An energy-saving expert has shared a 'passive cooking' technique which could help you cut down your bills in the kitchen.
With energy prices rising, households will be looking for ways to chip away at their bills without having to sacrifice their heating.
According to the Energy Saving Trust, around 20 percent of the average household's energy bill is racked up in the kitchen.
With that in mind, Chris Shaw, CEO of Utility Bidder, explained the money-saving 'passive cooking' hack which could help you use less
This hack could see households make fully-cooked meals while only using the hob for a few minutes.
He told the Express : "Passive cooking might feel like a new method but it’s been around a lot longer than we may think, originating in the mid-19th century.
"The method is mainly used for cooking food such as pasta, which requires time in boiling water to become the right consistency for eating."
While the running costs of hobs are relatively affordable for 10-15 minute periods, the annual expense can quickly add up to around £73 per year for gas, and as much as £242 per year for electric appliances.
Chris explained that the money-saving element of passive cooking lies in the reduced time it takes to cook food. The technique works by actively cooking items like pasta for just a fraction of the recommended time.
While this works well for pasta, which can safely be eaten slightly undercooked, it should not be for any product that can't be consumed raw.
Chris said: "Instead of actively cooking pasta for the entirety of the cooking time, you instead boil it for only two minutes before then turning the hob off and leaving the pan with the lid on for the remainder.
"For example, since most pasta takes around 12 minutes to cook, this would be two minutes of boiling and then 10 minutes of resting without the stove on."
It may take time to perfect the texture of pasta and vegetables, so it’s best to try it out a few different times to get the food to your preferred consistency.
Italian family-owned food company Barilla warned: "Not all types of pasta respond to passive cooking in the same way. For some shapes the cooking time does not change, for others it must be corrected."
For example, farfalle requires 10 minutes of "resting" after two minutes of cooking, while macaroni needs just six minutes to rest.
Chris explained that the exact savings will vary depending on the type of hob you have.
He said: "For an induction hob, you could expect to see a saving of around 11p each time you use the method, and for a gas hob, you could expect a saving of around 3p. This might not seem like a lot but every penny you save from different methods can add up to a nice sum."
Chris adds: "This can take twice as long on the hob than in a kettle, so it could be better to initially boil the water in the kettle before the two minutes of boiling the pasta on the stove.
"If you end up spending five-10 minutes waiting for water to boil on the stove, the whole point of passive cooking is lost, so finding shortcuts can help save both time and money in the process.”
What foods are suitable for passive cooking?
Pasta is a safe option for testing out this method though there are plenty of other ingredients that are well-suited to passive cooking.
Eggs are ideal for cooking in "used" water to save money. This type of passive cooking uses the ambient heat from the water to cook new ingredients.
For example, you could boil a pan of water to cook pasta or vegetables, then turn the heat off and the temperature of the water would be enough to cook a poached egg.
Leafy greens such as spinach can also be cooked this way.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - sign up to our daily newsletter here .
