If you prefer to always view the website in English, please click here.

How to be efficient and save energy cooking

When cooking your dishes there are ways to obtain better results with less effort. In this post, we discuss the five pillars of efficient cooking and how you are going to manage to save money, energy and time when cooking.

Eating may seem to be a relatively harmless activity but in reality it is something that we do every day, various times a day and which has a decisive importance in various areas, from the smallest to the biggest:

  • Our physical and mental health.
  • Our economy.
  • Our planet.

Let us discover how to save energy in the kitchen while taking care of ourselves and leading a more sustainable life.

 

1. Think about what you buy

The challenge begins and it does so from the first station along the journey: the supermarket or the shops at which food is purchased.

Here the most important thing is to take into account the carbon footprint, which is merely the amount of pollutant gases emitted into the atmosphere with each activity.

Each purchase decision leads to a rate, a number related with the amount of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere during its transportation.

For example: fresh fish reaches the supermarket with a rate of 2 and travelling 15 km by car represents a rate of 4.

Hence, if we wish to engage in efficient cooking, we see that buying fish next door, or in the neighbourhood, will maintain the rate of 2, while if we go by car to a shopping centre to buy it, the rate will rise to 6 (2+4). Look how easy it is to save energy when cooking, up to 66%.

Following this logic we can judge how to organise ourselves to cook more efficiently. We must travel as little as possible to shop, but it is also important that the product that we have purchased has travelled a short distance.

The further the origin of the food, the greater the carbon footprint and, therefore, the greater the damage to the environment.

We can apply a principle of proximity: attempt to avoid food produced over 100 km away. There are many restaurants that ask how to save energy in the kitchen and that are joining the gastronomical sustainability 0 km scheme.

 "One of the keys to more efficient cooking is to endeavour to travel as short a distance as possible to shop and to choose food items produced close to home."

2. Tricks to save energy when cooking

The next step of the challenge takes place at our home, when we arrive with our shopping basket. We have to prepare the food and this is when we can begin to save energy by cooking in a much more efficient manner.

It is important to try and have electrical appliances that are as sustainable as possible, something that is guaranteed by being fully aware of their energy label.

The next step involves simple tips to save energy in the kitchen:

  1. Each time you turn on the oven around 20% of the heat generated escapes, therefore, it is important to open it little by little and, if possible, cook various dishes at the same time or use residual heat (that which remains once you have turned the oven off) to heat other things.
  2. It is necessary to consider that efficient cooking also means cooking food to save as much energy as possible. Gas or induction are more sustainable and efficient systems to produce heat. For example: A natural gas cooker emits 200 grams of CO2 for every kWh and induction cooker 360 grams, while a vitroceramic cooker emits 450 grams per kWh.
  3. It is important to be concerned about the state of your electrical appliances and your electric and gas facilities. In this regard, it is essential to have a good maintenance and breakdown service.

 

3. Replace ovens with microwaves

Many of us only use our microwave to heat milk in the morning or to heat our Tupper meals at lunch time. However, the microwave can be a great ally when it comes to saving energy in the kitchen.

According to the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE), using the microwave represents an approximate saving of between 60% and 70% with respect to the conventional electric oven.

If you are thinking about beginning to take advantage of the potential of this electrical appliance, here are some additional recommendations to further increase the energy efficiency of microwaves.

  • It is highly recommendable to place food in small bits so that it cooks quicker and increases its efficiency.
  • Turn it off a few minutes beforehand so as not to overheat the food and obtain results that are more similar to traditional cooking.
  • There are currently many brands that are beginning to market microwave cooking containers and endless recipes that you have not considered until now and which you can prepare in this small but potent electrical appliance.
“The potential and energy efficiency of microwaves is one of the leading factors to help us to obtain more efficient cooking.”

4. Batch cooking and real fooding: sustainability with home cooking

The challenge continues in the programming of your weekly menus. The objective is to cook as few days a week as possible. This way we will maximise the result while at the same time saving energy in the kitchen

Here the concept of batch cooking can aid us a lot, that is, using electrical appliances as less as possible, together with real fooding, i.e. fleeing from ultra-processed foods. Two strategies that are going to help us greatly and lead to efficient cooking.

If we cook in a rational manner, by “deliveries”, organising what we are going to eat in the coming days, we reduce energy consumption in the kitchen to a large extent.

Moreover, by avoiding ultra-processed foods, we escape a production chain with an infinite number of steps that increase the emission of harmful gases.

It is a question of pledging for natural food items, produced locally, which help us to reduce our carbon footprint by over 25%.

"It is necessary to avoid ultra-processed foods to be efficient in the kitchen: we will obtain better results for our health and energy."

{{content.phone.title}}

{{content.phone.text}}

{{content.phone.phoneText}}

{{content.form.title}}

{{content.form.text}}

{{content.form.errors.server}}

{{content.form.success.title}}

{{content.form.success.message}} {{model.phone}}

{{content.cta.title}}

{{content.cta.text}}

5. Avoid throwing away food and fight against waste

When the food completes its journey and ends up in the rubbish bin, the sad result is that most of the polluting gases liberated to produce it have been for nothing.

Hence, it is fundamental to attempt to minimise the food that we throw away to achieve our purpose of efficient sustainable cooking.

For example, in 2018 alone, in Spain we threw away 1,339 million kilos/litres of food and drink in a good state. Imagine the amount of energy that we could have saved by avoiding such waste.

Hence, we need to make an effort in three areas:

  • Buy only what we are going to need.
  • Pledge for foodstuffs that do not require containers or that use easily recyclable containers
  • Be creative with the remains to avoid throwing away food that could actually be used.

We are not only talking about food, but we must also take into account the energy involved in the whole process from the beginning.

Energy waste is on the rise and it is in our hands to be able to enjoy all comforts by optimising consumption and being more efficient in the kitchen.

 

How to achieve this?

We have a cooking efficiency challenge plan prepared for you:

  1. You only need to be a customer of Unique to Endesa.
  2. We will propose personalised challenges to you by email that help you to reduce your energy costs:
  • If you consume less, you will overcome the challenge and that saving will be reflected in your next instalment (take into account that the electricity challenges are quarterly and the gas challenges are annual). We will help you to complete the challenges with efficiency tips and we will inform you of your progress.
  • If you do not overcome the challenge, you will still pay the same, without somersaults or fluctuating instalments.

What are you waiting for to begin saving while you take care of the planet?

"As a country, we waste over 1,300 million food items in a good state per year. Let us move towards more efficient cooking together."

Comparison of Electricity and Gas Tariffs

You don't need to adapt to Endesa's tariffs because they adapt to you. If you go to our catalogue you can compare the different tariffs for yourself. Or if you prefer, you can answer a few questions and we will take care of comparing all the different electricity and gas tariffs and then make a customised recommendation.

Do you want to see all our offers?

Spend a minute to find the product which best adapts to you:

{{firstStep.title}}

We are finding the right energy for you...

We are finding the right energy for you...

advise icon go to the advise Facebook icon go to Facebook Twitter icon go to Twitter Youtube icon go to Youtube Messenger icon go to Messenger Linkedin icon go to Linkedin Instagram icon go to Instagram Shared Link icon Go to the shared link Checkmark Success icon Checkmark Success down arrow icon down arrow Previous Go to previous Next Go to the next close icon close add icon add up arrow icon up arrow oblique arrow icon look obliquely Arrow down icon Arrow down search engine icon search search engine icon search share icon share filter icon filter email icon send mail email icon email phone icon phone fax icon fac print icon print play icon play user icon go to the user section error icon an error has occurred info icon information thumb up icon like thumb up icon like thumb down icon don't like thumb down icon don't like clock icon Clock Lamp icon Lamp List icon List Map icon Go to the map Phone icon Phone Emergency icon Emergency Pause icon Pause Play icon Play Logout icon Sign off Phone icon Phone
go back icon go back in navigation number 50 icon go to product Tempo Happy 50 Horas calendar icon go to product Tempo Happy Día companies icon go to the business segment gas icon go to gas product catalog rising sun icon go to Tempo Verde-Renewable Energy product home icon go to the household segment 24 hours icon go to One Luz product electricity icon go to Luz's product catalog electricity and gas icon go to the Luz + Gas product catalog moon icon go to product One night light monkey wrench icon go to breakdowns and repairs sun icon go to Tempo Solar product clock icon go to Tempo Happy products 2 hour clock icon go to Tempo Happy 2 Hours product 24 hours icon go to product One Luz number 50 icon go to product Tempo Happy 50 Hours Medium Voltage power line See product catalog with electricity consumption from € 36,000 to € 360,000 / year High Voltage power line See catalog of products with electricity consumption more than € 360,000 / year company icon go to the business segment calendar icon go to product Tempo Happy Day Property management firms icon go to the Property management firms DarkSite icon DarkSite icon light bulb icon See product catalog with electricity consumption less than € 6,000 / year electricity and gas icon go to the Electricity+ Gas Products catalog electricity icon go to the electrical products catalog email icon email contact fax icon fax contact Low Pressure gas icon see catalog of gas products with consumption of less than € 6,000 / year High Pressure gas icon see catalog of gas products with consumption from € 6,000 to € 240,000 / year Medium Pressure gas icon see catalog of gas products with consumption of more than € 240,000 / year gas icon go to gas product catalog Enel icon go to the enel website heater icon heater maintenance service heater maintenance icon go to maintenance service OKGas Heater home icon go to the household segment pressure cooker icon pressure cooker monkey wrench icon go to breakdowns and repairs Medium Voltage power line icon see catalog of electricity products with consumption from € 6,000 to € 36,000 / year moon icon go to product One Night Light sphere icon go to personal website phone icon telephone contact rising sun icon go to Tempo Verde-Renewable Energy product solar panel icon go to photovoltaic solar energy clock icon go to Tempo Happy products black handyman icon with thumb down selected the reaction "I don't like it" little hand icon with thumb down select the reaction "I don't like it" black hand icon with thumb up selected the "like" reaction little hand icon with thumb up select the "like" reaction
Añadir otro equipo eléctrico Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Eliminar equipo eléctrico Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Aspiradora Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Horno Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Lavadora Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Lavavajillas Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Microondas Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Plancha Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Punto de recarga vehículo eléctrico Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Radiador eléctrico Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Secadora Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Split Aire Acondicionado Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Termo Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Tostador Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Vitrocerámica Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Power edit Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Map marker Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit.