What are some things you can think of to conserve your energy output when cooking?
The purpose of this post is to establish a running list of tips and tricks we have either learned through experience, common sense or research. By having a central location where we can reference tips will be helpful in where heat is lost and some of the simple things that can be done to be efficient.
Like all other posts, please do not hesitate to contribute any idea or trick you have come across.
When cooking, and trying to be conscious about some of the things I can do to to conserve energy, here are some things I do/ have thought of:
ReplyDelete*Lids- I cook with a lid whenever possible
*Microwave- I will use the microwave for certain things (melting butter, reheating foods)
*Turning off food before its done- letting the food finish cooking with heat already generated
*Using my toaster over instead of regular oven whenever possible
*Combining foods in one pan or pot when possible
*Steaming stackers
*Electric rice cooker compared to stovetop
*when using tinfoil as a lid, crumpling the tinfoil will increase the amount of heat trapped inside because of all the little air pockets created.
ReplyDelete*glass and ceramic pans require significantly less energy than metal when baking
*Leave the oven door closed! - opening the oven door will cause an oven to drop 25 degrees.
*Use a crock-pot over an oven if possible
*Do not put foil in the bottom of a gas oven to catch drippings. It blocks the heat.
*If you can find a way to shut off your pilot lights, do so
*Use a toaster oven over a conventional oven
*Do not use more hot water than you need for boiling
*Match appropriate sized pots to burners
*Cook in large quantities - then reheat the leftovers
*Consolidating oven use
*Don't over-boil--once water reaches boiling temperature, it doesn't get any hotter. You can turn down the heat and continue boiling at a lower temperature.
*Use the smallest pan possible - it takes a lot of energy just to heat our pots and pans, so using the smallest one ensures you are not wasting energy
*Experiment with not pre-heating your oven
*Thaw frozen food before cooking
*When appropriate, cut food into smaller pieces before cooking
*Use flat bottom pans- distributes heat evenly
I use the microwave a lot to conserve energy and also to retain nutrients of vegetables. I tend to buy a lot of fruits -- like strawberries and blueberries frozen -- and then use microwave to heat/prepare. They stay 'fresher' longer and are way cheaper than fresh produce.
ReplyDeleteI use a rice cooker instead of the stove to prepare rice.
I'm a really big fan of one pot cooking. Especially as it gets colder outside, and I find myself cooking lots of soups and stews.
ReplyDeleteThis kind of cooking is really perfect for a student schedule as well. I find myself too tired to do much else at the end of the day, and also too pressed for time. I tend to cook large amounts at once so I can eat the same meals throughout the week. I'll post one of my favorite soup recipes on the blog.