Induction or Gas? 3 books for curious minds
Read more about methane or have an appliance make you smile: Time for the reading nook!
Is it possible that there is only one book dedicated to cooking on an induction stove? With this month’s topic, finding book recommendations was … interesting. If you’re wondering why I even try, look at the previous issues: Induction or Gas? Why this change in you kitchen pays off explains why a gas stove is considered a threat to your health and to the planet. And then you can learn what to do about it in Induction or Gas? The No-Sweat Switch.
New here? Every month, Climate Culinarians picks one topic and publishes a series of newsletters about it, ending with a recipe (see the weekly structure here). This month will be all about stoves. Subscribe to never miss a new post!
3 books full of toxic gas and adventurous appliances
I love to share what I’ve been reading and - maybe even more importantly? - what’s in my “books to read next” stack. Here’s my selection around gas versus electricity as a fuel for cooking.
An environmental thriller starring gas
Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America by Eliza Griswold (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018).
Where does the gas for U.S. stoves and heatings come from? Fossil fuels are not renewable energy; they are running out. So gas companies go to great length to squeeze out what they can - for instance, by fracking. Author Eliza Griswold explains what that entails in the manner of an environmental thriller. She tells the story of a small town in Appalachia that is swept up in the fracking boom - and faces sudden illnesses. The book won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 2019.
A rare cookbook
The Best Induction Burner Recipes on the Planet by Ella Sanders (Castle Point Books, 2018)
Is it possible that there is only one book dedicated to cooking on induction? This is the one I found, and it comes with 100 recipes for a portable induction burner. Looks like the publishing world agrees that cooking on induction does not require much instruction. I do admit this came as a surprise, given the amount of cookbooks for slowcookers and airfryers.
A novella starring appliances
The Brave Little Toaster by Thomas Michael Disch (Doubleday, 1986)
In fiction, I couldn’t find a single book centered on an induction stove. But not for lack of praise for applicances, albeit small ones: The Brave Little Toaster stars five small appliances. A toaster, a vaccuum cleaner, a radio alarm clock, a lamp, and a heated blanket go on an adventurous journey. The first obstacle: They need electricity. Sounds familiar, right?
Have you found any books that focus on induction cooktops or methane? Share them with me and all the other Climate Culinarians in the comments!
What’s next? After all this talk about pollution and shiny surfaces and climate-friendly cooking, there is a recipe on the horizon. I’ve been rummaging through several notebooks (with variable success decifering my shorthand). And I think the best dish to represent the stove theme is … nope, you gotta wait until next week for a taste.
Read, eat, repeat!
Petrina
Climate Culinarians is a project by me, Petrina Engelke. I write about climate and food, and I help other writers turn their ideas into a book people want to read. In other words: I’m a journalist and a book coach. Read more about this newsletter & me here.
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