The Green Kitchen (book)

kate egg · Post by **kate egg** » 25 Feb 2009, 13:44

I have just ordered this off amazon, it was in an article in the sunday magazine. It has recipes in but also tells you lots of ways to cut the energy used in the kitchen. It should be Â£12.99 but I got it for Â£7.79 inc p&p.

Hope it will pay for itself......

Orfy · Post by **Orfy** » 25 Feb 2009, 13:49

Sounds good.

How does it claim to save energy?
The only obvious ways I can think of is combining the cooking of meals and using less equipment.

kate egg · Post by **kate egg** » 25 Feb 2009, 13:52

Yep I think so, making more than one meal at a time and making full use of the oven, using the microwave more, using tiered pans etc.......

I used to have a jacket potato for my lunch often last winter, and because they are so nice I did them in the oven - thats 1 1/2 hours power for one potato :shock:

what a waste :oops:

Orfy · Post by **Orfy** » 25 Feb 2009, 14:00

Yes it is best to plan.
If you are putting the oven on for a potato you may as well plan and make sure you can use the energy to cook something else at the same time.

At the very least put a large pot of water in and use it to clean your dishes after you've has lunch.

Another top tip is to try and keep your freezer and fridge as full as possible. This can save up to 40% of the energy used. The ice packs from cooler boxes and containers full of water are good ways to use up empty space in the freezer.

Combination microwave ovens are very cheap now. I just bought an large capacity 850 what combi oven for around Â£50.

I do jackets in there. It takes around 20 mins as opposed to the normal 6 but it comes out with an crispy jacket. You can rub a little oil over it near the end to help.

A slow cooker will probably be a lot more efficient for single meal than a oven.

lancashire lass · Post by **lancashire lass** » 25 Feb 2009, 15:17

Orfy wrote:Combination microwave ovens are very cheap now. I just bought an large capacity 850 what combi oven for around Â£50.

I do jackets in there. It takes around 20 mins as opposed to the normal 6 but it comes out with an crispy jacket. You can rub a little oil over it near the end to help.

I agree that these combis are brilliant - I've been very happy with mine (great for warming up pies, lasagne, pizza, baked potatoes etc) in a fraction of the big oven time (I don't pre-heat mine), and just like a microwave, it is on a timer so there's no way of accidentally leaving it switched on!

Post by Mo » 25 Feb 2009, 17:28

My microwave is a plain one. If I'm putting something in the oven and want baked spuds with it I start them in the microwave and give them 20 mins in the oven with everything else to crisp them (as I'd need the oven on longer far the spuds).

Beware of microwave/grill combinations. My daughter put her baby's bottle steriliser in and pressed the grill button by mistake. She ended up with some expensive melted plastic.