1 Use your oven less. The oven is the least energy-efficient way to cook – you’re literally paying to heat up a large box of air when just half a shelf will do.
2 Use cauldron theory. If you do need to use the oven, consider baking a few things at a time to make the most of the energy used – I call this cauldron theory, from medieval times, when the cauldron would be packed with layers of meat, vegetables, and a gently steaming pudding to make the most of the available fire. Not having a cauldron to hand in my slightly more modern home setup, I instead pop mushrooms and tomatoes on the bottom shelf of the oven to dry them out so I can freeze them, and sneak a loaf of bread in at the side.
3 Monitor your energy use. Most energy companies are now offering smart meters at no extra cost to customers as part of a government initiative to give consumers more control and transparency in their energy bills. I was surprised to find out that heating my whole oven to make a casserole was significantly more expensive than cooking the same dish on the hob, by up to four times as much. Cooking it in a slow cooker was pennies.
Obviously the costs vary depending on the size of your oven, the quality of your pans, the type of food cooked, not to mention your energy tariff, so it’s impossible to accurately quantify exactly how much money you could save. However, having a smart meter to monitor your energy use in near real time could help you make changes to how you cook, and save you a surprising amount of money.
4 Deheat, not preheat! Older cookery books and methods suggest preheating your oven to get it to temperature, but modern fan ovens don’t need quite so much babysitting. I very rarely preheat my oven, whacking it up an extra 20-40 degrees for the first 10 minutes instead to give it a boost before turning it back down again. Also, turn your oven off for the last 10 minutes of cooking time, and as long as you keep the oven door shut, the heat will be retained and your meal will continue to cook.
5 Put a lid on it. When cooking on the hob, put a lid on your pan to retain the heat. If, like me, you have a pile of secondhand pans with no lids, you can plonk a large sturdy plate on top, or fashion a covering out of tinfoil. Your food will cook faster – and it’s a foolproof way of making pancakes without having to flip them, and making perfect omelettes, too, as the heat retained just beneath the lid will cook the top side without any need to flip them over.
6 Microwave in minutes. The microwave is still a much underused appliance in the everyday kitchen, and I am often gently sneered at by other food writers and friends for my love of my cheap, garish teal-coloured one. But I can have a bowl of pasta in four minutes flat, or a cake in 50 seconds, and have even made biriyanis, soups and fudge in it. Here are some great microwave recipes.
7 Cook in the kettle. My Dad, a Falklands war veteran, taught me how he used to make omelettes in a kettle when he was in the army, and although not one for every day, it can come in handy as a quick fix when you need breakfast in a hurry or want to watch what you’re spending. Crack an egg or two into a sturdy plastic sandwich bag. Add some cheese and herbs or very finely chopped vegetables. Seal the bag. Pop it in the kettle. Boil the kettle. Carefully remove your bag-of-omelette with a pair of tongs. Unseal the bag, tip it on to a plate, and enjoy.
8 Invest in a slow cooker. Mine cost £10 and holds 1.5l of soup, stew, casserole, curry, or whatever else I want to cook in it. It costs the same as a lightbulb to run, and is simple for busy (or lazy!) days. I use it to use up whatever veg I have lurking in the fridge or freezer, a tin of tomatoes, a pile of spices, and come home to a curry after work. Slow-cooked meals are rich and deeply comforting – think soft creamy cassoulets, rich tomato soups, and hearty lentil stews. You can line it with a bag to reduce washing up, too, but I find that leaving it on for an extra hour, half filled with water and a squirt of washing up liquid, tackles even the toughest of stains.
9 Boil before roasting. Firstly, this is a surefire way to get the crispiest, fluffiest, best roast potatoes you can hope for, by bringing them to the boil and simmering for 10-15 minutes before slinging them in the oven. The hob is cheaper to run, and this knocks the oven time in half, as well as giving you a superior potato at the end of it. I do this with most roasting veg, including carrots and sprouts, which brings me to …
10 Steam veg. Stacking multiple kinds of vegetables in a layer, on one hob ring, means you can still get your five a day without having to pay through the nose for it. I’ll admit I don’t own a steamer, so I put one kind of veg in the pan of boiling water, and a second in a sieve balanced on top, before popping a lid on to keep the heat in. Sturdy veg in the bottom, leaves and more tender varieties in the top, and twice as much veg for your hob ring.
To keep track of how much your cooking is costing you in energy, contact your energy supplier about getting your smart meter at no extra cost. If you’re not sure who your supplier is, there are helpful ways of finding out at smartenergyGB.org/suppliers.
