Christmas dinner often involves cooking a lot and for a long time, which means a lot of energy is used. However, there are some tips and tricks on how to reduce energy consumption.
Small changes with big benefits
Even small changes offer big savings potential. A suitable pot, for example, can significantly reduce energy consumption. This should fit as precisely as possible on the hob and not have a dented base, as heat can escape here. A glass lid also helps because you don’t have to constantly look at the contents. A glass lid can reduce energy consumption by a third, reports Stiftung Warentest.
You also don’t need to boil the accompanying vegetable side dishes in a pot full of water. Here it is enough to steam them, this saves energy and makes the steamed food taste more intense. When you steam food, even more nutrients are retained.
Saving energy with oven meals?
For the braised meat: put it on the stove. But how exactly? The meat cooks just as well in a roasting pan on the stove as in the oven, and you also save a lot of energy because the oven doesn’t have to run at full speed for hours. Stiftung Warentest also recommends a glass lid here, as it offers a lot of savings potential.
Unlike pot roast, cookies cannot be prepared on the stove; the oven is essential for this. However, hot or convection ovens can accommodate two baking trays, and you should use this space, says Stiftung Warentest. It is important to leave enough space between the sheets.
Does investing in new kitchen appliances make sense?
If there are still older devices in the household, purchasing a new one may make sense. Cooking accounts for around ten percent of the total electricity consumption in a two-person household, reports DasHaus. Cast iron hotplates, for example, are real energy guzzlers. Because the entire plate is heated every time, a lot of energy would be lost, especially in the cooling phase, if the residual heat was not used specifically. Alternatives to this would be glass ceramic hobs or induction hobs. Both heat up much faster than cast iron hotplates and also cool down more quickly. Induction hobs in particular offer savings potential of up to 40 percent compared to cast iron hobs. The heat regulation can be adjusted much more precisely than with other hotplates.
Since ovens and hobs are often sold together, it is also necessary to take a look at the energy efficiency class if you want to save energy. The oven should have at least energy efficiency class A. Convection ovens also have better values than conventional ovens. Good insulation through a triple-glazed door allows you to save additional energy when baking, writes DasHaus.
Editorial team finanzen.net