For millennia fire and cooking have been entwined. Yet it turns out that those helpful flames are not only bad for the environment but also our kids. What do we do? Switch over to a different kind of cook top.It's time for home chefs to consider .
Regular contributor Melissa Clark wrote about this neat invention in today's New York Times Food section. An induction stove basically runs on electromagnets. These offer a stove much more responsiveness,power and precision. They are also a dream to clean. There's no going under or between messy burner grills to pick or mop up burned pieces of food or spills.Keep in mind there is a learning curve. It will take some time to get used to this new way of cooking.Robert Osbourne of Brooklyn had one installed after his co-op board rejected his request for putting in a gas line for a gas stove. He resisted at first but then became acclimated . He had to adapt to the mental process of looking at a number instead of gazing at the centuries old orange blue flame.It starts off cool and works up to a heat.However unlike regular stoves, they are expensive. Only five per cent of American homes have one. They can range anywhere from $690 to $1600. An expensive gas range tops at $1,000 while the cheapest is only $395.
Yet converting to an electric range is worth it. Gas ovens and stoves emit potent greenhouse gases like methane into the atmosphere, What's even more surprising and worrying is that seventy-five of these emissions happen when the stove is shut off. Then there are those noxious fumes that are more harmful to kids.It brings about indoor nitrogen dioxide that spike quickly , reaching hazardous levels in the time it takes to bake a cake. Children with asthma suffer terribly.Yet many home chefs are reluctant to switch over. Only five per cent of American homes have them. It could be the cost or the whole idea of cooking on cook top that eventually heats up. It is something homeowners have to get used to though. New York and other cities across the country are enacting legislation that will limit the amount of gas hook-ups in new construction. Luxury buildings not only see them as more efficient and functional but also as more upscale and lux. Induction ovens are also going to be put into NYCHA apartments throughout Manhattan to help the organization meet its' city mandated sustainability requirements.
Think about an induction oven for your next stove.It's better for the environment and family. It makes your kitchen more sustainable and better for the planet and you.
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