Now We're Cooking With Electromagnetism: Making Induction Stoves Cool

Introduction

The culture wars are heating up once again, this time over gas stoves. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) member, Richard Trumka, Jr., informed Bloomberg News in January that gas stoves, common in about 40 percent of American kitchens, pose a serious health risk, especially among children, and thus could face future regulations (Natter, 2023). Within hours of publication, Trumka's words sparked a social media inferno, proclaiming that an overreaching federal government was out to march into kitchens and commandeer Americans' venerated appliances. “If the maniacs in the White House come for my stove, they can pry it from my cold dead hands,” tweeted Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas). The CPSC later clarified that no federal ban was imminent, and even President Joe Biden assured the public that he didn't support one (Keilman, 2023). Nevertheless, within weeks, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis proposed a permanent tax deduction for gas appliances (even though most Floridians don't have access to residential gas), and Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) introduced a bill called the Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act, which would bar the CPSC from implementing any rule that would increase the average price of gas stoves (Gell, 2023).

The firestorm over Trumka's comments has been smoldering for years. Conservatives have long vented their frustration over federal policies regarding appliances and energy efficiency standards for more than two decades, including the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 that forced Americans to adopt more efficient light bulbs (Stafford & Hartman, 2013). Even former President Donald Trump claimed that federal efficiency standards were responsible for light bulbs that make you “look orange” and shower heads that lack a “full shower flow” (Popli, 2023).

Nevertheless, the indoor air pollution health impacts of burning gas and methane leakages from gas stoves, even when turned off, have been well documented (e.g., Lebel et al., 2022). For example, one recent study found that 12.7 percent of childhood asthma in the United States is attributable to gas stove use (Gruenwald et al., 2023). Aside from health concerns, electrifying buildings and homes is widely recognized as necessary to address the climate crisis as utilities switch from burning carbon-based fuels that release greenhouse gases to zero-carbon renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar.

In 2019, Berkeley, California, became the first US city to change its building code to ban gas hookups in new buildings, and dozens of cities, and some states, including New York, are following suit (Peters, 2023a; Stack 2023). In response, gas and restaurant associations have sued to overturn the bans, and some states, including Arizona and Tennessee, have passed “bans on bans” designed to keep cities from restricting gas use. In Ohio, Governor Mike DeWine signed legislation to protect natural gas by legally redefining it as a source of “green energy” (Popli, 2023). Most recently, a federal appeals court ruled that the ban on new gas stoves in Berkeley, California, was illegal as it violated the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, which gives Congress control over appliance restrictions (White, 2023). Thus, legal battles over gas stoves are expected to continue.

The crux of the incendiary response over gas stoves is the popular belief that “cooking with gas” is superior to electric stoves. Indeed, old-school electric glowing coil stoves are slow to heat up and even slower to cool down, difficult to control, and maddening to clean (Gell, 2023). Without that sexy blue flame licking skillets, the dominant narrative contends that electricity is a threat to American cooking and way of life. Never mind that most meals today are prepared at the push of a button in electric microwave and toaster ovens, slow cookers, and Instant Pots!

Surprisingly, in the cultural crossfire, few are extolling the benefits of induction stoves, a technology that has been around for more than a century and is widely popular in Europe and Asia, but has captured less than 5 percent of the US market (Gell, 2023). Unlike conventional electric stoves, induction burners, known as hobs, don't actually generate heat. Rather, they create an oscillating magnetic field (called electromagnetism), transferring heat directly to the cookware rather than the air beneath or around it. Induction requires that pots and pans contain magnetic material, such as cast iron, stainless steel, and carbon-steel; induction cannot work with aluminum and copper, and therefore switching to induction does entail procuring the right cookware.

For many, nonetheless, induction has proven to be worth it. The technology is fast, precise, and safe, and its glass cooktop is easy to clean. Electromagnetism can boil water in nearly half the time of a gas or conventional electric burner (Lynch, 2019), and therefore the technology should appeal to busy consumers on its convenience alone. Consumer Reports finds that:

induction ranges typically outperform other types of ranges we've tested. Thanks to induction technology, pots and pans placed upon these models boil rapidly and simmer steadily. As a result, you'll find that you no longer need to constantly stir tomato sauce to avoid scorching or make constant adjustments to a burner (Hope, 2023).

And yet, induction is still virtually unknown to most Americans, and poor marketing by appliance makers is probably to blame (Lynch, 2019). Additionally, because induction cooktops can look like conventional electric cooktops, there's often confusion about what distinguishes them from old-fashioned electric stoves, and there's bias against anything that doesn't involve a primeval flame (Lynch, 2019). Indeed, affluent buyers, in particular, have a fetish for high-end gas stoves by Sub-Zero Wolf, Viking, and Meile—the “fire-breathing dragons” of dream kitchens (Gell, 2023). For many professional chefs, there's something machismo about cooking over an open flame, even if it means burnt fingers, sweated brows, and melted spatulas. Induction stoves, by contrast, only warm the pan and not the cooktop surface making it significantly safer to grab pan handles. Cloths left on the burner won't combust, and kitchens and chefs stay cooler.

“It's really cool technology,” Jill Notini, vice president of communications and marketing for the Association of Home Appliances told Bloomberg News about induction, “but a lot of people don't even have kind of a basic awareness of what it is” (Gell, 2023, p. 39). Perhaps induction needs to take a page from Tesla's playbook. There was a time when demand for electric vehicles was practically nonexistent; EVs were viewed as nothing more than stodgy golf carts and painfully uncool. Then came the Roadster and then the Model S. For the first time, EVs could be ultrafast muscle cars envied by even the most seasoned drag racers who watched Teslas leave their high-performance internal combustion engine cars in the dust (Stafford, 2017).

Perhaps induction technology advocates should redefine the culture war and tackle the real cultural problem: dethroning the gas stove as the all-too-banal kitchen trophy and replacing it with induction as the under-the-radar cooktop of choice among chefs who know. How can advocates make a kitchen appliance admired, desired, and cool? Some recent marketing research may provide some answers.

Engineering Coolness

Marketers have long sought to make their brands and products cool so that they become idolized and sought-after, such as Nike shoes or Apple iPhones, to boost sales and profits (Warren et al., 2019). Products typically don't become cool serendipitously. Rather, cool often is the result of overt engineering and marketing actions.

Gas stoves are no exception. For example, the everyday catchphrase, “Now we're cooking with gas!” is actually a marketing relic from the 1930s devised by the American Gas Association to peddle gas stoves (Barba, 2014). Public relations executive Carroll Everard “Deke” Houlgate managed to catch the ear of Bob Hope's radio show writers, and in a viral sprint that pre-TikTok marketers could only dream about, the line managed to make its way into movies, cartoons, and newspaper comics, cementing itself into the American lexicon by the end of World War II (Barba, 2014; Morrison, 2023). “Cooking with gas” has become synonymous with “achieving something substantial,” “functioning very effectively,” or after a time of trial-and-error, “we're finally rolling” (Barba, 2014). By the time “it” girl Marlene Dietrich declared her preference for gas stoves in her iconic 1964 ad, the verdict was clear: “cooking with gas” had become the unquestioned norm for doing it right in the kitchen, all thanks to shrewd marketing.

While coolness has been described in a variety of ways (e.g., hip, badass, sick, chill), a widely accepted definition in the marketing literature is “a subjective and dynamic, socially constructed positive trait attributed to cultural objects inferred to be appropriately autonomous” (Warren & Campbell, 2014, p. 544). In other words, coolness is something that people perceive about things, and it is a treasured attribute. Additionally, perceptions of cool may change over time; what's cool (or uncool) today may not be tomorrow, and therefore perceptions of coolness can potentially be managed by marketers. Cool things are “autonomous” in that they don't conform to social norms or expectations; they're different or “rebellious” from the mainstream in an admired way (Warren & Campbell, 2014). Tesla EVs' heart-thumping speeds, for example, are purposely fashioned to buck convention and be autonomous from other EVs.

Some of the most recent research on coolness has set out to better determine the essential characteristics that consumers associate with cool products, how coolness may change over time, and potential marketing action levers to influence and manage consumer perceptions of coolness (Warren et al., 2019). Specifically, drawing on a series of grounded theory and quantitative studies, Warren and his colleagues (2019) found that cool products are perceived to be extraordinary, aesthetically appealing, energetic, high status, rebellious, original, authentic, subculture, iconic, and popular (Table 1). Cool products may not necessarily need to exhibit all of these characteristics, but these attributes serve as the building blocks of coolness. Warren et al. (2019) developed scale items where researchers can survey consumers' perceptions regarding which building blocks support a product's coolness and which ones may be lacking, requiring marketing actions to bolster overall perceived coolness.

Additionally, coolness has a life cycle. Innovative products typically begin as scarce or unknown and become cool to a small niche of insiders or tribe who are in the know and come to love the product (called niche cool), where they're perceived to be more subcultural, rebellious, authentic, and original. Ideally, over time, some niche cool products can get discovered by more people and may become adopted by the masses (called mass cool), at which point, they are perceived to be more popular and iconic. Mass cool products can command price premiums, assume high market share, and attain higher profits over their more obscure niche cool counterparts (Warren et al., 2019). The risk of mass cool products is, however, that they may lose their perceived autonomy and become uncool as they become too familiar, popular, and mainstream. Thus, the task for marketers then is to remind consumers about what made those products cool in the first place. Think how an EV's extraordinary ability to go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in under 3 seconds continues to be promoted whenever a new EV model is introduced on the market, associating with the original speedsters who adopted Teslas early on and made Teslas cool (Stafford, 2017).

Interestingly, electromagnetism already lends itself well to several building blocks of cool. For example, induction stoves are extraordinary, offering superior functionality over gas stoves in many ways, and advocates need to talk up the technology's compelling consumer benefits. A fun party trick is showing friends how induction can boil water in nearly half the time of a gas burner, and then as an encore, resting one's face safely on an active hob. The advocacy group, Rewiring America, launched a YouTube video showing this very act (Rewriting America, 2023) in response to a misinformed joke from comedian Stephen Colbert asserting that electric stoves are as unsafe as gas (Shank, 2023). Induction stoves' modern, black glass top look is already aesthetically appealing, and Samsung has designed its induction models to include visually stunning “virtual flames,” little blue LED lights that glow brighter around the bottom of a pan as the power is increased to give cooks a visual temperature cue (Gell, 2023). Induction can convey high status through its next-generation wizardry over gas (e.g., holding very low heat to melt butter without burning) and exclusiveness in that not everyone has one (for now).

Additionally, electromagnetism can be framed as energetic with provoking model names and marketing slogans that communicate its superior performance and convenience, such as the “Lightening Range” and “Cooking at the Speed of Light!” Perhaps “Now we're cooking with electromagnetism” can get its own hashtag on social media (don't laugh, the gas industry already uses #CookingWithGas among social media influencers to promote gas) or become a punchline on a Ted Lasso episode to become today's new hip expression for being with-it! Admittedly, electromagnetism doesn't roll off the tongue, but the novelty of the word vis-à-vis gas will get people asking, “What does that mean?” and get people talking.

Building an Admired Subculture: Induction Unlocks the Art of Cooking

Before an unknown product can enter the coveted crowd of mass cool, it typically needs to become niche cool first. Marketers can achieve this by cultivating a close relationship with a particular subculture and engaging in strategies that make their products seem rebellious, original, and authentic to that subculture's followers (Warren et al., 2019). Specifically, the technology needs a recognized and admired subculture of users to establish social legitimacy, not unlike Tesla's original nucleus of racing enthusiast first adopters (Stafford, 2017). Creating an aura of product rebelliousness entails associating it with recognized spokespersons or users known to challenge norms and do their crafts differently from the mainstream. Induction advocates need to enlist credible, innovative induction users to extol induction's marvels to build a respected enlightened tribe within the foodie community.

To date, only a few high-profile chefs have committed publicly to using induction stoves exclusively, such as Christopher Galarza of Forward Dining Solutions, Grant Achatz of Alinea in Chicago, and Thomas Keller of the French Laundry in Napa Valley, California (Carman, 2023). Galarza, in particular, has become one of induction's leading exponents, touting its practical operating efficiencies and bottom-line cost savings for restaurateurs and reduced heat for chefs “because right now, working in the kitchen sucks!” he says (Carman, 2023).

Another celebrated chef, activist, and author is Alice Waters of the trailblazing Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California. She is widely acknowledged as original (having mothered the farm-to-table movement over 50 years ago) and authentic (crusading for organic, locally grown produce and food security in books and through advocacy groups and news profiles). Waters literally pioneered California cuisine, advocating that fresh, organic local ingredients are paramount for maximizing flavor and taste. In short, Alice Waters is cool! Until recently she stood firmly behind her conventional peers when it came to cooking with gas (Carman, 2023). A trip to Hawaii to visit a friend changed that. Her friend's kitchen was all induction and reluctantly, she gave it a try. She got used to it, learning to regulate heat without using flames as a visual cue, and became a committed convert. Since experiencing induction, Waters has announced publicly that she will use all electric stoves in a new cafe next to Chez Panisse and will switch to electrics at her main restaurant “as soon as we can” (Adler, 2023). There's a lesson in Waters' conversion story: consumers need to be able to try induction before they can adopt it (Stafford, 2017).

Imagine if more renowned, forward-thinking chefs were able to share their love for induction cooking. Perhaps we'd see their induction kitchen trophies featured on Chef's Table or read about their induction conversion stories as prologues of their next cookbooks. We'd likely see more induction stoves on Gordon Ramsey's and Alice Waters's Masterclass cooking courses and in Epicurious' Pro Chef vs. Home Chef ingredient swap videos on YouTube. Perhaps viral Gen Z home chefs like TikTok's Eitan Bernath and Jeremy Scheck could attest to induction's efficacy, boiling water in an instant to cook the perfect pasta-from-scratch. Chefs should talk about how cooking with electromagnetism aligns with their unique food-preparation ethos such cutting operational costs, maintaining high quality, saving time, or fostering sustainability the same way organic and locally sourced ingredients do.

Induction's sustainability and clean air benefits and reduced asthma risks are likely to resonate with early adopters. Compelling stories around induction's environmental and health benefits told again and again, or with variation, can educate and persuade audiences about their relationship with these values and why they should care (Stafford & Hartman, 2012). In turn, converted followers may become the heart of induction's subcultural tribe of insiders necessary for the technology to become niche cool. They should organize induction-only cook offs, organic food and wine festivals, demonstrations at farmers' markets, and other exclusive culinary events where cooks and enthusiastic epicureans can share, bond, and celebrate their mutual zeal for electromagnetism and skeptics can try it out for themselves.

“In groups” need “out groups” against which to define themselves (electromagnetism sophisticates versus old-school gas hangers-on and divisive culture-war mongers), and dividing lines are fundamental even within communities where perceived degrees of passion and loyalty separate the hard-core fans from the poseurs (Fournier & Lee, 2009). Induction advocates should encourage honest debate regarding the best stove brands, models, and ways induction-users are maximizing the technology's opportunities and managing differences from gas. For example, does Asian stir-fry really need a wok over a high-BTU flame or can induction also deliver that coveted sear? Elite culinary institutes and schools, such as Le Cordon Bleu and the Culinary Institute of America, that teach their students exclusively on induction stoves should be the temples of knowledge to answer these questions.

Clearly, recipes need to be tailored, cook times tweaked, and tips for mastering induction's nuances honed through open deliberation. For example, after chef and food writer Alison Roman declared her switch to induction, followers worried that she wouldn't be able to crisp her tortillas just right without a flame. Her tip? Use a cast-iron pan (Gell, 2023). Authentic and constructive discussions can help communities thrive (Fournier & Lee, 2009) and cultivate privileged, insider chef knowledge. Devotees invested in induction, such as Alice Waters and Alison Roman, will want to contribute to the technology's success (McAlexander et al., 2002), and, ultimately, serve as missionaries to convince broader audiences of induction's merits over time.

Going Mainstream: Induction Sparks More Joy, Less Suffering

Taking induction mainstream is the ultimate goal. Once niche cool status has been established with a recognizable, passionate tribe of induction disciples, moving toward mass cool entails making induction iconic and popular. Status aspirations can be a powerful motivation for mainstream adoption (think how Tesla has become an aspirational brand). To become an iconic cultural symbol, advocates should frame the induction stove as a cutting-edge must-have for the 21st-century kitchen and bona fide chefs. Homeowners can present their chic appliances to dinner guests as status symbols, do their own party tricks of high-speed water boiling, and allow guests to experience the safe-to-the-touch active hobs. Indeed, induction's safety benefit can appeal emotionally to parents concerned about child-proofing their kitchens: If a child accidentally turns on the appliance, unlike an open flame, an induction hob remains harmless.

Whereas niche cool insiders may be drawn to induction's environmental and healthy air advantages, mainstream adopters will be interested in its practical benefits (Stafford & Graul, 2020) common with other quick-and-easy kitchen appliances and gadgets, such as speed, ease of cleaning, and niftiness (e.g., sleek appearance; how some induction models allow you to set specific hob temperatures; no need for noisy ventilation systems). Perhaps future induction models may become part of the Internet of Things, where home cooks can quickly pull up their favorite recipes from induction-exclusive digital cookbooks or cook alongside their favorite YouTube chefs in real time. To make electromagnetism popular, smart convenience needs to be the core message, and the cantankerous task of scrubbing away at iron gas-stove grates for cleaning warrants being trumpeted far and wide. Quite simply, induction brings more joy and ease of cooking compared to gas and electric methods.

Once mainstream messages to popularize induction are established, they should be taken to mainstream consumers with popular TV cooking shows and chefs who can demonstrate electromagnetism's mainstream advantages. Observability is critical for encouraging adoption (Stafford, 2017). Padma Lakshmi, host of BRAVO's popular Top Chef and one of TIME Magazine's 2023 100 Most Influential People, reports that while traveling for Top Chef, she cooks with her daughter in her hotel room on a portable induction burner (Mathis, 2018). She guts the mini bar and packs it with vegetables, adding them to rice and pasta dishes. “I have cooked some of my most amazing meals on a single induction burner or hotplate,” she exclaims (Lippe-Mcgraw, 2018). Lakshmi's extraordinary culinary feats while living out of a suitcase could make for its own TV series or YouTube channel playing up induction's practical advantages (e.g., safe and convenient use in places that don't have proper ventilation). Off-beat stories about how famous chefs use their induction stoves would encourage word of mouth influence.

Indeed, storytelling is one of the key functions of social media influencers to normalize and popularize products and practices (Stafford & Graul, 2020). Influencers are self-made personalities on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube who tell stories (usually via articles, pictures, and cell phone videos) to build a loyal following in various fields, such as cooking and food. With many hosting thousands (if not millions) of followers, influencers share personal photos and videos to give followers a lens into their “inspirational” lives or expertise. In turn, followers feel personally connected to influencers as “friends” and see them as reference groups with whom to emulate (Stafford & Graul, 2020). In exchange for some form of payment, an influencer will create content that promotes a product, links to social media pages or websites, and gives an honest review. Sponsored content can reach thousands of people within hours. A recent Unilever-Behavioural Insights Team study found that three out of four people are more likely to take up green behaviors after watching social media content about sustainability, and 83 percent think TikTok and Instagram are good places to get advice about how to live sustainably (Unilever, 2023). In short, influencers have significant sway over their followers.

The gas industry has already paid a posse of former Food Network stars and foodie Instagrammers to gaslight young Millennials about #CookingWithGas in its Natural Gas Genius campaign, all to thwart growing efforts across the country to phase out gas in buildings (Leber, 2020). Consequently, induction advocates need their own influencers to create buzz and set the record straight.

One TikTok induction food star is Jon Kung, a Detroit-based chef who produces short, lighthearted cooking tutorials and has amassed 1.7 million followers. Kung adopted induction years ago out of necessity, and Mothers Out Front hired Kung to explain why on YouTube (Kung, 2021). His apartment was in an old building that lacked proper ventilation, and the fumes from the gas stove would often trigger the fire alarm (Leber, 2021). Portable induction cooktops solved that problem. Professionally, Kung is famous for underground pop-up catering in unexpected places, such as Detroit's Museum of History, that lack exhaust fans requiring him to rely on portable induction stove tops. He loves the extraordinary convenience and “insane” level of precision that he can't achieve with gas or electric (Himmelman, 2023). With electromagnetism, he says cooks don't have to “suffer” for their crafts anymore (Leber, 2021). No more flaming-hot kitchens and sweat-drenched T-shirts. No more standing in coolers and freezers in between shifts. No more yelling over roaring exhaust fans. Perhaps launching #CoolerCooking and #CookingWithElectromagetism could inspire more viral joy of cooking induction stories, recipes, and demonstrations to pique broader interest.

Finally, induction needs to be seen as normal in restaurants (e.g., places where chefs cook in front of customers, such as on Japanese teppanyaki stoves), on popular TV cooking shows (The Great British Bake Off uses induction exclusively), in movies and shows as product placements, and in coveted kitchen spreads in glossy magazines. Customers should be able to try induction cooking in showrooms and experience first-hand how they too would be able to cook like a pro.

Because mainstream adopters are likely to switch only when building new homes, remodeling, or replacing old or broken equipment, induction advocates should seek promotion from those who influence consumer decisions at this time, including hosts of home improvement and real estate shows (e.g., Flip or Flop's Tarek and Christina El Moussa), interior designers, architects, contractors (e.g., on Houzz.com), editors of architecture and lifestyle magazines, and salespeople at home improvement stores and showrooms. Their message? Electromagnetism is simply extraordinary and that's why original and popular chefs like Alice Waters and Padma Lakshmi are sold on the technology.

Enter Stacey Abrams

Voter rights activist Stacey Abrams is the latest celebrity to endorse induction, joining the nonprofit Rewiring America as its senior counsel (Kahn, 2023). Rewiring America's mission is to wean American households and businesses off fossil fuels and on to electricity, and it offers a savings calculator for how much consumers can get from tax credits, rebates, and incentives through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 by switching to induction stoves, heat pumps, and electric vehicles (Rewiring America, n.d.). The IRA offers rebates for up to $840 for the purchase of a new electric cooking appliance, along with up to $2,500 to help pay for wiring (Keilman, 2023).

As a master community organizer, Abrams founded Fair Fight Action to register 800,000 new Georgia voters, and she is credited for helping turn Georgia blue in the 2020 presidential election and elect Senator Raphael Warnock (D-Georgia). Abrams plans to use that playbook to educate communities about the IRA's incentives to go electric. Indeed, Abrams' work to register new voters in Georgia arguably made the IRA possible, since Georgia voters helped give the Senate a narrow democratic majority (Peters, 2023b).

Low-income communities and communities of color have long had to contend with polluting, inefficient appliances, leading to higher risks of asthma and higher utility bills. Abrams plans to target houses of worship and work with local leaders, such as teachers, mayors, and city council members to make the IRA a kitchen-table issue (Kahn, 2023). Her aim is to get neighbors talking to neighbors about electrification's money savings and comfort.

Abrams needs to talk about her own induction conversion story, work to make induction stoves cool among her admirers, and create opportunities for people to try out induction stoves. She could collaborate with local chefs sold on induction to organize grassroots church and community cookouts to demonstrate and allow people to experience the extraordinary wonders of electromagnetism in forums to discuss IRA incentives over chicken and dumplings, fried okra, and low country red rice. Abrams could even publish a cookbook or a series of Instagram and TikTok videos sharing her favorite family recipes with tips on #CookingWithElectromagnetism and #CoolerCooking. Perhaps Abrams can help cultivate an admired subculture around authentic southern cuisine prepared on better-for-you, energy-saving electrified kitchens to help make induction niche cool.

Culture Warriors Strike Back

Predictably, Abrams's announcement about joining Rewiring America fired up yet another round of the culture wars. Critics trolled Abrams by circulating an old political ad showing her cooking on a gas stove (Kliegman, 2023), and Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) began pressing Rewiring America and other anti-gas environmental and consumer advocacy groups about funding and their participation in research linking gas stoves to childhood asthma that may impact federal rulemaking (Kaminksy, 2023).

The culture wars over gas won't end anytime soon. As gas bans sweep the nation to address the climate crisis, people will naturally resist their perceived loss of choices and freedom (see for example, Cialdini, 2021). Consequently, induction and electrification advocates need to reframe actions to combat climate change as leading to more desirable opportunities, abundance, and improved quality of life. Alice Waters, Jon Kung, Stacey Abrams, and other induction stove advocates must play the cool, happy warriors facing down antagonists and rally around induction's gains for sustainability, indoor air quality, more temperate cooking conditions, child safety, precision heat, easy clean up, and the sheer joy and convenience of cooking. People want something better than gas. Perhaps, “Now we're cooking with electromagnetism!” can become the 21st century's new maxim for doing it better!