Keep your kitchen cool over the summer by utilizing your outdoor kitchen and other tips!
Summertime is one of the most popular seasons of the year and for good reason. Most people think of summer as a time for relaxing, going on vacations, and enjoying beautiful, sunny days. After a hot day outdoors, cold air conditioning refreshes us and gets us feeling comfortable again. However, for some homeowners, the summer season also poses a distinct problem. For those looking to save energy or anyone whose central air systems aren’t quite up to par, cooking in the kitchen during the summer can cause your kitchen to feel sweltering. It might even get so bad that you’ll consider not even cooking at all in your kitchen during the summer, opting for preparing meals in an outdoor kitchen or resorting to takeout more often. With planning and some considerations, however, you can keep your kitchen cooler during the summer. Here are a few ways you can!
Oven Usage
Ovens are the biggest contributing factor to making your kitchen feel like a sauna in the summertime, so knowing the best times to use it will help you stay more comfortable. You’ll want to aim to only use your oven at night or in the morning. Since the outside temperature is cooler during these hours than it is at midday or early evening, you’ll be better able to regulate your kitchen temperature and thus increase comfort levels in your kitchen.
Using Supplementary Appliances
Summer is also the perfect time to use other tools in your cooking arsenal to prepare meals. If you have an outdoor kitchen, or even something as simple as just a grill, you can do quite a bit of cooking with this setup. This may or may not depend on the weather cooperating when it’s time to cook your meals, but it will certainly help your indoor kitchen stay cool. Indoors, supplementary appliances such as slow-cookers and toaster ovens won’t produce as much heat as your oven and can produce quality meals your family will love!
Discover No-Cook Recipes
Another option is discovering recipes which require little or no cooking at all for preparation and enjoyment. Cold soups and salads are refreshing on a hot summer evening and can enhance the comfort level of your kitchen – plus they can be quite healthy and support a balanced diet. Low cook recipes take just a few minutes of heating before you can serve them – research recipes that involve rice noodles or shrimp for more inspiration!