The Smartest Place to Set Up a Slow Cooker in the Kitchen — Tips from The Kitchn

In my last home I had unsealed butcher block counters. They were easy to clean and generally easy to sand down when anything stained or nicked the surface. But there was one large exception: my slow cooker. The first time I ran my slow cooker when I was away during the day, I came home to find that a combination of heat and moisture from the cooker left the surface warped and stained.

For the years that followed, I cursed the small stain that remained from that day and always kept a baking sheet under my slow cooker while it was in use on the wood counters. That was until a Kitchn reader pointed out an easy alternative for setting up a slow cooker. It's something that every kitchen has, is easy to clean, and safe for something that will be hot for hours on end. Any clue what it is?

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