cooking without gas

miss_shillingworth

i thought i was being clever, cooking double quantities of dinner and freezing half to defrost and microwave another day. the first time i tried microwaving the frozen individual portions, it took 12 mins to defrost 3 portions and 9 mins to reheat them all in total. this means the microwave was in use for 21 mins! even if i defrost the portions overnight and cut out the microwave defrost time wouldn't it be cheaper to reheat it all at once in a saucepan on the gas hob for 5 mins?

Magentasue

I don't often bulk cook like that - more often I freeze individual portions for lone diners who come in late IYSWIM. If it's unplanned, I heat on the hob if it's something like curry or soup. I don't have a microwave, though.

Andy_Hamilton

Gas is about 25% the cost of electricity and it's a simple case that it will require the same amount of energy to heat what ever means. A pan will be 75% cheaper. That said, my quick calulation says it probably cost 3-4p to heat it in the micro.
Sticking the food in the fridge the day before you need it will allow it to defrost but also help reduce the fridge running costs (slightly)