This Tuesday, June 1, 2021, the new electricity bill in Spain has come into effect. It establishes three time sections (tip, flat and valley) with different prices. The cheapest hours to start the appliances are from 00:00 to 08:00 hours from Monday to Friday, but the municipal ordinance of many cities prohibits making noise at dawn. So there are those who manage to save on the electricity bill, and they do it with ideas that seem like real madness, like cooking in the dishwasher .
No, we have not got the wrong appliance. It is about taking advantage of the heat that is generated in the wash cycle to cook food . As is logical, the food must be put in a glass jar with a hermetic seal so that it does not get wet.
The idea is to take advantage of the cleanliness of the dishes to cook . Therefore, dirty dishes are put in the dishwasher, as well as several jars with food inside to cook during the wash cycle.
What are the advantages offered by this technique?
Although it is now when it has begun to talk about it, it is not something new. This is a modality that was born in 2016 by Lisa Casali, author of the book “Cooking in the dishwasher”, which includes a series of tips and recipes. He assures that in this appliance, as incredible as it may seem, you can get delicious dishes , with textures and tastes that you could not obtain with traditional cooking techniques.
It is true that it is a very ecological technique because it simply uses the energy of washing . In addition, it is something very simple because you only have to put the food in airtight containers and put it in the dishwasher.
And the downsides?
Now, some experts warn that cooking certain foods in the dishwasher to save on electricity bills is not a good idea. And it is that this appliance does not reach a temperature so high as to eliminate pathogens . There are some foods, such as eggs or pork, that must be fully cooked to a very high temperature.
Red mullet on vegetable ratatouille
One of the recipes proposed by Lisa Casali is mullet on vegetable ratatouille . In a glass jar you have to put several slices of onion, a chopped tomato, red pepper, aubergine and red mullet. It is drizzled with a jet of oil and a little vinegar, seasoned with salt and pepper and closed. Then it’s run through an hour-long dishwasher cycle at 55 degrees, and voila!
