A woman on Instagram claims that if you clamp your Crock-Pot shut when cooking with it, the device could explode—but is she correct?
In a recent viral video, Lydia Kyle—username @lydia_kyl on the platform and based in south Texas—wrote that she hates, "To be the bearer of bad news."
However: "I don't know who needs to hear this, but the clamps on your Crock-Pot are only for when you are transporting it," she wrote, adding, "It can pressurize and explode if you have them locked while cooking."
Is It True?
Kyle's claim appears to be true in some situations, but not others.
Most Crock-Pots are equipped with safety features that allow the device to ventilate itself and prevent pressure from building up inside, even if it's clamped down. If the Crock-Pot has the right safety features, clamping it should not be an issue since the steam can escape through the ventilation.
However, Crock-Pots—also known as slow cookers—can be dangerous if they are damaged, or if they clamped incorrectly.
Slow cookers rely on a venting mechanism to release steam and regulate pressure during cooking. If these vents are blocked, or if a tight seal prevents steam from escaping, pressure can build inside the device.
Manufacturers often advise against clamping down lids while cooking unless the appliance is specifically designed for pressure cooking. Traditional Crock-Pots are not built to handle that much pressure.
Users React
Many Instagram commentators felt that Kyle wasn't telling the whole story.
"You keep saying everyone else is wrong over and over again, but it's impossible for there to be enough pressure to explode in a Crock-Pot with a hole in the lid. That's not how physics works," a user countered.
"Crock-Pots don't get hot enough for food to build up that much heat and pressure unless there's something wrong with your Crock-Pot."
Another user chipped in: "There's literally a hole for a thermometer probe right there in your video.
"Perhaps it's not necessary to lock the lid, but pressure isn't building up if you have that hole. Companies are too afraid of lawsuits to put latches on a lid for transport if it's actually dangerous to use them while cooking."
Slow Cookers Have Exploded
In 2019, a woman in Layton, Utah suffered second-degree burns when her slow cooker exploded.
The woman, Tennielle Benally, said in a local TV news report that she had been cooking with the appliance for years with the clamps down before one night, it blew up and left her badly burned.
While the critics may not agree with Kyle's viral Instagram post, experts say leaving the clamps off for safety reasons is a good idea.
"Those clamps are designed for portability, not cooking," Good Housekeeping emphasized.
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