With summer now in full swing and temperatures set to rise, things are starting to heat up across the country. Never is this more true than in the kitchen during meal prep, where things can boil over pretty quickly – especially on a hot summer’s day.

While the phrase “if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen” springs to mind, here at Cooker Spare Parts, we believe that the kitchen should be accessible to all – even if you suffer from thermophobia!

If your kitchen is prone to bouts of boiling heat, we’ve got a few choice tips to help keep your kitchen running smoothly without resulting in a meltdown.

 

how to reduce heat in kitchen

 

Reduce heat in the kitchen

First things first, the easiest and most obvious way to reduce heat in kitchen areas is to simply crack open a window.

The additional airflow can work wonders in no time, while patio doors can also provide ample ventilation.

But what if you don’t have patio doors or only have a small kitchen window?

Is all hope lost? Is it time to throw in the tea towel? Should we resign ourselves to cooking in inferno-like temperatures for the rest of our days?

Not quite. Here’s a few ways to beat the heat in your kitchen this summer.

 

Oven Embargo

Oven cooking has a knack for heating up the entire kitchen, particularly if your kitchen is small and compact.

While this can be great news in the wintertime when the weather is colder than a mother-in-law’s kiss, it’s not as welcome when the kitchen is already hotter than a heatwave in hell.

Avoiding oven cooking during the bouts of baking sun is a wise move. Instead, try to rely on other kitchen appliances, like a slow cooker or microwave.

 

Bake Smart

Oven cooking can’t always be substituted and sometimes you may find there’s simply no alternative. If this is indeed the case, try to plan ahead and schedule your oven cooking at cooler times of the day, such as the early morning or late at night.

 

Boiling Over

Boiling water on a stove top can have a dramatic effect on the kitchen environment. Even with an extractor fan above the hob, it’s still common for the whole kitchen to become a sauna, misting up the windows like a culinary steam room.

Opting for boiled foods during hot weather is asking for trouble, so try to avoid stove-top boiling during bouts of extreme heat outside.

 

The Great Outdoors

If you feel like your kitchen is too hot to cook in, why not revere that psychology somewhat and use the weather to your advantage?

Hot weather is a prime setting for alfresco dining, so why not take advantage of the conditions and go the whole hog by cooking outside too?

Embracing barbeque season can have multiple perks, from the social aspect of a BBQ to the sheer novelty of cooking outside.

Best of all, it gets you out in the open and out of the kitchen, minimising the kitchen heat considerably. 

 

 

 

There you have it: four fool-proof ways to reduce the heat in your kitchen his summer without affecting your cooking. For more information on how to reduce heat in your kitchen, drop us a line on 02920 452 510 or click the button below to get in touch online.

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When it comes to cooking do’s and don’ts, there’s a long and varied list of things that can (and usually will) go wrong – particularly if you’re a white belt in culinary kung fu.

Luckily, the trusty oven usually provides a fantastic “Get Out of Jail Free” card for anyone who has not quite graduated from the foundation level of student cooking standards.

That being said, oven cooking isn’t always as simple as throwing a few potato smilies in with a fistful of fish fingers; there are still plenty of problems that can arise from even the simplest of oven cooking.

To help prevent any catastrophic kitchen nightmares, we’ve collated a mini list of oven cooking do’s and don’ts to stop you getting hot under the collar and keep mealtimes casualty-free.

 

cooking do’s and don’ts,cooking do’s,cooking don’ts

 

Cooking Do’s

It’s often said that a bad worker always blames their tools. While this may be true at times, it’s far from the rule. After all, sometimes the tools really are to blame!

When it comes to the kitchen, the tools at your disposal can make all the difference and an unreliable appliance can hold the fate of your meal in its molten, steely hands.

With that in mind, here’s a few preparatory pointers to help keep you cooking and set your nutritional voyage off in the right direction.

 

DO use timers and clocks

Keeping track of cooking times can be the difference between bon appetit and burnt offerings. Worse still, failure to set your alarm can be a real recipe for disaster when it comes to kitchen safety.

To keep your meal prep running like clockwork, make the most of your oven timer. This can be invaluable when you’re cooking a variety of dishes: whether you're frying a steak, boiling pasta of roasting a Christmas turkey.

 

DO keep your oven in working order

Figures published by Which? in 2018 showed that cookers and ovens were the cause of 11% of house fires, more than any other cooking appliance.

Meanwhile, GOV.uk maintains that cooking appliances account for a sobering 48% of all house fire ignition from April 2017 to March 2018.

Bottom line: keep your oven in working order. Failure to do so could not only land you in hot water but could quite literally see your home go up in smoke.

 

DO use oven mitts and handles

While it may seem logical to use a wet mitt or cloth to protect yourself when handling hot pans and trays, heat travels extremely fast through wet material, leaving your hand unprotected.

Always use a dry oven mitt (or, if absolutely necessary, a dry tea towel) to handle hot items. This should provide ample insulation to prevent your hand from the burning.

The same also applies for grilling. If you don’t already have one, avoid feeling the burn by taking additional precautions and investing in a pan handle for your grill.

 

Cooking Don’ts

Isaac Newton rightly once theorised that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In the kitchen, this is just as applicable and for every “DO”, there’s an equally important “DO NOT”.

So open wide and prepare for a freshly baked batch of sugary glazed “DO NOTS”, as we run down a five culinary faux pas that you’d be wise to avoid.

 

DON’T use ovens with damaged doors

The smallest crack could lead to big safety issues once temperatures rise and can even cause your oven glass to break completely.

Similarly, microwaves with damaged doors can be just as dangerous, if not more so. An unsealed microwave door can lead to radiation emission that has the potential to provide a nasty burn.

To play it safe, if your oven door is faulty, be sure to get it replaced or fixed before you turn up the heat and get cooking.

 

DON’T overload your oven

Overloading an oven can not only increase cooking time, it can also affect how your items cook, preventing heat from adequately circulating.

More importantly, it can also increase the risk of a hazard, especially if you’re trying to cram too many items on a single tray (we’ve all been there).

If your oven is beginning to look like a game of Tetris at mealtimes, it may be worth investing in additional oven trays and grill pans to avoid unnecessary stacking.

 

DON’T ignore a wobbly cooker

If you have a free-standing oven, a wobbly cooker can be a major annoyance at the best of times. Worse still, it can be extremely dangerous at the worst.

Wobbly ovens often mean an unstable stove. When you subsequently use that stove, it can become very dangerous very fast, particularly when you’re using the stove for boiling water, soups and sauces.

Spills and mishaps can occur with effortless ease when your cooker is unsteady. Avoid a rocky horror kitchen stove by securing your free-standing cooker with level cooker feet.

 

For more information on safe oven cooking and cooker maintenance, why not drop us a line today? Call now on 02920 452 510 or use the button below to get in touch online.

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Regardless of who you are, it's likely that you have commitments that make cooking a wholesome meal from scratch every night difficult. At CookerSpareParts, we want you to provide you with the right equipment to cook meals, but also with hints and tips to save you time - making cooking a pleasure, not a chore. Read on to learn a few easy ways to shed time off your meal prep and cooking times. 

#1 - Use tools that work:

From the knives you use to chop your ingredients, to the appliance you use to cook them, you need to ensure that all of your equipment is in full working order before you start preparing a meal. Precious time can be lost during the cooking process if you find yourself looking using a tool or appliance isn't functioning correctly. Before cooking, spend a couple of minutes putting all of the different tools together and give them a quick check over to make sure everything is working as it should be. A faulty door seal or a damaged thermostat might be costing you precious time because your cooking appliance won't be working as efficiently as it should be. If you think you need to replace parts of your cooking appliance to save valuable time when you're cooking, take a look at our full range here.

#2 - Cook things that take a long time at the weekend:

One great way to save time during the week is by utilising the extra time you can spend on cooking at the weekend. If you're thinking of cooking a Sunday dinner, why not roast twice the amount of meat? You can eat one portion with your Sunday dinner and save a pre-cooked portion for use throughout the week! Whole roast chickens or joints of meat are particularly good for this, although you could roast extra veg or halloumi cheese if you're looking for a veggie alternative. This will save you lots of time cooking again throughout the week, and will also urge you to eat something prepared from home each day rather than being tempted by those takeaway restaurants.

#3 - Cook at a higher temperature than the recipe suggests:

This one might seem a little odd but stick with us. Generally speaking, the temperature guidelines provided by food suppliers are there to ensure that your food cooks in a particular time, but for some foods cooking them at a higher temperature won't affect the outcome, only the time it takes to cook! Your cooker's thermostat goes up much higher than the standard recommended 180-200°C - just remember if you do decide to cook at a higher temperature, you may need to keep a closer eye on the food than usual. Despite this, you will save heaps of time and get your dinner served quicker than you expected. To try this tip safely you need to ensure your cooker thermostat is working properly. If it isn't you can easily replace it with the help of CookerSpareParts! Click here to view available thermostats.

We hope these tips help you save some time when you next cook a meal. If you have any questions about purchasing replacement parts from us, contact us by clicking the button below:

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Three great meals that don't need cooking!

Broken cooker

So your cooker has broken down, but it's fine, because you're totally on top of it. You've located the source of the problem, Googled it, and ordered a replacement part from the Cooker Spare Parts team. No sweat!

Except...what are you going to do for dinner tonight? Even if you selected 'Next Day Delivery' and completed the order before 3.30pm, your cooker will still be out of action until tomorrow. You don't want to ruin your diet with a takeaway, and you haven't got the money for a meal out, so what to do?

Well, we can help on that score as well. Here are a few alternative meal ideas for those broken cooker evenings.

(N.B. For the sake of this blog post, we're assuming that your cooker is completely busted; that is, you can't use the oven, the hobs, or the grill.)

  • Salad
    If salad has only ever been a side dish for you, it's high time you upgraded it to the rank of Main Course. Start with the basics: cucumber, lettuce (or rocket if you're feeling fancy) and celery. Once you've laid the foundations, you can get creative, throwing in more or less anything you fancy. Peppers, croutons, walnuts, sesame seeds, chicken pieces, pine nuts...it's all fair game!

  • Chicken Wraps
    You may not be able to cook anything yourself, but you can buy pre-cooked chicken from most supermarkets. If you're reasonably easy to satisfy, just put some chicken, lettuce and mayonnaise in a tortilla wrap and tuck in! If, however, you want to add a little more flavour, you can add cashew nuts, chopped spring onions, and even grated coconut to the mix.

  • Boxing Day Buffet
    If you've got leftovers - chicken, cold cuts, salad, that sort of thing - then you've got yourself a meal, no cooker required. Just pretend it's the day after Christmas, spread all your leftovers out on the dining table, and make a buffet out of it. And if you don't have any leftovers...go out and buy some! Grab a French stick while you're there, too; nothing ties a spread together like a nice, crusty baguette.

Image Credit: Andrew Skudder

A lot of people seem to think that vegetarianism means that you can’t eat anything but lettuce. In actual fact, choosing not to eat meat is no more limiting than choosing not to eat cake – there’s still a whole world of marvellous mealtime options that you can enjoy!

To prove that point, here are three of our favourite vegetarian dishes for you to try at home. They’re all meat-free, and even inveterate meat-eaters have admitted that these meals taste amazing!


Quorn Wraps with Nando's Sauce


Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 2-4
Suitable for Vegans? No - Quorn contains egg.

You will need:

  • Nando's Peri-Peri Marinade (the spicier the better!)
  • Quorn Chicken Style Pieces
  • Peppers (x2)
  • Flour tortillas
  • Cooking oil

Fry the Quorn pieces in a little oil.  Chop the peppers and add them to the frying pan, along with a generous helping of Nando’s marinade. Sizzle it all for a little longer, and once everything’s cooked, spoon the mixture into flour tortillas and serve as wraps.


Macaroni Cheese

Recipe taken from chefchloe.com

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4-6
Suitable for Vegans? Yes, as long as you buy vegan-friendly pasta, milk, and margarine.

You will need:

  • Egg-free macaroni (1lb/450g)
  • Alpro soy milk (680g/24oz)
  • Broccoli florets
  • Vegan margarine (55g/2oz)
  • Flour (43g/1.5oz)
  • Yeast (64g/2.25oz)
  • Tomato purée (2tbsp)
  • Sea salt (2tbsp)
  • Garlic powder (1tsp)
  • Lemon juice (1tbsp)

Cook the macaroni and broccoli in boiling water (bear in mind that the macaroni will take longer than the broccoli). Whisk the margarine and flour together in a saucepan on medium heat; then, add the soy milk, yeast, purée, salt, and garlic powder to the pan and boil this mixture while continuing to whisk frequently. Lower the heat and simmer so that the sauce has time to thicken. Stir in the lemon juice, and add this sauce to your macaroni and broccoli.


Rice Muck-Up

Preparation Time: 10-15 minutes
Serves: Depends on the amount of rice you make
Is it vegan? Yes, unless you add any non-vegan ingredients

You will need:

  • Rice (preferably saffron rice)
  • Curry powder
  • Whatever you've got in the fridge!

Rice muck-up is a great way of using up your leftovers. Simply cook the rice, add a bit of curry powder, and throw in anything you've got handy! Try it with peas, onion, egg, herbs, peppers, Quorn, nuts, mushrooms, aubergine...anything that comes to hand. This is a good Monday night dish if you've got lots left over from the weekend.

For more veggie inspiration, check out our Vegetarian Meals board on Pinterest!