The supermarket chain has teamed up with energy firm Utilita to offer tips on the cheapest ways to cook

Supermarket chain Iceland has launched a campaign to help us cut cooking costs as  energy bills continue to rise.

The retailer teamed up with energy firm Utilita and crunched the numbers on how much our food costs to cook.

It turns out some cooking methods are much cheaper than others – meaning we could be spending money we don’t have to in the kitchen.

An electric oven and hob is the costliest to run (£317 a year), while a microwave is cheapest (£30 a year).

Air fryers and slow cookers are also much cheaper to use than traditional cookers (£53 and £60 a year). 

Iceland knows that not every kitchen comes kitted out with these though. But it’s estimated that buying an air fryer for £35 will pay for itself after 47 days of using a normal cooker.

Cooking smart

It’s not just the cost of buying food that’s squeezing our wallets. How we cook it can leave us feeling the pinch too.

Utilita said using the microwave, air fryer and slow cooker can save us £287 a year. Batch cooking and reheating could save £158 a year, it said.

Using the right size of pan and putting a lid on it can save £72 a year, while simmering food rather than boiling it could save £68 a year.

Cooking instructions on Iceland’s own products will change to show us the cheapest method of cooking.

Best-before axed

It’s not just Iceland, Asda is getting in on the money-saving act too.

The supermarket has removed best-before labels from 250 of its fresh fruit and veg.

It means foods like potatoes, cauliflowers, carrots and citrus fruits will no longer have the dates on the packaging.

They’re encouraging us to decide for ourselves if something is fine to eat. It’s a good move as research shows the average family throws away £60 of food and drink every month.

Instead of best-before labels, the products will carry special codes. This will let Asda staff see what’s still fresh enough to be on the shelves.

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