How to take the heat and stay in the kitchen

July 25, 2019 by
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My kitchen is in the southwest corner of the house and has a large window that overlooks our lawn and flower garden. During the spring and fall I have a gorgeous vista to take in as I chop vegetables or mix a cake batter. In the winter, the view is not as lovely although the tons of natural light that streams in during the short days is uplifting.

ice cubes

During the heat of the summer, however, that large window becomes a drawback instead of a plus. The sun beats down and even with the shades drawn, the kitchen becomes stifling hot, turning cooking from a pleasure to chore. Keeping cool while cooking in the midst of record-breaking heat waves is difficult, but not impossible, says Becky Krystal. She provides tips on how to keep your cool when your kitchen gets hot. 

One item on her list that I have employed over the years is to make use of the toaster oven. My older Cuisinart model will hold a large pie and medium sized casserole dish. That way I can avoid turning on my large oven which greatly contributes to kitchen overheating. Instant Pots and other multi-cookers are also a great way to keep heat to a minimum. Many of them will do tasks that normally would take place on the stovetop, such as sweating vegetables and cooking rice, beans, and even pasta.

Limiting use of heat-generating appliances to early morning or later in the evening after the sun is no longer streaming through the windows is another good way to moderate the temperature. What’s your method for keeping your cool in the kitchen? 

Category: Cooking Tips

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4 Comments

  • averythingcooks  on  July 26, 2019

    BBQ & lots of salads! 5 days of "feels like 40 C (or higher) with the humidex" recently put all indoor cooking on hold. I even hesitated to use the toaster one morning 🙂

  • MarciK  on  July 26, 2019

    I wanted to roast a 5 pound pork shoulder and put it out on the gas grill instead of having the oven on all day. My pressure cooker is a great cooking tool in summer as well, and gives me time to be outside or out of the kitchen while my food is cooking.

  • manycookbooks  on  July 26, 2019

    After many years of not having an electric skillet, I purchased a new one last year. You can cook just about anything in it, with very little effort and it doesn't generate as much heat as turning on the oven or a stovetop burner. Meatloaf, chicken, eggs, stews, soups, you name it…even a steamed Boston Brown Bread. Microwaves are handy for a lot of things, but I generally don't find they produce the end product I am looking for. The electric skillet, however, is a great time saver and terrific for the 100 plus degrees these days in Albuquerque!

  • hillsboroks  on  July 26, 2019

    Last year I purchased on induction burner and that combined with the barbecue makes cooking outdoors a breeze. I wanted it for cooking things like donuts so that I didn't have the grease smell in the house but then I realized what a great hot weather appliance it was too. We also do lots of salads and try to keep things simpler when the temperature soars. Forget baked goods for dessert, just bring out the homemade ice cream.

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