This Common Appliance Could Be Ruining Your Food's Flavor - Tasting Table

"Compared to the same dish cooked on the stovetop or in an oven, food from a slow cooker can sometimes taste bland and dull (some people call this the "slow cooker flavor"). Well, your taste buds aren't tricking you - slow-cooking actually mutes flavor. In the slow cooker, steam coming off the food gathers on the lid, then drips back down. This closed circle means your food essentially stews in its own juices with almost zero evaporation throughout the entire process."

"For instance, did you know that sweet flavors actually intensify in slow-cooked dishes? That's all thanks to the caramelization of the natural sugars found in your ingredients - which might explain why your beef stew sometimes tastes unexpectedly dessert-like. Now, here's where most people go wrong: If your recipe relies heavily on spices and bright acidic notes, these flavors can fade during those slow-and-low cooking hours."

Slow cookers enable convenient, hands-off cooking for many dishes but can produce bland or dull flavors compared with stovetop or oven methods. Steam rising in the slow cooker condenses on the lid and drips back, creating a closed cycle that stews ingredients in their juices with almost no evaporation. Natural sugars caramelize during long, low cooking and can intensify sweetness. Spices and bright acidic notes tend to fade during prolonged slow cooking. A practical approach is to stagger seasoning so that some flavors are added later to preserve brightness. Simple adjustments to timing and seasoning can make slow-cooked meals taste less muted.

Read at Tasting Table