5 surprising things you can make with your slow cooker

Crockpots on the stove and slow cookers are great for slow cooking and tenderising meat – they’re an easy, hands-off way to make beautiful curries, stews, and other hot meals.

But while most people are aware of the traditional meals that can be brought to life by an older-style crockpot or a slow cooker with its own heating element, there are some less conventional ways to utilise these staple kitchen appliances that may surprise you.

Cook flavoursome broth

A nice stock is easy to make and has many health benefits. To make a stock in your slow cooker or crockpot, add leftover meat bones, a splash of apple cider vinegar, sea salt, water, and any herbs and vegetables you prefer. Turn your slow cooker on to high for 1 hour, then turn down the setting down to low. After the stock has been on low for 7 hours, you can begin using the broth as needed. It can be added to meals for flavouring, used in a soup, or consumed as a hot drink. You can replace the water to keep the stock going for longer.

Make unique soaps

Who knew you could make soap in a slow cooker! There are a number of different soap recipes available to try out depending on your preference. You can even use common oils like coconut oil and castor oil to make these handy bars of soap.

Bake delicious desserts

Slow cookers are usually associated with hearty dinners, but did you know that there are a number of desserts you can make in them as well. There are recipes online for chocolate lava cakes, sumptuous brownies and jar cheesecakes that are sure to impress. This simple recipe is worth a try!

Make yoghurt

Make yoghurt by adding 2 litres of milk to your slow cooker and heating on low for two and a half hours. Let it cool for three hours, then scoop out 2 cups of the milk and place in a bowl. Add 1/2 a cup of yoghurt with live cultures into the bowl and mix. Pour the mixture back into the milk slow cooker mix and combine. Place a cover on the slow cooker and wrap the crockpot with a thick towel. Let this mixture culture overnight. In the morning, divide up the mixture into containers and wait eight hours before consuming.

Make candles with old wax

Use your old candle wax and some dye in your slow cooker to create some new candles. All you need are some wicks, a collection of unused candle wax, and some food colouring. Melt the wax in your slow cooker and add some food colouring. Once this is combined, ladle your wax into some glass jars and add the wicks.

What do you think of these unique ideas? Would you like to try out one of these concepts? If so, which one?