Energy is among least expensive ingredients in Thanksgiving meal

It doesn’t cost as much as one might expect to cook that Turkey Day meal.

Heating costs are relatively low, according to Alliant Energy.

The average cost to cook a Thanksgiving dinner is $1.56 with electricity and 37 cents for gas appliances.

Turkeys require the most energy. A 16-pound stuffed turkey roasting for 3.5 hours averages 89 cents for electricity and 22 cents for gas. Pies come in second at 26 cents for electric and 6 cents for gas appliances.

Gravy cooked for 10 minutes on a stove will cost you a nickel, and a pan of mashed potatoes is a dime. Folks with natural gas appliances will pay pennies.

There are ways to take advantage of that meal’s heat. Continuous cooking can heat the home, so consider turning the furnace down. When cooking for hours, don’t bother with preheating. Use glass or ceramic pans, which heat faster than metal pans and require lower temperatures.

Also consider cooking similar dishes together. Foods can be cooked together if their recipes are within 25 degrees.

In addition, leave the oven door closed if you want to save some money. Every time an oven door is opened, the heat drops by 25 degrees.

If food is nearly done, turn off the burner or oven and use the lingering heat to “coast to the finish.”

To further save money, consider using microwaves, multicookers, crockpots, air fryers and toaster ovens, which require half the energy of a conventional oven.

When it’s time to clean up, use the self-cleaning oven on the oven when it’s still hot. If you have a dishwasher, use it instead of hand washing dishes. Dishwashers require less water and energy than traditional hand washing.