Who is Irving Naxon?
by John Mooy
Look at this title as a trivia question. Who is Irving Naxon? My guess is you’ve never heard of him. My guess is that you also have a connection to Mr. Naxon. And most likely you have in your home, most likely in the kitchen, what Mr. Naxon is responsible for. And now for the answer: Drum roll please……………………………. Irving Naxon was the inventor of the crock pot. Actually, he gave us the forerunner of what we know as the crock pot.
Irving Naxon
(born Nachumsohn)
1902 – 1989
Before the Crock-Pot was the Crock-Pot it was known as the Naxon Beanery, and its purpose was a little more specific than today’s use of the Crock-Pot. It was originally used to prepare a Jewish stew that was slowly cooked on Fridays in preparation for the Sabbath.
I happened to be teaching early in my career when I first became aware of the crock pot that we’re so familiar with now. I heard teachers talking about this “thing” they had purchased at the local store that when they got up in the morning they could prepare a meal in this pot, plug it in and when they returned from school they would walk into their house and there was a wonderful aroma of the evening meal. I heard teachers talking about the wonderful dinners they were preparing in this new approach to cooking.
How easy was it to use the crock pot. Actually, CROCK-POT was the brand name. Here’s how easy it was to use. Guys could prepare meals with this thing. Now today that’s probably an incorrect statement to use because many fellows are great cooks. I just didn’t hang around with any of them.
So just today I received an email from a college friend who I’ll call Tom because that’s his name. Tom Cook. And I mention his last name because I sometimes say to him when it comes to his culinary skills; “Tom, you’ve been a cook all your life.” We laugh because not unlike me we won’t be found on any of today’s cooking shows. Although I see now there is a new program called America’s Worst Chefs. We might qualify for that.
At any rate in Tom’s email, he indicated he was going to try to fix chicken in their crock pot today. I immediately wrote back and told him that you could put almost anything in a crock pot and it would turn out and be edible. So, I suggested that he poke holes in the chicken and insert some bits of garlic to add to the flavor. This will go good with the potatoes, carrots and onions that I told him he could include. Now you could put in a packet of Lipton Onion soup along with some water, put the top on and let the crock pot do the rest. This has the possibility of turning my friend into Tom Gourmet.
It’s almost impossible to create a disaster with a crock pot. And the beauty is you really don’t need to follow any directions to create something. If you like hamburger, throw it in. If you like carrots, throw those in. If you want to get fancy, French cut the carrots. That means cut them on a slant. You like beets, put those in too. Lima beans, why not.
Now I’ll be anxiously awaiting to hear from my friend to see how things turned out for him on this culinary adventure.
You have to be careful as you run the risk of preparing something so well your spouse will want you to be in the kitchen all the time. Do you have a great or favorite crock pot recipe? If so, pass it along. We all have to eat.
Have a great week, Marcellus.
You’re the best.
Stay plugged in on low.
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