Thoughts about Cooking
The following is a rambling discussion of cooking separated
into three areas (health, sustainability, and enjoyment).
Healthy Cooking
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The relationship between healthy cooking and sustainability is
often complimentary. Quick cooking utilizes less energy and
often the food is healthier. Cooking and eating low on the
food chain also is healthier. The food has more nutrition,
more fiber, and pesticide/pollutants are easier to deal with.
The minimally processed/cooked foods also fits well with home
food production. When one has fresh apples or tomatoes it
soon becomes routine to browse(eat) with touring the garden
or orchard
Healthy cooking equipment doesn't fit sustainability as well.
Most equipment is metal and plastic coatings are popular.
Of these i like stainless steel because of its durability and
minimal interaction with the food. Iron is also good in
moderation, with frequent use it can be dangerous. Aluminum
may be safe, but it does react to some foods and we don't
use it. The old baked on enamel pots may be a good choice,
but ours have never lasted like a quality stainless steel
pan. One of our pans is about 40 years old and only the
handle shows its age.
Energy and Sustainable Cooking
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If we ignore the manufacturing of appliances, then the cooking
process is where sustainability next becomes an issue. This gets
into issues of using gas, electricity, or wood for cooking.
In my opinion it is how we cook that matters and not the type
of energy. Sure, gas is usually more efficient, but most
cooking techniques waste a majority of the energy.
Generally we have found small specialized appliances use less
energy. In other words, cooking one or two loaves of bread in
a standard oven uses more energy than a bread machine. Heating
a pot of water for tea uses more energy than putting one cup
of water and tea bag in the microwave. I actually measured
our microwave's energy usage and compared it to a hot plate.
They microwave won unless you immersed the heating element in
the water. This says tea pots with built in heating elements
are big winners.
Another good way to save energy is to chop, grind, or process
raw food first. For example, most raw foods can be digested
if run through a juicer or blender first. This uses less
energy than cooking and often has health benefits.
Quick cooking also saves energy and nutrition. This can be
stir fry or the ultimate tool - pressure cookers. We have gone
through many of the cheap pressure cookers and have reached
a very pessimistic view of the standard design. All the major
brands use a Vee shaped gasket which expands to seal the pan.
None of these pans have lasted in our household. Two days ago
i bought a pressure cooker with an elliptical lid that is pushed
up to seal. So far we are optimistic this will be a long lasting
durable tool.
Enjoying the Process
--------------------
If we don't enjoy cooking then it is easy to slide into prepared
foods, pre cooked foods, fast food restaurant, and techniques
that use high energy. This can be habit if we were raised with
processed and packaged foods. The strength of eating habits
isn't obvious till one tries to change them, then it becomes
clear how difficult this process is. This may be the reason
that diets almost never have a lasting benefit. When the diet
ends the habitual behavior returns and so does the problem.
I don't have any easy answers to creating a sustainable attitude
about cooking but believe that enjoying it is the key. Here are
a few things that have worked for us:
1. Start a cooking file with recipes and appliance information.
Possibly divide it into months and celebrations to add variety
to the process. The goal here is to make finding information
easy.
2. Enter reminders into the computer for seasonal dishes or
seasonal changes to cooking methods. For example, we need
reminding about using sprouts in mid winter and soups
when the woodstove is in use.
3. Look for cooking ideas that meet all the major requirements
(easier, less expensive, healthier, and ecological). Once
found these ideas are easier to turn into habits and tend to
stay with us. For example, we found a pump up sprayer for
olive oil which meets all these requirements.
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Jeff Owens ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Zone 7, http://www.teleport.com/~kowens
Underground house, solar energy, reduced consumption, no TV
