Think about how long it takes to bring a pan of water to the boil, or how often you use the oven to bake just a couple of potatoes; cooking uses energy and a lot of it! There are a few ways to reduce that energy use and be more efficient at the same time, here are 10 tips to help you save…

1. Preparation

Make sure all your ingredients are already prepared as much as possible before turning on the hob or oven.

2. To blend or not to blend?

Do you really need to fire-up the food mixer or can you blend things by hand? Yes whisking up egg whites in a mixer is much faster but using a hand whisk and a little elbow grease will save electricity and give you great biceps!

3.Under cover

Where ever possible, use lids to cover pots and pans; this will help cook food more quickly and generate a higher build up of heat within which means you can turn down the heat.

4. Raw food

Why cook at all if you can avoid it? Salads and many raw vegetables, for example carrots, are just as appetising and you have the added benefit of not destroying any of their nutrients in cooking.

5. Slow cooking

Investing in a slow cooker is a great way to save energy, they cook at a very low temperature for a long time. You can switch it on before going to work and have a delicious meal waiting for you when you get home.

6. Choose the right pan

Use the correct size pan for the burner/ring you are using. If the flame is licking around the edge of the pan or the ring can be seen, the pan is too small and the extra heat is being wasted.

7. Keep the oven door closed

Keeping the glass in your oven door clean, means you can look through it easily to check on your food rather than opening the door and letting all the heat out.

8. Water

Try to be fairly precise with the amount of water you’re using. Every drop requires energy to heat it, the more you use, the longer it will take to heat and the more energy it will use to heat it. You can boil water in a kettle, it’s much quicker, and then add it to your pan.

9. Invest in good pots and pans

Buying cheap and cheerful may be beneficial to your pocket short term but good quality pots and pans are far sturdier and retain heat for a lot longer, plus they’ll last much longer which means you save in the long term.

10. Combination cooking

Rather than turning on the oven to cook just one dish, think about what else you can cook at the same time. Bake a pie whilst you’re baking potatoes and then save it for the next day or freeze it. Dry bread crumbs whilst you bake a cake, roast vegetables at the same time as your Sunday joint, use your imagination!

Of course, just doing all these things won’t dramatically reduce your energy bills or save the planet, but doing a little goes a long way to help.

I’m sure you have plenty more cookery energy saving tips to add to this list, so please do share them!

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