You may not be aware that you can save a ton of money when cooking. All you need to do is approach your recipes from a different angle and use what you have to your advantage.
Use Cooking Devices Instead of the Oven
Certain kitchen tools are designed to save time. However, there are a few that can save a lot of energy. The microwave doesn’t have a good name. But it’s a great way to quickly and cheaply heat up food. You can also save money when you cook staples in a pressure cooker. For example, you could cook black eyed peas in the Instant Pot instead of on the stove. Air fryers are already becoming an increasingly popular way to cook without using much energy at home.
Plan Your Meals
A simple food budget and a plan can save you time and money when it comes to cooking. If you understand precisely what you require and write it down, you’ll be able to get it at the store. And you’ll be less likely to fill your cart with random things. When meals are planned together, you can also use the same ingredients for more than one meal. For example, with a base of meat, vegetables, and aromatics, you can make hearty Italian dishes, curries, and soups all week.
Use Oven Space to Save a Ton of Money when Cooking
Ovens at home have enough room for a lot of food. This is why you should use the space to your advantage and cook things simultaneously to save energy. Suppose you roast vegetables after cooking a meat joint. In that case, you could very well almost double the amount of energy you use. So, you can add the vegetables to the oven before your roast is cooked. If you use an oven without a fan, you should be cautious not to overfill it, or a lot of vapor will build up inside.
Reduce Sizes to Reduce Cooking Times
The best way to get a lot of flavor out of a piece of meat is to roast it. But this can take quite some time and use a lot of energy. But if you cut a joint into slices, you can bring down the cost of roasting your meat in half. By cutting your meat, you can cook it much faster because the heat doesn’t need to permeate as deep. So, something that used to take more than an hour may now take 30 minutes or less, depending on how thick you want your meat slices.
Make Food for Freezing
Most foods can also be frozen safely at home. This is especially true of meat sauces, which can be stored for later on. You can also save money because you won’t have to make a stock every week, which also takes a lot of time and energy. For example, you can freeze homemade stocks and even herbs in ice cube trays and then use them whenever you want for an immediate burst of flavor. Just make sure that anything you freeze is at room temperature.
With costs rising, you can save a ton of money when cooking. Try using energy-saving devices like air fryers, cook multiple things at the same time in the oven, and freeze ingredients for later.