At one point in Italy at the height of the methane price peak due to the Ukraine war there was a physics professor who went on TV saying you can cook pasta very well by turning the gas off once the water boils and just letting the pasta sit there for a few minutes with the lid on, the water doesn’t lose heat. Which is 100% true! He was still kinda made fun of because it sounded to some like he was telling people to suck it up and get used to the new prices.
I completely agree with the title of the linked article. I consider an old blanket-sized towel to be an essential kitchen item. So many things can just be brought to boiling, then left on the still hot stove but with heat turned off, and covered with (a lid and) a blanket and they either become ready within 20 minutes, or in the worst cases need one more round of the same process (e.g. beans in a pressure cooker). I’ve also read somewhere that you can save up to 40% of the used energy just by using lids while cooking, and while I’m not certain about the exact number, the ratio is definitely right.
Another underused energy saving item are heavy curtains and shutters. Windows are the weakest point in the insulation of buildings and covering them at night does help a fair bit.
At one point in Italy at the height of the methane price peak due to the Ukraine war there was a physics professor who went on TV saying you can cook pasta very well by turning the gas off once the water boils and just letting the pasta sit there for a few minutes with the lid on, the water doesn’t lose heat. Which is 100% true! He was still kinda made fun of because it sounded to some like he was telling people to suck it up and get used to the new prices.
I’ll just leave this here:
If We Insulate Our Houses, Why Not Our Cooking Pots? | LOW←TECH MAGAZINE
I completely agree with the title of the linked article. I consider an old blanket-sized towel to be an essential kitchen item. So many things can just be brought to boiling, then left on the still hot stove but with heat turned off, and covered with (a lid and) a blanket and they either become ready within 20 minutes, or in the worst cases need one more round of the same process (e.g. beans in a pressure cooker). I’ve also read somewhere that you can save up to 40% of the used energy just by using lids while cooking, and while I’m not certain about the exact number, the ratio is definitely right.
Another underused energy saving item are heavy curtains and shutters. Windows are the weakest point in the insulation of buildings and covering them at night does help a fair bit.
What an incredible website