Gas and kerosene are natural resources we use to cook our meals on a daily basis. It is important to know how to effectively maximize them in order to save cost. Research has shown that the major reason why gas and kerosene get exhausted earlier than expected in the home is due to certain cooking habits. One can save up to 30% of cooking gas or kerosene using good cooking practices.
These simple tips will help you maximize gas and kerosene in your homes:
Get all your ingredients and utensils ready before lighting the gas or stove
Do not leave your stove or gas burning idly, because it drains gas and kerosene really fast. Light your stove or gas only after you have gotten ready all you need. Also, remember to put off an idle flame immediately.
Use the right quantity of water when cooking
The quantity of water used in cooking food depends on the size of the food. Using the right quantity of water will reduce the excess use of gas. An experiment on cooking rice with double the required quantity of water has revealed that gas consumption increased by 65%.
Reduce the flame when boiling starts
You do not need high flame when the content is already boiling; the low flame is enough. Hence, when water or food is boiling, reduce the flame to reduce wastage. This is possible in a gas stove by turning the knob to ‘simmer’ position or in a kerosene stove by lowering the wicks. You will find out when the food is ready that it took the same amount of time to cook when the flame is high.
Use pressure cookers for boiling
Get a separate pressure cooker and use it to cook as many times as possible, using your gas and stove only when necessary. This helps to greatly reduce the cost of gas and kerosene as cooking with gas or stove daily will be reduced.
Use wide vessels on the gas or stove when cooking
Use a good-sized pot, pan or kettle that covers the burner in order to avoid flames touching the sides. The use of smaller ones causes wastage of gas and kerosene.
Allow frozen food to reach room temperature before cooking
Fish, meat, and food-stuff from the refrigerator should not be taken straight to the cooking pot. Bring them out of the refrigerator hours before the time you plan to use them so they can reach the room. Frozen or very cold food consumes a larger amount of kerosene and gas.
Eat at the same time
Apart from unity and joy being an advantage of eating together as a family, saving gas and kerosene is another great advantage. When everyone eats at the same time, there will be no need to reheat food, hence waste is avoided. Food should be put in an airtight container to keep it hot if not being eaten at that moment to avoid reheating.
Put the lid on heat losses
Practice covering food when cooking as it contains the heat which helps to save gas and kerosene. Loss of heat to the atmosphere causes waste, most especially when there is a wind blowing through the kitchen. So, it is good to always place a lid on an open cooking vessel.
The small burner saves gas
A cooking gas stove has a big burner and a small burner. The small burner consumes 6% to 10% less gas than the big burner. An experiment on cooking 250 GMs of potatoes revealed that the small burner consumed 6.5% less gas but took 7 minutes more than the big burner. Similarly, in a kerosene stove, by cooking at a lower flame you will use less kerosene.
Always clean burners
It is important to clean the burner of your gas range regularly and trim or replace the wicks of the kerosene stove. Soot clogged gas burners and charred wick-ends of a kerosene stove increase fuel consumption. Regular maintenance of your stove helps you save the cost of kerosene. A bright, steady blue flame means efficient burning. An orange, yellow on non-uniform flame requires cleaning of burner or wick as the case may be.
Clean cooking vessels saves gas and kerosene
A coating of undissolved salts is usually found on the insides of pots and pans. Even a millimeter-thick coating can reduce the flow of heat to the vessel’s contents. This increases your fuel consumption by as much as 10%. Scrubbing them clean at all times will help you save your gas or kerosene.