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Jan 31, 2024

If You Can’t Stand the Heat, Switch to Induction

As the song goes, it isn’t easy being green. Palo Alto — one of the capitals of

As the song goes, it isn't easy being green. Palo Alto — one of the capitals of environmentally woke Silicon Valley — is cooking with gas. And that's awkward.

Earlier this year, the city prohibited new construction projects from using natural gas. On May 16, however, it made an exception. Lawyers for the Stanford Shopping Center said that an incoming tenant for a soon-to-be-completed building — Zaytinya, which serves eastern Mediterranean cuisine — might just pull out if its kitchen was forced to work on electric cooktops. The mall's attorneys said gas-powered blue flames were required for Zaytinya to "achieve its signature, complex flavors."

Zaytinya has two other outlets, both in prestigious locations in Washington D.C. and New York City. It is also owned by celebrity chef and global good guy Jose Andres, whose World Central Kitchen feeds the victims of natural disasters and people displaced by wars. The prospect of losing such an august presence appears to have propelled Palo Alto into relenting. But just this once! Gas would not trump electric ever again in the city! Never, never, never. (Andres has not commented on the controversy.)

This gas-versus-electric debate, however, is specious because it's imprecise. The word "electric" brings to mind the inefficient, slow-heating coils of plug-in ranges. There are, of course, prettier versions where ceramic tops hide the unsightly whorls — but that extra layer further slows the transfer of heat.

What "electric" should represent instead is induction cooking, a technology that's not only been around for three decades but is being adopted by an increasingly wide range of restaurants, home kitchens and culinary schools around the world. Induction doesn't seem to have figured much in the Palo Alto debate.

While certainly nowhere as cheap as gas equipment, induction is far friendlier to the planet. It takes substantially less time to get your pan to the right temperature for cooking. Gas appliances also have inherent risks — including the emission of the greenhouse gas methane, the fickleness of pilot lights and the speed of buildup of potentially flammable grease in extractor fans.

Induction cooktops are also cool — and I’m talking physics not fashion. If you can't stand the heat, you can actually stay in the kitchen. That's because the kitchen uses magnetism to heat cooking vessels directly. You won't burn yourself by touching the range's surface. With no flames to carbonize the bottom of pots and pans, you won't need harsh chemicals to be rid of the crust. That’ll keep down the pollution that would otherwise emanate from unreformed kitchens. Beyond pot scrubbing, cleanup is a breeze — just wipe down the glass surface. Gas-fired kitchens require long periods of scouring after service to keep restaurants within the health and hygiene codes imposed by cities.

Still, there's a primal appeal to flame. Human fascination with — and mastery of — fire lies at the genesis of culture and technology. It's hard to pull ourselves away from the flames. I can also imagine cooking techniques for which induction might not be conducive (for example, with a Chinese wok(1)).

Nevertheless, all kinds of restaurants here in London are in Camp Induction, including those whose reputation have been made on smoke and fire, and those that like to keep a more circumspect kitchen. At Tomos Parry's Brat, the imposing wood-burning oven and grill are supplemented by discreetly placed induction cooktops. The haute cuisine at Jeremy Chan's Ikoyi on the Strand is produced by both induction technology and a wood-burning station. Nick Bramham of Quality Wines on Farringdon Road has been turning out fabulous Mediterranean dishes on his induction hob for five years now.

Patrick Powell of the new Midland Grand Dining Room says his preferred methods of cooking are "induction and fire that isn't produced by gas." Chefs are finding ways to pair the primal and new technologies. Jamie Smart is contemplating getting a hibachi to supplement his induction range in the compact kitchen at Cadet on Newington Green .

Home adoption is rising, though slowly. Anissa Helou, author of Feast: Food of the Islamic World, has an induction burner in her home in Sicily and loves how much control it gives her over cooking temperatures. Cost, however, continues to be the biggest obstacle to widespread use. A four-burner gas range top can be purchased for just over £100 ($125); a single-burner portable induction cooktop will set you back about £250. A full induction range-plus-oven can be three times as expensive as the equivalent powered by gas. Some kitchens might require rewiring; and if you’ve a collection of expensive copper pots and pans, well, they won't work with induction magnets.

But there may soon be little other choice. As evidenced by cities mindful of our climate crisis — yes, even Palo Alto — the home you build or buy in the next few years may no longer be outfitted with piped-in natural gas. Better start thinking electric, that is, induction. The future will make no exceptions.

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

• Electrifying Homes Is Like the Biggest Reno Ever: Liam Denning

• How Gas Stoves Became the Next Global Warming Target: Justin Fox

• How Restaurants Became More Selfless Institutions: Amanda Little

(1) Companies have redesigned woks with flat bottoms to be in full contact with the induction cooktop. But that obviates the easy acrobatics that come by shifting the wok's round base on a metal ring or the range's trivets to create different cooking temperatures on the surface of the same wok, allowing you to cook two or more ingredients at once in the same vessel.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Howard Chua-Eoan was the international editor of Bloomberg Opinion until April 2023. The former News Director of Time magazine, he now writes about the nexus of culture and business.

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