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Can't use the search menu because Google sets cookies.

(16 Posts)
Elegran Fri 12-Dec-25 21:49:46

That is it, really. I tried to search the site for a post I made a short while ago ( a simple foolproof recipe for a slow cooker casserole), and got the reply that I can't use the search box because of Google.

How do I get round this? I can't even find a way to change my Gransnet preferences in my profile. Do I have to go to Google itself and change my settings there to accept cookies frm everything and everyone on Google? That would open me up to a lot of that I would rather avoid. Is Gransnet in thrall to Big Brother Google?

Allira Fri 12-Dec-25 22:21:16

Was it this thread, Elegran?

www.gransnet.com/forums/food/1347254-Slow-cooker-help-needed-please?pg=2

I'm not sure about the cookies but find I have to accept them on FB in order to be able to read my messages.
Then delete them afterwards in History.

petra Fri 12-Dec-25 22:29:32

I serched on Google and found this. There are lots of other threads on slow cookers.

www.gransnet.com/food/slow-cooker-recipes

Elegran Fri 12-Dec-25 23:05:24

Probablt, Allira but apparently it has "mooooved" so I can't see it. This is ridiculous!

In the end I just rewrote the recipe from memory. I hope it works. It was for a chap I know whose wife is succumbing to Altzheimers, and they both also have other medical problems. He is now chief cook and bottle-washer and has to do the cooking. He buys ready meals, but a versatile slow cooker recipe would be much better for both of them - and for the bank balance - and they have a slow cooker a the back of the cupboard.

Allira Fri 12-Dec-25 23:06:52

Was it this one, Elegran? I might try it n Sunday 🙂

QuoteElegran Mon 21-Apr-25 21:15:15
I don't brown the meat. I prepare casseroles by putting about a tablespoon of flour, a crumbled oxo cube and a quarter teaspoon of smoked paprika into a plastic bag, closing or tightly holding the top and giving it a good shake so that all the meat is coated with flour. I tip this into the slow cooker and add boiling water (not too much or the casserole is watery) and stir it well. If I am adding vegetables I cut them small, as veg often takes longer than meat to cook in the slow cooker, and are better cooked in the microwave, The casserole gets one hour on high, then 4 to 6 hours on low, with a brief stir at half time. Dumplings get added for the last half hour. Try not to open the lid more often than necessary, as the heat escapes

Lean mince gets broken up and put in the cooker, then the flour/oxo/smoked paprika added and stirred, followed by boiling water stirred in well.

Elegran Fri 12-Dec-25 23:07:30

Thanks Petra. They look yummy.

Elegran Fri 12-Dec-25 23:15:19

That is it, Allira It is my go-to recipe - you can vary what goes into it but the basic method is to bung it all in, no browning meat or onions. The small amount of smoked paprika makes it very tasty. The flour to thicken it and the meat and flavouring are just shaken around in a plastic bag, and the debris afterwards goes into the bag to be thrown out. No browning pan or cutting board to wash, just the slow cooker bowl.

Allira Fri 12-Dec-25 23:34:41

👍

Allira Fri 12-Dec-25 23:35:31

Frying the meat first takes ages and is so messy too.

Elegran Sat 13-Dec-25 00:38:40

This tastes as good as browned meat.

BlueBelle Sat 13-Dec-25 00:39:24

I always get the Mooooved answer for any threads over about 6 months old drives me scatty because they are not even old

Elegran Sat 13-Dec-25 00:40:34

Ready-chopped onions not browned, and sliced carrots out of a tin save time and effort too.

Elegran Sat 13-Dec-25 00:47:45

BlueBelle

I always get the Mooooved answer for any threads over about 6 months old drives me scatty because they are not even old

This post wasn't even 6 months old - and this is the first time I have been told to change my Google cookie setting to use the Gransnet search engine. every time before this it has worked with cookies on Google turned off.

Is it a tightening up by the Google/Facebook axis, taking more and more control of everything they can reach? At this rate, they will own all the information on the whole internet, and can lock it away from site or member of a social network group whose face doesn't fit.

I am starting to think that the sites moving to Patreon and other platforms are doing the right thing.

BlueBelle Sat 13-Dec-25 05:17:36

It’s always been like this for me though Elegran nothing new I ve never understood how people resurrect old threads as for me they ve always been mooved ….it’s very frustrating but nothing new (for me)

Delila Sun 25-Jan-26 19:52:17

‘Search’ doesn’t seem to be working for me this evening. Anybody else.

MaizieD Sun 25-Jan-26 20:01:30

I kept getting that message when using the Gnet search facility, but I actually got better results than I ever have done before by going straight to google...