Slow cookers are back on the fast track

Either you love 'em or hate 'em. Or you don't know much about them. There seems to be no middle ground when it comes to slow cookers.

But the uninitiated can easily become converts once they experience this gem of an electric appliance and all it offers.

"I never owned and didn't use a slow cooker before I was asked to create `Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast: Slow Cooker"' (Oxmoor House; $17.95), says Norman Kolpas, a Los Angeles-area food consultant and author of 40 cookbooks.

When approached to develop and test the recipes for this volume, his first thought was, "How do you use those (slow cookers)?" But he's quick to add that one of his favorite ways of cooking is slowly -- stews, braises, chilis. "It was a chance to learn something new, a real adventure - and I loved using the slow cooker.

"The real revelation for me was how easy it makes it to cook for your freezer," says Kolpas, whose recipes were designed to use a 6- or 7-quart pot.

Slow cookers have come a long way since the first Crock-Pot was introduced by Rival in 1971. About 80 percent of U.S. households now own a slow cooker, according to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers.