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A slow cooker refers to a kitchen appliance designed for cooking stews and other dishes, especially those with a high water content, over a long period. Dishes are cooked at low temperatures on this electric cooking appliance often for several hours at a time.

The Naxon Utilities Corporation of Chicago first introduced the slow cooker as the Naxon Beanery All-Purpose Cooker. Naxon was taken over by Rival Industries in 1970, and this product was re-launched as the Crock Pot in 1971. Presently, Sunbeam Products own the brand, which is a subsidiary of the Jarden Corporation.

A traditional slow cooker is a round or oval-shaped cooking pot with a removable glass lid so you can view the contents easily. The pot is usually made of glazed ceramic or porcelain with a thermostatically controllable heating element placed between the outer metal housing and the inside pot. The pot serves the dual function of a cooking vessel as well as a heat reservoir. Some cookers operate at 90 degree Celsius for an hour before switching over to 80 degrees Celsius. There are usually two or more programmable settings for flexible cooking and serving.

When cooking in a slow cooker, raw food along with liquids such as water and wine are placed inside the pot. The lid is then placed on top before the cooker is switched on. The heating elements then ensure that the contents are heated up to a steady temperature. The liquids in the pot transfer heat to the raw food so that the food is cooked slowly at the set temperature.

The direct heat from the pot, the long cooking time and the steam created within the tightly covered container all destroy any bacteria present in the food. Vapours travel upwards and get condensed at the lid, keeping the flavours intact. The food will stay warm after the cooking has finished as long as the cooker is operating well.

Slow cooking minimises the chances of overcooking as most foods such as meat are better cooked at lower temperatures over longer periods. After the 1970s, the popularity of slow cookers rose as more women joined the workforce and wanted to be able to prepare a meal in advance. Enterprising cooks experimented by cooking seared meats along with partly cooked vegetables and the process of blending flavours and aroma was finished in a crock pot.