Cookbook author first to decipher the Crock-Pot

The Crock-Pot came out in 1971, an innovation over an earlier slow cooker designed to cook beans.  With increasing numbers of women working outside the home, many were eager to try a device that would have dinner ready when they came home in the evening. Mabel Hoffman, a food stylist and home economist, published "Crockery Cookery" in 1975, and it was an instant success.