Saving money and preserving energy have become even more critical these days with constantly rising prices and the continuing decline of the planet. If you want to lower the cost of your utility bills and do your part to keep the earth healthy, it may be easier to accomplish than you may believe. Besides what energy efficient appliances can offer, here are some surprising and simple ways to conserve energy in the kitchen that you may want to think about.
How we use our oven can make a difference. Instead of heating the oven just to make one recipe, you can save money and conserve energy by doubling up dishes that you stick in there. Planning a dinner such as a tray of oven-fried greaseless chicken legs, oven French fries and roasted carrots or some homemade biscuits work nicely for an easy dinner that can go in the oven at the same time. I just add the biscuits to the same tray with my chicken toward the last fifteen minutes of baking time. If you don’t have room in the same tray, you use separate baking dishes or trays to accommodate your oven.
Another suggestion to cut down on energy is turning the oven off when the recipe is nearly complete. Believe it or not, there is plenty of heat left to finish those last minutes in the oven.
Something else that you may not be aware of is the fact that larger portions of meat such as a roast can go into a cold oven. You don’t need to preheat because of how long the cooking time is to cook that roast.
Sometimes, we may not be sure of how our recipe is doing while in the oven. However, every time that we open the oven door, we are losing energy that also cost us extra money. The less that you can peek inside, the more energy that you’ll conserve.
Did you also know that you can use less energy cooking on the stove or in a toaster oven instead of heating your oven? You may assume that the microwave uses less energy, but this is not always the case. The reason is because of how the heat waves work on the molecules of the food like liquids inside instead of around what you are cooking. Therefore, an electric stove can usually save more energy by 25% compared to the microwave. On the other hand, you may have a gas stove, which uses more energy than an electric burner, but less than your oven.
The pots that we use on our stoves should be taken into consideration. To save energy, you want a smooth bottom for an electric range to conduct heat properly. Otherwise, energy is being wasted.
Speaking of pots, you always should cover them with a lid that snugly fits over them. If you grab a lid from another pot and that heat escapes, energy is being lost.
On the same note, always use a lid to cover your pot when boiling water. You finish the task sooner and use less energy.
It doesn’t take a lot of effort to conserve energy in your kitchen. It just takes a little thought to get started in order to reduce energy costs and keep the planet a bit healthier. You also may want to read my earlier posts on kitchen shortcuts and cooking hacks for baking that can also come in handy.
