Green cooking – how to cook the environmentally responsible way – words Al Woods

If you want to learn how to cook in a more environmentally responsible manner, you can attend group cooking classes that include information on green cooking preparation methods along with effective team building activities.

Professional chefs and caterers who lead many of these classes can teach everyone in your group the importance of enviromentally friendly cooking and how it can benefit both you and the planet.

Sometimes it can be hard to find the appropriate classes but if you look around, you might find the right options. If you are living in Los Angeles, Seattle, San Diego, or other large cities in the US, Cozymeal may have what you are looking for. To get a head start, you should keep these green cooking tips in mind when preparing your meals.

 

Use Environmentally Friendly Cookware

Certain types of cookware have been made specifically to be better for the planet. Many modern cookware products are made with technology that’s ceramic-based and prevents food from sticking to them. This nonstick technology provides a better alternative to Teflon, which has been traditionally used in some cookware but has a tendency to break down in high cooking temperatures. Other eco-friendly cookware products are made from recyclable materials and designed to heat food faster.

Cover Pans While Cooking

To conserve energy, it‚Äôs best to keep your pans covered while cooking. Covering your pans will require less cooking time. This is also a good way to prevent grease splatters that will require you to use additional water or cleaning products to remove. While cooking, you can lift the covers briefly to stir or flip over food so that it doesn’t burn.

Buy Your Ingredients Locally

Fruits, vegetables and other ingredients that you use in your meals should be purchased from local farmers if you want to cook in the most environmentally responsible manner. Food products that are produced locally don’t have to be transported long distances, and this helps in reducing fuel and energy consumption. Plus, many of these items are grown organically, which makes them more natural and healthier to eat.

Grill Outdoors

Whenever possible, you should consider grilling some of your food outdoors to reduce energy use. Instead of using electricity or gas inside your home to cook your meals, your food will be cooked by heated charcoals or propane, which doesn’t require as much energy. Grilling outdoors will help keep the inside of your house cooler on hot days and won‚Äôt require you to turn up your air conditioner.

Find Smarter Ways to Use Foil

Aluminum foil comes in handy in many ways in the kitchen, and using it wisely can help you do better for the planet. Lining baking dishes and pans with foil can help you cut down on water usage that’s needed for cleanup. Foil can often be washed and reused to wrap leftovers. Certain types of aluminum foil on the market are made from recyclable materials, which makes them even more eco-friendly.

Chop Food into Smaller Pieces

Cutting your food into smaller pieces has long been an effective green cooking method. Smaller meat and vegetable pieces can be heated faster so that less energy will have to be used. This will also make it easier for you to see how well your food is cooking so that you can manage your cooking time more effectively without burning anything.

Cook a Larger Food Portion

Each time that you cook, you should prepare a larger food portion so that you can use some of it for leftovers. Since reheating leftovers will require less energy use, preparing a larger portion will save you from having to use more heating power to prepare new meals. This can also help you reduce your cleanup times and cut down on your water use.

Use Leftovers for Compost

Instead of tossing your leftover food scraps in the trash, you can save them to use as natural compost for your garden. You can buy a composter to hold your food scraps and turn them into an all-natural soil conditioner. This natural compost will serve as a greener alternative to chemical fertilizers that may harm the environment.

Be Smart with Refrigerator Use

Cooking in an environmentally responsible way even relates to how well you use your refrigerator. If you plan to store any cooked food items in your refrigerator, you should let them cool at room temperature for a while so that the temperature inside your refrigerator won’t have to rise as much and make your refrigerator work harder. It’s also important to check your refrigerator’s rubber seal to make sure that it’s providing adequate insulation.

Learning how to cook in a way that’s better for the planet can be a fulfilling experience for everyone in your cooking group. Following these tips and the additional ones that you’ll learn in your class will put you on the right path to greener cooking.

Green cooking – how to cook the environmentally responsible way – words Al Woods