Energy-Saving Tips for the Chef

The kitchen is a central place in our house. We do not always realize how much unnecessary energy we consume. Whether or not you plan to buy a new cooking-range or other cooking appliances, you can probably save a lot of energy only by modifying your cooking habits. Try these tips, you will not only contribute to a greener world, you will also save some cash that you can spend on yourself:

• Cover pans while cooking to prevent heat loss [you can save up to 90% of the energy used!].
• The less liquid and fat you use, the quicker the cooking time.
• If you have two ovens, use the smaller one whenever you can.
• Use the smallest pan necessary to do the job. Smaller pans require less energy.
• With electric cook-tops, match the pan size to the element size. For example, a 6" pan on an 8" burner will waste over 40% of the heat produced by the burner.
• Keep the burner pans (the metal pans under the burners that catch grease) clean and shiny so they will canvey more heat to the cookware. Blackened burner pans absorb a lot of heat, reducing burner efficiency.
• In case of electric burners, solid disk elements, and radiant elements under ceramic glass, use flat-bottomed cookware that rests evenly on the burner surface. An electric element is significantly less efficient if the pan does not have good contact with the element.
• Using electric burners, you can turn off the burner just before the cooking is finished. The burner will continue radiating heat for a short while.
• In case of gas burners, make sure you're getting a bluish flame. If the flame is yellow, the gas may not be burning efficiently. Have your gas company check it out.
• To reduce cooking time, defrost frozen foods in the refrigerator before cooking.
• With conventional ovens, keep preheat time to a minimum. Unless you're baking bread or pastries, you may not need to preheat the oven at all.
• Try to avoid peeking into the oven too much when you cook. Each time you open the door, a significant amount of heat escapes.
• Food cooks more quickly and more efficiently in ovens when air can circulate freely. Don't lay foil on the racks. If possible, stagger pans on upper and lower racks to improve airflow if you're baking with more than one pan at a time.
• If you have a self-cleaning oven, use the feature just after you've used the oven, it will still be hot and the cleaning feature will require less energy.

Do you have more tips to share? Please, send them to us at info@green-pan.com.
We will be happy to post them on our website!