Stay Cool And Calm With These 5 Tips For Reducing Heat In The Kitchen

The summer months can be brutal for spending time in the kitchen, where the heat from your food combines with what's outside. Kitchens get hot quickly due to the heating elements, steaming food, boiling water, and bodies constantly moving around. While the result may be worth it, you don't have to suffer through your time cooking with some of these tips for staying cool in the kitchen.

Getting too hot in the kitchen isn't just uncomfortable; it can be dangerous. It's easy to lose track of how hot you're getting, and dehydration can set in quickly if you're not focused on drinking enough water. Keeping the air flowing is one of the most valuable ways to reduce the heat, as well as sacrificing some light in exchange for lowering the temperature.

Of course, what you prepare and where you prepare it make a huge difference in how hot the kitchen gets and how long you stay in there. Spending time in front of burners or heating elements will have you sweating, so stay aware of how much you're using each appliance. Keep it cool and simple, and you should be prepared to beat the heat in the kitchen.

Airflow is one of the most important things you can do to keep the kitchen from getting too hot, and there are different ways to do it. You can either introduce cool air to the room or you can work to remove the hot air. There are different types of fans for each method, and they can be combined to maximize the cooling power.

To introduce cool air, you can use a standing fan or box fan from a different room to blow cooler air into the kitchen. These can be moved to wherever is most effective for your setup, but make sure not to get them too close to your prep area. Nothing would be worse than accidentally blowing away your ingredients in the name of keeping cool.

You can also use the exhaust fans in your kitchen to try to remove some of the hot air. If that's not enough, you could even turn a box fan around and have it blow out of the kitchen to another room. This won't give you the same amount of air circulation, but it'll alleviate some of the heat.

While it may seem natural to have all the lights on that you can to optimize visibility in the kitchen, this will only make things hotter. Light bulbs emit heat as they cast light through the room, and while it may seem marginal, having lots of lights on at once can be a major source of warmth. Leaving some of them off helps to keep things cooler while you cook.

This isn't to say you should be cooking in the dark, as this brings its own set of hazards. However, using lower-wattage and more efficient lights can make a massive difference in how hot the room gets. Stick to the small lights above your stove or from a lamp rather than the overhead lights in the fixtures, because the lights in a range hood generally range from 20 to 35 watts for halogens and 1.5 to 5 watts for LEDs.

The type of lights you use will also make a major difference in the room's ambient heat. The higher the wattage of the bulb, the more heat it generates. LED lights emit less heat than incandescent bulbs because they're a lower wattage. Therefore, incorporating LEDs throughout the kitchen will create a cooler overall experience. Swapping out some of the lights in your kitchen can be one of the easiest ways to cool things down in areas where you can't afford to have the lights out.

Two of the main sources of heat in a kitchen are the stove and oven, and using them is a surefire way to raise the temperature. Luckily, there are plenty of different ways to cook your food nowadays that don't require either of these appliances. The microwave and air fryer are great methods, depending on what you're making, and they'll get you in and out of the kitchen quickly.

The microwave shouldn't be used for just any meal, but it's certainly got its perks. Say you're melting butter or other fats, there's no reason to heat an element or start a flame burner on the stove when you can put it in the microwave for a fraction of the time. Even boiling water can be done in the microwave, as long as you don't need it to stay boiling once it's finished.

The air fryer is another great alternative for firing up the stove or oven. There are many different foods that you might have never thought to cook in the air fryer that are faster than the oven or cleaner than the stovetop, and it'll also generate less heat. Opening the basket will cause some hot air to escape, but compared to opening a 350-degree oven, it's minimal.

Opening a window is a great way to circulate air in the kitchen, but it depends on the temperature outside. You'd be surprised by how hot still air can become, so opening the window can force some of the high-pressure hot air in the kitchen to flow outside, where the air is at a cooler, lower pressure. Having multiple windows open is even better because it causes the air to flow through the room between those low-pressure zones, meaning more movement in the kitchen with less effort from you.

You don't have to open the windows too wide to cool the kitchen, especially if the weather isn't balmy outside. If it's too hot out, it's best to wait until it cools down, or you risk making things worse inside. In other words, keep those windows closed during the hottest part of the day, and open them when temps cool down at night. Just make sure that no bugs or birds find their way into the kitchen to ruin all your hard work.

Pairing an open window with a range hood can also be a lifesaver in a hot kitchen. Not only does it keep air circulating, but it's a constant supply of clean air that can make all the difference when you're stuck over the stove. Hot food steaming into your face can be disastrous, but having fresh air constantly flowing will help keep you from enduring so much heat at once.

Heat in the kitchen goes hand in hand with hot foods, so if you're trying to stay cool, try making something that doesn't need to be cooked. There are plenty of satisfying no-cook meals that are just as good as something that has you standing over the stove or reaching into the oven. Salads and sandwiches are a couple of versatile options for filling meals that don't require you to turn up the heat.

From a bowl with lettuce and dressing to a caprese, salads are an easy way to make something substantial and satisfying without needing to turn on a heating element. Even a fruit salad is a great alternative, and it'll help to cool you down even after you've started eating it. You can even slice some strawberries and drizzle some balsamic over the top for a refreshing meal that won't have you sweating.

Sandwiches are another perfect option that won't have you turning on fans or cracking open windows. Grab some deli cold cuts and spread your favorite condiments for a quick meal that doesn't break the bank or the thermometer. Being aware of all the different options you have is the first step in keeping things cool in the kitchen without having to try too hard.