CONSERVE WHEN COOKING
· Keep your pot covered. Uncovered pots waste the heat that cooks the food. · A properly covered pot keeps in residual heat, so you can turn off the flame and leave the residual heat to finish the cooking · Boil just enough water for whatever you need, or store hot water in a thermos. · Try some one-pot meal ideas, they use one burner to do the job of two or three. · Cook enough for two or three meals at one time, and freeze the unused portions. Warming uses less energy than starting from scratch. · Pressure cookers and double boilers are money savers. They also save time and energy. Cooking time is cut by 50-75 percent. · Do not turn up flame to high, the food does not cook quicker. · The pilot burns one-third of your gas! You can disconnect this and use matches instead.
CONSERVE WHEN BAKING · Don't use your oven for small jobs but at the same time don't overcrowd it. Use it for as many parts of the meal as you can. · Don't lay foils on racks. If possible, stagger pans on upper and lower racks to improve airflow. Food cooks more quickly and efficiently in ovens when air can circulate. · When you bake, don't open the oven too often to preview the food. Each time you open the oven door, you lose about 20 percent of the heat that's inside. · Use glass or ceramic baking dishes. They transfer heat more efficiently and allow you to set the temperature about 150 degrees C lower. · Use the conventional oven setting whenever possible; it will reduce baking time up to 30 percent by circulating heated air around the food.
OVEN AND STOVE BUYING TIPS · Look for the lowest energy consumption guide rating, and consider these guideline rating, and consider these guidelines when looking for an energy-efficient stove or oven. · Even if you clean your oven only two or three times a year, consider buying a self-cleaning unit. Although they use energy during cleaning, self-cleaning ovens are generally better insulated than regular ovens, which mean they require less energy to cook your food. · Gas ovens use much less energy compared to their electric counterparts because the fuel is used directly for cooking.
Information provided by the Consumer Affairs Commission