Good for the planet and your pocket

It's easy to pick up certain cooking habits in the kitchen, but there's so many easy ways you can cut down your monthly costs while being more sustainable when it comes to cooking up a storm. 

What you can do

1. Steam your veggies - not only is this a healthier and more eco-friendly way of cooking, it also helps them retain their flavour. If you do have to boil, try using a smaller pot as it will use less water and heat up quicker.
2. Make one-pot meals - not only are they easier to cook, they're easier to clean - it's a win, win! Take a look at our one-pot Mexican style chicken and rice recipe for some inspiration. 
3. Cook with lids - trap the heat, speed up the cooking process and reduce energy consumption by covering your pots and pans with lids. You can even lower the heat setting or reduce your oven temperature while still achieving the same cooking results. 
4. Clean produce in a bowl - guilty of cleaning your fresh fruit and veggies under running water? Fill up a large bowl instead. 
5. Fill what you need - don't fill your pot most of the way when boiling, use just enough water to cover what you're cooking.
6. Match cookware to hob size - using pots and pans that are far too large for the hob mean that heat escapes around the edges so a significant portion of heat is lost while cooking.
7. Use energy-efficient cooking methods - such as pressure cooking, slow cooking, steaming, air-frying or microwaving. 
8. Be oven-smart - don't preheat your oven longer than necessary, cook multiple dishes at the same time and avoid opening the door too much as it lets out heat and will need to cook for longer. 
9. Thaw foods - instead of thawing your frozen foods in a pot of water, cover your meats and thaw them in the fridge.
10. Keep a pitcher of water in the fridge - if you're always waiting a while until the water runs cold enough to drink, grab a pitcher and keep it cold in the fridge. Use it for drinking or cooking. 

What we do

We are determined to save unnecessary water and energy wherever we can in our canteen kitchens to help take that extra step in being as sustainable as possible, which is why we take energy efficiency so seriously. 

1. In our kitchens, vegetables and potatoes are steamed and not boiled. Although this might seem like such a simple thing (everyone can do it at home too), this saved a significant amount of both energy and water.
2. Across all of our canteens, gas burners, ovens and stoves are switched on at the last moment and turned off when not in use. Similarly, our hot counters, the kitchen pass and gantry lights are switched on as close to service as possible. Speaking of all of our equipment, we make sure they're perfectly sized for the demand at each college, saving huge amounts of unnecessary energy. 
3. Our brigade also use pressure cookers which really cuts down the cooking time. Food that would normally take 6 hours to cook would be done in just a couple of hours. We even have a fully electric kitchen at London College of Fashion to avoid any use of gas as it's so much better for the environment. 

So next time you're in the kitchen, try out some of these simple steps to save energy, water and money! 

Contact:

Follow us @ualcatering for more updates.