Has anyone used alternative cooking methods 31 March 2022 at 11:17AM in Old style MoneySaving 14 replies 1.8K views

romaineahern

Hello sounds a daft question but cannot use microwave (for health reasons) but wondered whether anyone could recommend alternative cheaper cooking methods than turning on oven!  Have looked at Remoska and air fryer but read varying reviews of problems with both.  Have tried slow cooker but in the main it is more useful for casseroles, etc. which I can do in my good old fashioned Prestige pressure cooker which I have had since the arc.  Would really appreciate insight as like everyone else the cost of energy is really scary at the moment for those of us on fixed incomes with little or no help.  Thanks.

Emmia

What are you trying to cook? And what type of oven do you have?

Modern ovens are more efficient (heat quickly), or you could try a microwave combi oven - not for the microwave but for the oven, these heat quickly and are pretty small. 

The difficulty might be recouping your spend, on the extra gas & electricity.

newlywed

I’ve heard of people cooking pasta in a thermos flask, but never tried it.

Brie

I used to know a family who, before a long car journey, would wrap up a roast in aluminum foil complete with potatoes and carrots and stick it under the bonnet of the car to cook using the engine heat en route.  Never tried it myself but I'm sure it would work as long as you weren't fussy about how well done things ended up.

Brie

A more practical trick would be to bulk cook - so baking some potatoes at the same time as you are heating a casserole, making 2 casseroles so one just needs a short reheat the next day etc.

romaineahern

Thanks Brie, I wrap my potatoes in foil and cook them on my open fire they do (for free) in about 45 mins just turn them half way through, rather like in a slow cooker.  I like to cook all kinds of meals from scratch and make my own bread and have been carefully considering the air fryer and the remoska but wondered whether anyone had experiences good or bad as they are much smaller than my AGA dual fuel electric oven (lPG gas top) and if they were really money saving.  

joedenise

I've got both a Remoska and an air fryer (halogen oven).  I use both of them but probably use the Remoska more - it is also more energy efficient being only 600w; the halogen oven is 1200w.

The halogen holds a slightly bigger dish so depends what I want to cook a stone which I use.

romaineahern

Thanks for that what model Remoska do you have please.  I was looking at the Tria merely for the size and as perhaps an alternative to cook a chicken, but for most of the time a smaller one would do - is it very versatile, e.g. does it bake potatoes, do chips, roast potatoes, etc?  Will continue to use my big oven for batch baking bread but looking for alternatives on day to day basis, although the AGA dual fuel is very robust and does not heat the kitchen just looking for ways to cut back on electrical expenditure.  Thanks

Working_Mum

I have borrowed a friend's air fryer to see if it is worth investing in one.

I have had it 4 days and I love it!! I have made all sorts and t's all been tasty & delicious

I will be buying one but not a T9fal one as it has whirly thing which moves round - and it is a bit big so i think I'd prefer one which is more square in shape with a tray for cooking.

Brie

well if you have an open fire then there's all sorts of possibilities. 

A camping shop or a maybe an antique/second hand shop should have all sorts of things for cooking.  Toasting forks, hotdog/sausage skewers etc.  There used to be some sort of metal box thingme you would use by a campfire which would reflect the heat and was used for baking cakes and bread.  We also used to make bannocks which were a thick sticky dough you could wrap around a stick to back in the top of the flames. 

Stick a cast iron kettle in the fire to heat up water for tea.....stick your roast in a heavy casserole in the embers....

Mojisola

We have an Instant Pot Duo (bought half price in the sale) which replaced an older pressure cooker.

We very rarely use the oven now.

Cheap cuts of meat cook very well in a short time in the pressure cooker.