Energy consumption by cooking appliances used in Polish households

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to compare the energy consumption of food processing equipment in the context of the sensory characteristics of the dishes prepared in them. The paper presents energy consumption analysis of household appliances for food heat treatment. To determine the real parameters of the thermal processing of foodlaboratory experiment was carriedout. The following appliances were compared: electric hobs with steel plate and ceramic plate and induction, gas hobs, microwave oven, steam cooker and Thermomix. Energy consumption, cooking time and cooking temperature were determined. The influence of different thermal treatments on the taste, flavour and colour of boiled potatoes was also compared. Cooking time of 200g potato portions ranged from 6 min in microwave to 26 min for cooking in water in Thermomix. Potatoes boiled in water and in steamers in normal pressure had, the best sensory properties, the worst - from microwave. Unit energy consumption was the highest in steam cooker. Cost analysis has shown that the use of electric heating appliances is 60 to 380% more expensive than gas hobs. Using pressure cooker instead of pot saves 33.3% of electricity and 17.4% of gas.