If you cook with gas, you may not be aware of the drawbacks… and the alternative!
Gas stoves likely make the air in your kitchen more polluted than recommended outdoor clean air quality standards. Burning gas releases nitrogen dioxide, small particulate matter, and carbon monoxide, all components of air pollution. Cooking on a gas stove increases kids’ risk of current asthma by 42 percent. Ventilation can work well to remove air pollution but only if the exhaust hood over the gas stove is strong enough, if it vents outdoors and you remember to use it.
Once your stove is ready for replacement, your best bet is to replace it with an electric or induction stove. An Induction stove is not your usual electric stove, which can take longer than gas to heat food! An induction stove cooks food faster even than a gas stove, and temperature regulation is just as precise as on a gas stove. It uses magnetic waves which only heat the pan, not the surface of the stove, so it is never so hot that you can burn your hand on the stove, even when cooking. This also makes it more efficient than gas and electric stoves. Costs of induction burners and stoves vary widely but there are new MassSave rebates ($500) and federal tax credits to ease the costs. You can purchase a two-burner induction cooktop for about $125 and the price goes up from there.
Andee Krasner (Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility and co-author with Rocky Mountain Institute of a report on gas stoves), will talk about the health risks of gas cooking and government rebates/incentives. Diana Goldman of Beantown kitchen will share her experience, and we will hear testimonials of neighbors who use induction cooktops, with lots of time for Q&A.
Register here for the Zoom webinar: www.energizewayland.org/events/1162. Sponsored by Energize Wayland and Temple Shir Tikva.
3 responses to “Induction cooking – no more gas! October 25th 2023, 7:29 pm-8:30 pm”
Appreciate the info but what about the cost of replacing all your pots with duction?
Hi Rebecca,
Many pots already work with induction. You can borrow a countertop induction burner from the Sudbury library to test your pots — We (Tom and Leslie) did and most of ours were already OK. As for cost, TJMax in Sudbury is a good source of reasonably priced, quality pots and pans. Look for the stainless ones that have the induction symbol on the bottom. Also anything made of cast iron works with induction. Most new nonstick pans work but I don’t recommend teflon, etc. because of the PFAS. Ceramic coatings are OK.
– Tom
An additional note:
Gas stoves are the problem. From a sustainability and indoor air quality perspective, regular electric stoves are just as efficient and good as induction stoves. Regular electric stoves generally cost less than induction and you can use any cookware on them.
Induction stoves are considered more friendly to the cook because they heat the pan immediately, without delay, similar to gas stoves. But when you get used to regular electric stoves and how they work, they work fine for cooking too and use any cookware. If you already have a non-induction electric stove and like it then there’s no reason to switch to induction.
– Tom