Good Cooking

Although raw food is beneficial to your health and your low carbon lifestyle, it's difficult to get through a meal without cooking something. However there are ways to make your cuisine as green as possible.

1.  Try to eat fresh food. Frozen and processed foods have a much greater embodied CO2 emissions.  And try to buy local and organic - books such as the Little Food Book and the Good Shopping guide can help you find out more.

2. Different people like to cook in different ways. On the stove, gas makes it easier to control temperatures and doesn't waste so much heat. For electric stoves the most efficient are those that use induction elements. Next best are units with ceramic surfaces while the standard electric spirals are by far the worst in terms of wasting heat. All said and done, when choosing your cooker, try to get one that suits you the best as this will last the longest and -hopefully - won't need replacing so soon.

3. Microwaves use less electricity than gas and electric ovens but - believe it or not - the digital display units on microwaves amounts to millions of pounds of electricity across the whole UK. In addition the microwave does have a tendency to encourage bad eating habits in the form of ready-made meals. A lot of energy is embodied in these seemingly innocent plastic packs due to processing, preserving and packaging. Food for thought! 

4. Choose utensils that last such as stainless steel and cast iron. 

5. Pressure cookers are also efficient at cooking your food. As pressure increases so does the boiling point of water which means the temperature inside has to reach more than 100°C before coming to the boil. This means that hotter steam is produced which cooks the food more quickly. Cooking times can be reduced by a factor of three or four. For example fresh green beans take about five minutes and a whole chicken takes no more than twenty-five minutes. And because it cooks quicker then less energy is used, reducing the consumption by up to 70%.

6. Only boil the amount of water you need in kettles and saucepans. Try one of the energy efficient kettles and when you're boiling water in saucepans put the lid on. Add a little salt as this lowers the boiling temperature and, if possible, steam your vegetables as this uses less energy. 

7. Don't preheat - most modern ovens come to temperature so rapidly that preheating is not necessary (except perhaps for soufflés and other delicate dishes). And don't be tempted to look into the oven too often while the food is cooking. Each time you do you're letting out valuable heat. 

8. Try to cook more than one meal at a time and if you're roasting or baking turn the oven off  about five or ten minutes early so the food can finish cooking in the residual heat. It also makes it taste better.

9.  Electric toasters are more efficient than putting your bread under grill. Even if it's a hefty bagel there's plenty of adjustable toasters available.

10.  Match the pan size to the hob. On an electric stove a six inch pan used on an eight inch hob can waste more than 40 % of the hob's heat. And try to make sure your pots and pans all have tight lids.

11. Cater for your needs. Every person in the UK wastes an average of £424 each year on food that is not eaten. Not only is this a huge waste but it takes its toll in terms of energy needed to process this waste. It's difficult but only buy and cook what you need. Also in terms of reducing waste try to use your own bags while shopping and reuse containers such glass jars and bottles.

12. If you've got a wood-burning stove like a HOTPOD try using this to heat your soup or your porridge. A great way to make you feel really good in the morning.