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Tips to Save Money in the Kitchen

Tips to Save Money in the Kitchen

With gas prices rising to ridiculous heights Americans are now eating at home more than ever and in a recent study released by the National Restaurant Association they are reporting that nationwide restaurant traffic is down at 50%. So with more of us are spending time in the kitchen, and using that oven more than it may have been used in a while, you are now also using more energy and could be wasting some money as well. So here are a few tips that will allow you to go greener in the kitchen and keep some cash in your pocket where it belongs.
First some more facts –

Did you know that the average home’s kitchen oven gets used 185 times a year?
When you turn your oven on it has to use enough energy to heat up this 40 lb. piece of equipment before it can even begin to cook your dish.
And when you are actually cooking the dish in the oven it is absorbing less than 10% of the total heat that the oven is producing.

Now what can you do? Here are some helpful tips:

First, don’t keep opening the oven door.
Every time that you open the door up to 25% of the heat escapes and the oven has to work that much harder to get back to temperature.
Instead use a top quality thermometer and use the light inside the stove to check on progress.
Your dishes will cook faster if the air is circulating in the oven so if you have a convection setting on your oven – use it.
Leave an inch or more space in between pans and stagger their placement in the oven – this allows for more heated air to circulate around the food.
Keep your oven clean – this helps because a clean oven will heat up faster and will also cook your meals in a shorter amount of time.

So there you are – enjoy your time in the kitchen and minimize your energy footprint at the same time.