Energy Conscious Holiday Kitchen
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Beyond shopping for the most sustainably grown provisions this holiday season, there are a few habits that you can apply in the kitchen that will add up to significant energy savings.
Slow cookers and microwaves are energy savers
That’s right – I said microwaves. I’m not suggesting that you cook your entire meal in them, but quickly par-cooking certain items – like veggies – will decrease the cook time in or on the oven. Slow cookers are great for dishes that don’t require continual monitoring. So hands off! Lifting the slow cooker lid will add up to 25 min. to your cook time!
Use ceramic and glass cookware for temperature reduction
You can decrease the average cooking temperature on a dish by 25 degrees just by using ceramic or glass cookware. Both have superior thermal properties, holding heat and continuing to cook once removed from the oven.
Use lids
By simply using lids for a stovetop cooking, you can dramatically decrease heat up time.
Use Dishwasher
Dishwashers save energy and water. If rinsing is an absolute must, have a shallow sink ready with soapy water to keep from having to run the faucet for too long.
Have a compost pail handy
Make a pact that you will compost all organics once your entertaining is complete. Remember, whether you have a ‘protein friendly’ or ‘greens only’ solution, all soft paper is compostable. So make sure that paper napkins (100% recycled) and paper towels (100% recycled) make it into the compost bin.
Compost scrap bucket from hayneedle.com