Cooking Confessions: I went with induction

It’s winter in Minnesota, and that means it’s game-on for holiday cooking and cold-weather comfort food. My name is Heather Miller, and I’m writing as a 76-year-old convert to cooking with an induction stove.

Until recently, I had always cooked with gas — except that one old electric stove in an apartment my husband and I rented in the 1960s. I’ll be the first to admit that I loved the infinite control available for cooking with gas. However, my concern about the effects of climate change on our planet has been growing over the years. We know (and the data shows!) that fossil fuels like gas, coal, and oil have been warming our planet for decades — and we are currently at a critical crossroads to head off the worst effects of climate change.

I have two daughters and four grandchildren, I want them all to enjoy the same beautiful planet that I have loved all my life. My husband and I decided to do something about our climate concerns. We became members of Third Act Minnesota, a group started by Bill McKibben, renowned environmentalist and journalist, to give elders a way to work together on a climate solution. Third Act Minnesota is an organizational member of the Clean Heat Minnesota coalition, a group of more than 40 groups in the state working to ensure that Minnesotans can power heating, cooking, and appliances in their homes and businesses with clean, affordable energy.

In addition to the climate impacts of burning natural gas, I have mild asthma and gas stoves produce pollutants in the home that aggravate and even can cause breathing issues over time. A peer-reviewed study that came out in 2022 and covered widely in the media shows that children are 12% more likely to develop asthma in a home that has a gas stove. My grandchildren spend time with me, and I decided I didn’t want them to be exposed.

But when it came to going induction, I’ll admit that we had few reservations! Pans used on induction need to have a flat, metal bottom. My husband is our household stir-fry chef (Hallelujah!), and he was concerned he wouldn’t have high enough heat to pull off this style of cooking. Induction stoves can also be more expensive than a conventional stove and require a 240 volt outlet. Finally, we wondered if we would be able to adjust to a different way of cooking. How different would it be? We even toyed with the idea of getting a single plug-in induction burner to try it out, but finally decided to just go for it.

We installed an induction range and haven’t looked back. We expect it may pay its way eventually with lower bills, not to mention cleaner air in the home.

One added bonus on top of the climate considerations is the safety of our induction stove. With our gas stove, we’d occasionally leave a gas burner on by accident after removing a pot. One time it was on all night — eek! An open flame is extremely dangerous, and it seems unlikely that our memories will get better with age! Now we don’t have to worry about it because our induction stove has no open flame. On top of that, the burners shut off automatically if there is no pot detected on them! And a red light lets you know if a burner is still hot. All told, it’s much safer.

We have been cooking with our induction stove for six months now, and we are very pleased. We tested our pots and pans with a magnet and found we were able to use most of them. We bought an additional pan, and got another at Goodwill to replace the ones we couldn’t use.

My husband is thrilled with the high level of heat for stir-fries — the best he has ever had! The temperature is instantly and infinitely adjustable, just like a gas stove. Just the other day, the soup I was cooking went instantly from full boil to simmer with a touch to the controls. I’ve even had to adjust cooking times, setting the timer for less than the suggested time by a couple of minutes at least because the cook top heats so quickly. In fact, it boils water in 20-40% less time than gas.

And cleanup is easy; the cook top is completely flush and easy to clean. Installation was quick because we already had a 240 volt outlet on a 220 amp circuit to plug it into. Our stove even had several features that we didn’t know about when we bought it! Like an air fryer oven, convection baking, and convection roasting. An induction stove can be had for about $1,000 dollars or more.

We couldn’t be happier with our choice to go induction because cooking on it is so easy. And we’re saving money because induction cooking is three times more efficient than gas. Best of all, we are protecting the planet and the people we love in our home!