January 25, 2018

"Taking a moment to remind everyone that it was a 20 year old fictional crockpot with an already funky switch?"

"Let's not just lump all those lovely hardworking crockpots together," Dan Fogelman, creator of the TV show "This Is Us," quoted in "Crock-Pot defends itself after heartbreaking ‘This Is Us’ shocker (SPOILERS)" (Daily News).

31 comments:

Henry said...

Having not clue what this is about, I read Dan Fogelman as Dan Fogelberg and started wondering when Dan Fogelberg wrote a song about a crockpot.

Ann Althouse said...

Is there a song with "crockpot" in the lyrics? Yes: "Bad and Boujee":

Raindrops, drop tops (drop top)
Smokin' on cookie in the hotbox (cookie)
Fuckin' on your bitch she a thot, thot, thot (Thot)
Cookin' up dope in the crockpot, (pot)

TrespassersW said...

Based on the headline and the tags, I'd say that someone on the show "This Is Us" died in a fire caused by a faulty switch on a crockpot.

MadisonMan said...

We had our crockpot on overnight last night -- the wife was making stuff. Happily, nothing combusted.

Dying in a house fire wouldn't be the worst way to go -- the smoke asphyxiates you first, after all.

Jake said...

Sounds like a tv show I’m not missing missing. Are people really so dumb? We are this.

Ann Althouse said...

And here's Curtis Haywood playing "Crockpot."

It's a great word. Surprised it doesn't come up more often in titles and lyrics.

Maybe people are afraid of litigation from the Crockpot company.

Crockpot... it's based on the word "crackpot." Why would you infuse your commercial product with such negativity?

OED on "crackpot": "A crack-brain, a crazy creature, a crank."

1883 Broadside Ballad in J. S. Farmer & W. E. Henley Slang (1891) II. 202/2 My aunty knew lots, and called them crack-pots...
1927 H. M. Tomlinson Gallions Reach xxxiii. 254 We can't go doddering across Malaya behind an inspired crackpot following the Holy Grail, can we?...
1959 J. Cary Captive & Free 211 The public is used to grievance-mongers and despises 'em—they'll put him down for a crack-pot....

Ann Althouse said...

But then... there's Krazy Glue.

The idea that the product is crazy is common enough.

traditionalguy said...

Beware of the cheap tin Crockpots. You need to use your LaCreuset dutch oven in your conventional oven, with a cook timer set at 325F. for 3 hours. It does all you need.

tcrosse said...

Crock-Pot is trademarked. The generic term is Slow Cooker.

Ann Althouse said...

"Beware of the cheap tin Crockpots. You need to use your LaCreuset dutch oven in your conventional oven, with a cook timer set at 325F. for 3 hours. It does all you need."

I just use this Lodge cast-iron Dutch oven right on the stove top. You can sear or saute ingredients before adding water. I cannot understand the desire for a crockpot. I've never used one, and we even have an expensive on (Cuisinart) that Meade uses. I like to make stew and pot roast and soup, but I just make it in a normal pot on the stove, just the same way it would have been done a century ago. 2 centuries ago.

rehajm said...

Given the quantity and quality of people who absolutely insisted I be watching the program and reporting back after every episode to discuss my feelings I hope this means the show itself died in a fictional fire caused by a crockpot.

Kyzer SoSay said...

Crockpots are great. I've got a three-pot version, with three smaller cooking pots that can be set to separate temps (or go unused entirely). Great for parties, where you might have multiple dips or appetizers you wish to keep warm. Easy to clean too.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

At 57 I'm old enough to remember when there were only four broadcast channels and then they came out with UHF but you needed that converter thing with the ring antenna on the back.

Caligula said...

Old crockpots are probably safer than many newer appliances because they have a switch that actually turns them off by disconnecting the device from electrical power.

Whereas many newer appliances have electronic controls and are never completely turned off, as the electronic controller is always on, and "turned off" is just a state in the machine's firmware. A state which a power-line glitch or other cause may cancel, causing the appliance to turn itself on with no user input.

Kevin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kevin said...

I cannot understand the desire for a crockpot.

Most people don't have an oven that turns itself on and off while they're at work earning a living.

MayBee said...

That headline is a spoiler.

MayBee said...

I love my crockpot.

I don't dare leave something cooking on the stove or in the oven. Crockpots make slow cooked food delicious and easy.
If I had an AGA, I would slow cook things in there.

tcrosse said...

The crockpot is useful in hot weather, to rustle up some grub without heating up the house.

tcrosse said...

Slightly OT, this would have been apt a few days ago:
Social History of Jell-o Salad

reader said...

I have two crock-pots. Rarely cook in them. Had an open house for father-in-law's birthday Sunday. Used one to keep roast beef for French Dip sandwiches warm and one to keep chili warm. They are perfect for this.

This was the first time this season we had football games on tv in our house. But FIL is worth it.

richlb said...

The episode was funded heavily by Kitchen Aid.

Gahrie said...

I like to use my slow cooker to make and maintain eternal soup during the winter months.

Snark said...

Over Christmas I bought an Instant Pot and broke up with my slow cooker, my rice cooker and my egg cooker. I am the person my small applicances' mothers warned them about.

CStanley said...

Chili yesterday and Tuscan sausage, bean, and kale soup tonight...what's not to love?

I can't imagine preferring to cook these things on the stove. Even with really good cookware and stove you still have to watch it a bit and stir. Oven requires less tending but I'm not comfortable leaving the house.

reader said...

Snark, I’m willing to be led astray if I could also break up with my pressure cooker. Have you used your instant pot as pressure cooker and, if so, how did it perform?

CSTanley, I get a deeper flavor when I cook things on the stove or oven. Most likely due to the seasoning of my cast iron. I used to use my crock-pot for pulled meat, then got a smoker and that was the end of that.

Rick.T. said...

reader said...
"Snark, I’m willing to be led astray if I could also break up with my pressure cooker. Have you used your instant pot as pressure cooker and, if so, how did it perform?"

Consumer Reports did a detailed test against dedicated appliances:

https://www.consumerreports.org/instant-pot/can-the-instant-pot-replace-all-those-other-appliances-countertop-face-off/

My first reaction about anything multi-functional is that it does a lot of things but nothing particularly well. CR was fairly impressed but I'll keep my pressure cooker as I have a good-sized stovetop version that I can use for both large batches of food and canning if I wish.

Side note: the existence of an electric steamer puzzles me.

reader said...

My love for my cast iron is deep and true. I use my pressure cooker for essentially two things, hard boiled eggs and German potato salad. But it does those two things extremely well. Saturday I hard boiled two dozen eggs in 13 minutes. They peel like a dream.

I've never used it to can though...

Thank you for the link

Snark said...

The Instant Pot is primarily a pressure cooker that can function as a slow cooker, warmer, rice cooker, yogurt maker and saute pan/browner as well. I've been so happy with the 8 quart that I got a mini 3 quart too.

reader said...

Thank you Snark

mikee said...

In other news, Althouse uses social media advertising to fill out her blog.
Next up: Those rascals at Purina are behind all the cat pix on the internet!