Save Cooking Gas

By following these steps you will be able to use less cooking gas (liquid petroleum gas) without compromising your cooking. Before that you need to get a feel for two important words I will be using. (These words are sometimes used interchangeably and hence I feel a clarification is needed.)

Temperature- Temperature is usually measured in Degrees Centigrade (C) or Fahrenheit (F). The higher the temperature within a cooking pan the quicker the cooking. However, a temperature that is too high may burn the food.

Heat - Heat is a form of energy and therefore is usually measured in Jules (J) or kilo Watt hours (kWh). In this case heat is produced by burning LP gas. The more gas you burn the more heat produced by the flame. The smaller the flame the lesser the gas being burned and the lesser the heat energy produced. Heat absorbed by a cooking pan and its contents usually cause its temperature to rise. However, once the boiling point of a liquid in a pan is reached further heating will not cause the temperature of the pan's content to rise until all the liquid has evaporated.

Steps

  1. Use metal (such as stainless steel) and not clay pans for cooking in. - Metals are good conductors of heat while clay is not. For cooking to occur, heat generated in the flame must reach the food and hence pans made of good conductors of heat are more efficient.
  2. Maintain shiny outer surfaces on pans. - Shiny surfaces reject heat (by convection) at a lesser rate than dull or black surfaces do.
  3. Use a pan that is wide enough to cover the flame. - Flames that extend beyond a pan produce heat that escape the pan. Heat that is not absorbed by the pan and its contents is a waste.
  4. Once a curry comes to a boil reduce the flame so that it is just enough to maintain boiling. - A boiling curry will be at about 100 degrees Centigrade. No matter how high the flame it is impossible to increase the temperature beyond this. Therefore maintain a minimum flame required to maintain boiling. (During preparation do not add excessive quantities of water expecting to reduce the quantity of water by cooking over a long time on a high flame. Instead add enough water so that cooking can be done on a lower flame for the required duration.)
  5. Keep the pan closed whenever possible. - An open pan will allow heat to escape more rapidly than a closed pan would. Escaping steam too is a loss of heat. Trapping this steam inside the pan will allow cooking on a lower flame.
  6. Make sure the flame is colorless or blue. - Yellow flames are an indication that incomplete burning is taking place. This means that the full energy within the gas is not being harnessed. It is best to get a technician to take a look at the cooker or replace it.
  7. Use a cooker which gives an appropriately sized flame. - Many cookers available in the market do not allow the regulation of the flame to a sufficiently low level. This causes the maintenance of an unnecessarily high flame burning excessive amounts of gas.
  8. Use a pressure cooker. - Pressure cookers are very good at saving energy because they cook food at temperatures around 125 degrees Centigrade (depending on the pressure of the pressure cooker) while ordinary pans can only reach around 100 degrees Centigrade (because they are only under atmospheric pressure). Cooking at a higher temperatures can significantly reduce cooking time.
  9. Cook larger quantities and store for later consumption. - Cooking enough for several meals will save gas and time and is worth considering.
  10. Use a thermal cooking bag. - Thermal cooking bag is very good at saving energy. It works by insulation which is preserving the boiling heat. Simply you can start you normal way of cooking till boiling point, remove your pot from flame and pop it in the thermal bag which will continue cooking on it's own.

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