I tried cooking mashed potatoes last night at 196 for an hour but after an hour and a half of warming up my APC never got above 185. So I tried again today without anything in the bath and after an hour of warming up it got to 180. I’m cooking in a 12 quart plastic bin. I would assume that the 1000w would be enough to get up that high without an insulated container. Anyone else experience this? Is this normal?
Hi Cothek, it can be a common experience or normal if energy-in exceeds energy-out when attempting to achieve and maintain high cooking temperatures.
Evaporation has a cooling effect, so cover the water surface to reduce its impact. Insulate the vessel as much as possible. A folded towel beneath and one wrapped around your bin should solve your problem.
I actually did try that but it didn’t help.