from Australia to be cost effective, but the accessories are not. I haven't found another place that offers all the terrific accessories to enhance the functionality of the cooker. This site is also a great place to obtain recipes for the thermal cooker. Another good site for those that are new to this method of cooking is thermalcookerdotwordpressdotcom. Both have recipes and techniques for main dishes, desserts, breads, drinks, etc in the thermal cooker.
The accessories offered at thermalcookwaredotcom make the cooker much more versatile. The bain marie insert allows 2 items to be cooked separately at the same time. The steamer insert allows vegetables to be steamed while a main dish is cooking in the larger pot.The lidded SS loaf and round tin allow quick breads and cakes to be "baked " even while I sleep. If you have never tried steamed quick breads, you are in for a real treat. The breads and cakes come out moist and tender. For cakes I halve the recipe and pour the single layer batter into the round tin and "bake". I then slice it in half crosswise after it is cooled and frost. Viola! A perfect sized two layer cake for one to two people. I also ordered the racks to place my tins on to prevent them from becoming totally immersed in the boiling water. Water should not enter the tins. it should only come about half way up the side.
The thermal cooker can also be used to keep foods cold on hot days at picnics, potluck and the like. It also serves double duty as an ice bucket.
Don't forget to try hot drinks such as mulled wine, and hot cocoa in the thermal cooker. Can also be used to keep drinks such as lemonade,punch, etc. cold during hot weather.
I would recommend the 4.5 litre thermal cooker for 1-4 people. The Thermos Thermal Cooker RPC-6000W 2x3L Thermo Pot with two 3l inner potsand a single 6l inner pot would provide optimal cooking abilities for 4 or more.
BTW- the Thermos/Shuttle Chef thermalcooker works on induction cooktops.
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Thermos Thermal Cooker RPC-4500 4.5L Thermo PotProduct Description: The THERMOS Thermal Cooker 4.5 liter (1.1 gal) RPC-4500 Shuttle Chef is a healthy, economical and convenient way to cook. Assemble all the ingredients in the stainless thermos inner pot, put it on the stove and bring to a boil. Then remove the inner pot from the stove and place it inside the outer thermo pot which serves as a vacuum insulated stainless steel thermos container to keep the contents hot. There is no need to plug in any power cord. The food will continue its thermal cooking process using the retained heat. After the required time (e.g. rice 30 min; chicken stock 2 hrs; beef brisket 3.5 hrs), just open the outer thermal pot, and a nutritional and flavorful meal is hot and ready. The vacuum insulated Thermos thermal cookware has excellent heat retention capacity; the food inside the pot can retain a temperature of about 160 degree Fahrenheit even after 8 hours. It's safe to leave unattended because there is no power or pressure needed to cook. The thermal cooking process requires no further supervision or monitoring. Food can be cooked while you are traveling. You can cook with this cookware anywhere, anytime and it's safe to use indoors or out. It saves money and fuel because after the food as been placed inside the outer thermo pot there is no extra energy needed to maintain the heat or cold for the next 6 to 12 hours. Entraps flavor, minerals and vitamins; generates less odor, grease and smoke in the kitchen. Doesn't over cook and cleans up easily. This model is like the Thermos Nissan thermal cooker CC4500 vacuum cooker. This is great stuff to get prepared with.
Buy cheap Thermos Thermal Cooker RPC-4500 4.5L Thermo Pot now
What's the point of a 2 quart cooker? (8 cups?) Most stews and soups or roasts need a bigger cooker, but if you like to entertain, a small crock pot with removable liner is great for appetizers like chile con queso, (or my fave, camarones con queso, shrimp and cheese dip.) You can keep hot dips like spinach dip, seven layer dip or melted cheese hot. Also good for hot dessert sauces. If you like to entertain buffet-style, a small crock pot is endlessly useful. You can even use it for fondue, either cheese/bread or chocolate/cake/fruit for dessert. This one is plain and simple, has low and high settings and does the job.
