Day 80: What's a Cook To Do?

This post is in response to Lisa's questions on my Day 77 post, asking about what stove top (gas, electric, etc...) is most environmentally friendly.

Well, I did a bit of digging and here is what I found out:

Electro-magnetic stoves/cookers are the most environmentally friendly. These induction stoves use electricity to generate a rapidly changing electromagnetic field. This in turn interacts with nearby ferrous items (think iron and steel) and heats them up -it won't work with aluminum (you can use a fridge magnet to test if it will work). The benefits of an electromagnetic range are that less energy is required since the stove top does not heat up and less heat is wasted. Furthermore, because the stove isn't actually heated up any spill-over won't burn on and the pot reacts instantly to changes in power (like a gas range). However, there are also some downfalls to electromagnetic stoves (google it to find out more about it).

For more conventional ranges, like gas or electric, gas seems to be the winner, although it is highly dependent on where your electricity comes from (renewable energy vs. oil/coal). Gas burners are more efficient, as they provide instant heat, unlike electric burners which need to warm up, and cooks have greater control over the temperature. However, it is natural gas that is being burnt, so there is still that to take into consideration.

So, it seems that there is no clear-cut answer and what type of range you should use depends on cooking techniques and where your energy comes from! However, there are some clear advantaged to electromagnetic and gas ranges.


Sources:

http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/gas-vs-electric-cooking.htm
http://www.suite101.com/content/magnetic-induction-stove-tops-a116287
http://www.homemakersonline.co.za/features/150/environmentally-friendly-kitchen