Cooking multiple dishes at once and adopting energy-saving tricks are smart kitchen practices. To do this, you can use appropriately sized pots and well-fitting lids to reduce heat loss; make the most of your oven by cooking multiple dishes at once; prefer efficient cooking methods and tools such as the pressure cooker or the combi oven to save time and energy.
The multiple cooking of foods is nothing more than cooking multiple foods at the same time in the same pot or in the same appliance. From a practical point of view, it allows you to save time and resources, as it is possible to cook multiple dishes at the same time using the same heat source. Good news for those looking for tricks to put energy saving into practice even in the kitchen. Good, but How to save money when cooking food? Below we will delve deeper into the topic by providing you with practical examples.
Multi-cooking of foods, how it works
To cook multiple foods at the same time, you can use different methods: for example, using trays or pans with multiple compartments, or using the different shelves of the oven. Or, again, using the steam released by the boiling water in which you are cooking pasta or vegetables. In this case, just insert a basket and place potatoes, carrots, fish, meat on top… To bring to the table a complete menu cooked on a single burner.
Even more effective in this sense are steamers, ideal for cooking different types of food at the same time on multiple levels while keeping the flavors separate. The same goes for grills and barbecues. If you are planning on having one, you can take the opportunity to cook meat, fish, vegetables, greens and even fruit on it. Just be careful to dedicate a portion of the grill to each type of food. Finally, multicookers are becoming increasingly popular, great allies in the kitchen for those who don’t like cooking too much. In fact, they allow you to prepare many different dishes without dirtying pots and various utensils.
5 Tricks to Save in the Kitchen
To save money when cooking food, you can put into practice some good habits. Some are quite banal, others less common but equally effective. Starting with the use of pots with well-fitting lids capable of retaining heat and thus reducing the time spent on the stove. Or preferring the use of pressure cookers or combined steam ovens. But not only that.
- Choose the diameter of the pot according to the size of the hob to avoid wasting heat and energy. Pots with a flat base and a well-fitting lid are optimal in this sense.
- Use pressure cookers for dishes that require more than 20 minutes of cooking, thus saving up to 50% of time. Use the minimum amount of water necessary and take advantage of the residual heat by turning off the burner before the end of the cooking time.
- As for the oven, you can optimize its use by cooking multiple dishes at the same time, making the most of its capacity and reducing the overall cooking time. Skip the preheating step (with the exception of leavened products, many dishes do not require it) and use the fan function to cook on multiple levels at the same time.
- Avoid opening the oven door repeatedly during cooking or lifting the lid of pans to ensure that heat does not disperse.
- Finally, did you know that the steam released by the dishwasher during washing can also be used for cooking? To use it in this way, it is essential that the food is hermetically sealed in glass jars or vacuum bags suitable for cooking.
Source: www.greenstyle.it
