It is no news that the price of cooking gas has increased 4 times in the last 3 months, coupled with the cost of foodstuff thereby, making life unbearable for so many. Cooking gas has become a luxury commodity for an average Nigerian home. If you can still afford to fill yours to the brim, bravo 👏! It’s not every day you meet people who can comfortably fill up their gas cylinder with no hassle. Every home is desperately trying to adjust to this change while seeking ways to make the gas last longer. On a brighter note, we have come up with practical tips that will help reduce your frequent visit to the gas station.
Choose the correct Burner for your Cooking pots
Pots have different sizes, and cooking with each of them on the right burner minimises waste. The rule is, match a small cooking pot with a small burner and a big one to a big burner. Make sure the pot or pan is covering the flames completely. If you can see the flames licking the sides of the pan, it means the gas is turned up too high or the pot is too small for the burner. If your gas cooker has multiple burners of different sizes, choose a burner that’s smaller than the pot you’re using to ensure that it’s not putting off excess heat.
Know the difference between Heat and Flame
The flames emitted by your gas cooker should burn a bright blue colour. Yellow flames could be a sign of incomplete combustion, which means that the gas in the lines isn’t being used to its full potential. If cleaning the burners doesn’t solve the problem, call a repairman to come take a look at it and replace it if necessary. The key is to keep the flame low enough to keep the content burning and preserve the nutrient. Cook on Low to Medium heat.
Watch out for Leaks
Checking for any visible leaks is one of the best ways to prevent gas wastage in any way. Keep an eye on the pipe, regulator and burner for small leaks that can form over time and go unnoticed. This also goes to say that you may need to change to your cylinders to newer ones instead of repairing old leaky ones.
Keep the bottom pan completely dry
Almost everyone has made this mistake. When you want to cook, you usually rinse the pot before you start cooking. When this happens, there will be water droplets at the bottom of the pot. The water drips on the cooker and consumes more gas. It may seem negligible but hey, we’re trying to save gas here. To avoid this, wipe the bottom of your cooking pot with a kitchen towel after washing it and then put it on the burner.
Invest in Life-Made-Easy Appliances
Here is the last tip on the list. Invest in kitchen appliances like whistling kettles, pressure pots, etc. Boiling water is one of the things that consumes gas the most! It’s inevitable. Most recipes start with boiling water. To this effect, whistling kettles will give a loud indication of boiling water. The same goes for pressure pots which cooks your tough meals faster. They use 50-75% less energy on average than conventional cookware in the same cooking time. Beans and meat can testify to this 🤣😂.
Wrapping up, be mindful of your kitchen practices, gather all ingredients before cooking, cover pots when necessary, dish out food in food flasks to keep warm/hot, and avoid overcooking. That way, you will be saving both money and gas.
Which of these tips is new to you? Share at the comment section.
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