rowan2•1mo ago

Pro tip: I read that most home cooks use way too much heat for eggs and it's a huge waste of energy.

I found this in a study from a big cooking school in Chicago that tracked stove energy use. They said for scrambled eggs, you only need a medium-low flame, not high. I tried it at my station yesterday and my eggs came out creamier and I saved gas. It made me think about all the other things we blast with heat out of habit. Has anyone else changed a basic cooking method after seeing some hard numbers on it?

3 comments

3 Comments

thomas27523d ago

Your mom's kitchen sounding "like a smoke alarm test zone" is hilarious but also super real. I lived in an apartment building where the guy above me cooked everything on high and you could smell his burned grilled cheese three floors down. But here is the thing I keep wondering about with this whole low heat thing. Are we talking about gas stoves specifically or does this apply to electric too because I have a glass top electric and it holds heat way different than gas. I have been doing my eggs on 3 out of 10 and they come out perfect but when I tried low heat on a pan for searing steak it just steamed the meat. So how do you people who do low and slow figure out where the cutoff is between things that need gentle heat and things that actually need the high blast?

josephl671mo ago

Totally believe it. I burned so many grilled cheeses before I figured that out. Same with toasting spices or nuts. You think you need high heat but it just scorches them. My mom fries everything on high and her kitchen is like a smoke alarm test zone. Low and slow saves food and energy.

daniel8571mo ago

Ever notice how this low and slow thing applies to way more than just cooking? @josephl67, your mom's kitchen sounds familiar because it's like people rushing projects at work and making messy mistakes. We get told faster is better, but rushing just burns the whole plan. It's a good reminder that doing things right usually takes the time it takes.