Increasing your oven efficiency comes with several simultaneous benefits. In the first place, you are saving money by optimizing one of the biggest energy users in your home. At the same time, you are also using less energy, which means you are making a small effort towards reducing your carbon footprint.
Best of all, you don’t have to be a DIY or appliances expert, in order to take advantage of measures that are designed to make your oven the best appliance it can possibly be. These are things you can easily handle on your own. Furthermore, by making your oven more efficient, you are also making your oven that much better at baking and broiling. Not only will you save money and energy, but your food is going to taste better, as well.
Let’s take a look at a few of the easy ways you can serve to make your oven more efficient:
If you have a large oven, then it stands to reason that you have multiple racks. In that case, why not make the most of all that room? You can cook a meat-based dish with some vegetables on a lower rack. You can also opt to cook your entrée at the same time you are making dessert.
Don’t wait for the temperature to beepWe often convince ourselves that the best thing to do is to wait for the oven to preheat all the way to our desired temperature. Sometimes, this is necessary. However, you don’t have to do it for everything. More often than not, you can pop something in a few minutes early. You can use the time to warm up some aspect of your meal, or perhaps even get a jump on your actual cooking. Waiting for the temperature to set is most often a waste of both your time and energy.
The temptation to open the oven to check on something we are making is understandable. Still, remember that when you open your oven, all of the heat will come rushing out. The oven is going to have to work harder to get the temperature back to its original desired level.
Believe it or not, but you can save as much as twenty percent on your oven-related energy expenses by using a convection oven. A convection oven uses a fan to move the hot air around the interior. This means food that cooks more quickly at lower temperatures.
By keeping your oven clean, you will ensure the heat produced by your oven is being directed towards the food, and not towards the burnt stuff that has built up around the bottom. It also keeps the smells coming from your oven fresh.
Not surprisingly, glass dishes and ceramic dishes are far more efficient at holding heat than metal versions. You can bring down your temperature by as much as twenty-five degrees, and you will still get your desired results.
Whenever possible, use only fresh or thawed foods in your oven. Frozen foods can force your oven to work harder, and for longer periods of time.
Calibrating your oven isn’t all that difficult. All you will really need is a cheap thermometer to make sure your temperature setting is accurate. Making sure you are cooking at the proper temperature will ensure better food, while also saving money.
If you are planning to cook multiple pans at once, make sure to stagger them in such a way as to optimize the air flow. More air flow means your food will cook more quickly.
