Is there ever an embarrassing moment in the kitchen that you can still remember clearly? Let me share mine. It happened when I accidentally turned my shiny new glass-top stove upside down. Can you imagine the terror? I heard the glass shatter. I had no idea that placing a hot lid facedown on the burner was a terrible idea—and the stove was almost brand new. After that traumatic incident, I became much more cautious with kitchen equipment, studied how to use them properly, and overall, became more attentive to kitchen safety.
Despite my precautions, I still encounter close calls. Just recently, while browsing a Facebook group about kitchen-related items, I saw a homeowner’s photo of their stovetop, which looked like it was covered in chili. The mess was so thick it was hard to see the stove itself. The homeowner explained that her chili recipe called for six hours on high in the crockpot, but since it wasn’t fully cooked, she put the crockpot directly on the stove for another hour. When she tried to transfer the cooled crockpot to the fridge, the chili poured out everywhere. I can’t even imagine how I’d clean that up. My first reaction would probably be to cry for hours before even attempting the cleanup.
So, what went wrong here? A lot of commenters agreed: putting a crockpot on a burner is something you should never do. But why is that?
Can You Cook in a Crockpot on the Stovetop? Absolutely not! Crockpots are not designed for stovetop use. Crockpots, which are slow cookers, are perfect for making soups, stews, and chili with low heat over extended periods. The ceramic insert is meant to handle the consistent, low heat of the crockpot, not the direct, intense heat of a stove burner. Here’s why putting your crockpot on a stovetop is a bad idea:
Crockpots are made from porcelain or ceramic, materials that are sensitive to sudden temperature changes and direct heat. By placing a crockpot on a burner, you expose the ceramic to intense, concentrated heat that it was never meant to handle. This can cause the bottom of the crockpot to crack or even shatter, as in the Facebook post.
What Could Happen?
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