this post was submitted on 21 Aug 2024
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Individual Climate Action

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energy-conservative cooking -- bring to a boil then shut it off (slrpnk.net)
submitted 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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Not sure if this has been scientifically studied but I’ve noticed a couple situations where continuous heat can be avoided.

My mom’s way of cooking corn on the cob: bring a pot of water to boil, lid off with two wooden spoons resting on the top to prevent boiling over. She keeps the heat continously quite high for what, ~30—40 min? Seems wasteful because with the lid off the pot is evaporative cooling the whole time so more heat is needed to offset the cooling. I just tried it this way: bring to boil with lid on. Shut the burner off as soon as it boils. The corn continues cooking as the water temp drops. I could probably improve on that even more by using a pressure cooker. (I’m stalling on buying one because I boycott InstantPot due to the fact that they have a closed source phone app exclusively in Google Playstore; it’s optional but InstantPot buyers are still financing that. I should probably get a 2nd hand manual pressure cooker).

Hydrating dried beans: soak overnight (which I skip because it seems to make little progress). So I do the “quick soak” -- bring to boil with lid on, turn off right away, and let them sit ½ the day in warm water. Pressure cooking speeds up the 2nd stage cooking for sure (I’ve tested with other people’s pressure cookers). Since I don’t have a pressure cooker, I end up doing the quick soak method ~3 or 4 times throughout the day.. which just means bring to a boil then shut off. Anecdotally this seems to reduce the time needed in the final phase of cooking.

Am I going OCD on this? This all might be a drop in the ocean.. cooking is not a significant portion of energy consumption. But maybe notable in the summer when cooling systems have to work against the kitchen heat. Which is one reason I like the electronic pressure cookers: I can set the pressure cooker outside.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I could probably improve on that even more by using a pressure cooker. (I’m stalling on buying one because I boycott InstantPot due to the fact that they have a closed source phone app exclusively in Google Playstore; it’s optional but InstantPot buyers are still financing that. I should probably get a 2nd hand manual pressure cooker).

FYI, new manual pressure cookers are still a thing. A recently-made used one is fine, and obviously best in terms of minimizing cost and manufacturing and such, but it's better to resort to buying new than to get a really old one with a less-safe design.

Electronic pressure cookers made by companies other than Instant Pot are a thing too, by the way.

Which is one reason I like the electronic pressure cookers: I can set the pressure cooker outside.

Another way to accomplish that would be to get a portable induction burner and set a manual pressure cooker on top of it.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I love the convenience of the electric ones and the programmability. But tech ethics makes them a minefield. One advantage of the manual ones is they can do much higher pressures. The so while the electric ones give more control by giving programs and timers, they give less control over the pressure level. IIRC the InstantPot just has low and high. And “high” pressure is still relatively low.

Ideally we need a FOSS pressure cooker.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Yes. I think you’re a bit over the top on this.

Everyone is going to have an opinion on how they like things cooked. But a pot isn’t going to boil over if it is just water. Unless it is filled to the brim. So YES lid on. Corn only need to be barely cooked IMHO so yeah Lid on bring to boil; add corn. Count to 10 and kill heat and just give it a few minutes.

Fine yes you are(would be) financing the closed source app.

I effing love my IP. We cook beans once a week. Black beans , 25 minutes cooking, maybe 35-40 total from dry.

Buy it second hand but yeah if you cook stews or beans, you need an IP

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago

Here to second the utility of electric pressure cookers, Instant Pot or other.

Best rice cooker I've done used and it speeds up cooking so many things. I cook a LOT of curries in it and it seriously reduces cook times and therefore I'd assume energy use. Get a bigger one if you do meal prep. I can make a month's worth of sambar in one go, quarter the batch, freeze 3, and defrost 1 week's worth at a time.

I make one curry like this every other week or so I have a variety of meals ready at any time.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago
  • soaking beans overnight – this helps to remove some of the compounds that cause gastric problems (as long as you remember to dump the soaking water)
  • bring to a boil and turn heat off is the best way to do hard boiled eggs (and you don’t get that gray-green line around the yolks) – bring to a boil, move pot off burner, put a lid on, set timer for 12 minutes
[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I've found that some noodles can be cooked by sitting in hot water for longer, but this doesn't work well with wheat noodles or pasta.

You can soak beans in an hour by adding a pinch of baking soda to the hot soaking water by the way.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Which noodles aren't pasta?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago

Space noodles, of course.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Space Noodles, of course! 😘

Pasta specifically refers to Italian durum wheat noodles. There's a huge variety of noodles outside of that, far too many to list, but soba, da xiao mien, and fensi being some examples.