When summer arrives, we still want to eat tasty food, but cooking can be a real chore when you want to avoid extra heat in your home. One alternative is to exclusively eat cold foods and salads, but this is not an ideal solution for everyone. But, it is possible to cook comfortably when it’s hot outdoors with a little preparation. Here are five tips that will help you to keep cool in the kitchen while you cook meals over the hot summer months.
1. Avoid Using the Oven
The oven generates a lot of heat in your kitchen and this will seem even more obvious when the weather is hot. Stick to foods that can be prepared without an oven and you will be more comfortable as you cook. As an alternative, fire up the grill or use a blender to make some tasty cold treats. Restrict your indoor cooking to the stovetop and choose recipes with shorter cooking times that use low to medium heat settings.
2. Use a Slow Cooker
This is a very smart way to cook tasty foods without generating heat in your kitchen. The heat is well retained inside the appliance and you can front load a lot of the cooking experience. The automatic timer will turn off the cooking when it’s done and keep it warm until you return. So, you can go outdoors and enjoy the summer sun and your meal will be ready when you’re ready to eat.
3. Use Portable Fans
Many people believe that fans don’t really cool a room because they simply move air around to improve circulation. There is some truth to that, but you can improve the cooling characteristics if the portable fan is placed near an open door or window. This is especially true if fresh air is drawn into the kitchen from a well shaded area. When you are cooking indoors and it’s hot outside, you will appreciate those few vital degrees of temperature difference. This is very helpful if you decide to cook after the sun sets to make the kitchen a little cooler.
4. Close the Shades or Curtains
If your home has a lot of windows where sunlight can stream in, then you may need to close the shades or curtains to get some relief. Sunshine can heat up a room quickly and this is especially true if you’re cooking a meal in the kitchen. There is no need to cook with artificial light or in the dark and even partially drawing the shades can make a huge difference. Keeping out the excess heat generated by sunshine can reduce the temperatures naturally in your entire home.
5. Cooking Outdoors
This is the most fun option on our entire list and this is why we’ve presented it last. Let’s face it, the best way to keep the kitchen cool is to avoid cooking in there when the weather is hot. Stick to cold food prep, making salads, dressings, and anything else that may generate heat is avoided. When we cook outdoors, foods tend to be tastier and you can stick to a shaded patio to keep cooler. Grilling is simple, but a more extensive outdoor kitchen can give you all the functionality that you need to cook elaborate meals. Adding a range, refrigerator, wine cooler, and other helpful appliances can take your outdoor kitchen to the next level for cooking and entertaining.
If you’re considering outdoor kitchen appliances, you can explore your options with our online collection or seek further guidance by speaking to a home appliance expert.