Corby Kummer: The benefits of induction cooking

As Americans try to curb their methane emissions from coal mining and oil and natural gas systems, changes may come to the kitchen as well. Award-winning food writer Corby Kummer joined Boston Public Radio on Monday to talk about induction cooking as an alternative to gas stoves.

Induction cooking uses electric currents to directly heat pots and pans through magnetic induction. Instead of using thermal conduction, such as a gas or electric element transferring heat from a burner to a pot or pan, induction heats the cooking vessel itself almost instantly.

Melissa Clark of The New York Times makes the case to get rid of gas stoves. A lot of new buildings don’t have gas hookups and 75 percent of methane emissions from gas stoves occur when the stove is off.

In addition to the environmental benefits, Kummer has other reasons he thinks induction cooking is a good option. “This doesn't smell, it's much cleaner, it's incredibly easy to just take a sponge to because it's a flat glass cooking surface,” he said.

Kummer explained that you can get an induction stove cover for a regular stove for only a few hundred dollars. “You can order one tonight from Lowe’s or Walmart, they’re incredibly easy to come by.”

Kummer is the executive director of the Food and Society policy program at the Aspen Institute, a senior editor at The Atlantic and a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.