Low Energy Cooking - Leaving the Lid-On

In many situations then cooking on top of the stove we don’t think about it, but leave the lid of the pot off, whether it is so we can see what is going on, to prevent it from boiling over or because that is just the way we cook, we leave the lid off. There are, however, some situations where leaving the lid on can allow a reduction in the energy used to cook our food by as much as 75%!

During cooking, steam rises from the food and takes with it a proportion of the heat energy we are putting in with gas or electricity or whatever to cook the food. By keeping that steam and energy in the pot with the food we can reduce the amount of heat energy we need put in to cook a given amount of food. We can take advantage of this salvaged heat by reducing the amount of heat input applied to cook the food, or reducing the time taken to cook the food, or both.

In many cases you won’t need to buy anything new, just use your existing cooking apparatus in a new and more efficient way. There are other environmental benefits which will follow too –

• Some of these techniques can be used to replace cooking under the grill or in the oven and both of these methods use more energy than cooking in a frying pan.
• By keeping the lid on you reduce spatter and mess to an absolute minimum so cleaning the stove top becomes quicker, easier and does not require a battery of chemical cleaning agents.

Now I have your interest, on with the show! –

Lid-On Frying

For this technique it is best to have a heavy bottomed frying pan, to disperse the heat evenly, with a close fitting lid. My preference is stainless steel but enamelled cast iron works really well too (I must admit I distrust non stick and aluminium cookware) the good ones can be expensive but will last a lifetime.

This technique is suitable for meat, fish and vegetables. For example, chicken pieces (free range of course!) can be cooked this way by putting a small amount of oil in your frypan. Place your chicken pieces skin side down, place the lid on the frypan and putting it on high heat until the chicken starts to sizzle, then turn the heat down to medium high for 10 minutes, then turn the pieces over for another 5 to 10 minutes and viola!

Steak can be done in a similar fashion (ours is local grass and fed, occasionally we feel evil enough to eat it). Assuming your steak is 2.5cm thick and you want it medium, place the steak(s) in the pan on high heat with the lid on for 2 minutes, then remove the lid and turn, cook for another 2 minutes. Now leave the steaks to rest with the heat source turned off but the lid of the pan still on for two minutes. This is only a guide and you should experiment with the technique until your steaks come out how you want them.

For vegetables, cut up 450 grams of mixed (preferably home grown, but at least organic) veggies so the pieces are about the same size, place them in the pan and add a splash of oil (we use Aussie olive oil for cooking) and cover. Place the pan over high heat and once the veggies start to sizzle, cook for one minute, toss the pan (while holding onto the lid of course) to redistribute the veggies every minute or so for about 5 minutes then remove from the heat. Bung in a bit of soy sauce or vegetarian oyster sauce (made from mushrooms), toss well and away you go. This technique is sort of a cross between stir frying and steaming your veggies and is very energy and nutrient efficient.

Lid-On Boiling

When I first learned this technique I found it to be a bit counterintuitive, I always brought the water to a boil with the lid on, but once it had boiled it was a case of the lid comes off, the food goes in and you get it up to a rolling boil again until the food is cooked. I must admit that when the water boiled over because I left the lid on my response was to take off the lid rather than turn down the heat. Oops!

Anyway if you cook like me you can save yourself a fair bit of energy by turning the stuff you normally cook on a rolling boil down to a medium low heat and leaving the lid on. If you just cook at a low boil try leaving the lid on and turning ht heat down to low and if you need to simmer turn the heat down as low as it can go and leave the lid on. This one simple technique can save you money and energy, with no loss of cooking time or efficiency. It works for veggies, pasta, grains and dried beans and poached chicken or red meat.

This technique can also be used to cook pasta or using the energy stored in the water, retained through leaving the lid on. Bring the water to the boil in the pot as you would usually and then toss in your pasta, replace the lid and re-boil the water. When the water starts to come back on the boil just turn the heat off and cook the pasta for the amount of time your normally would. The pasta will come out al dente and you will save lots of energy (= money).

So there you have it, a simple technique that can save you energy, time and money; it is good for the environment too and requires little or no extra equipment, just a behavioural change. Why wouldn’t you give Lid-On cooking a go?