Electric - City.

My grandma (a scientist in the kitchen domain) was reheating some old gravy and was trying to make a side dish out of yesterdays vegetables. One question struck me. Is it really worth reheating and eating it? Am I saving any if I preserve old food and eat it the next day by reheating it??? I can as well but fresh veggies and cook again.... I felt I dont save much by reheating.

Cooking is no more mere pleasure considering two things. 1. The cost of a gas Cylinder 2. The availability of cylinders.

One thing which hasn't taken off really well in India is the electric stove. For some reasons pertaining to the the way cooking has been practised in India e-stoves have not been a grand success. Let alone the success of e-stoves....well to be honest it does not even receieve a glance in malls. Such is the state of the electric stoves.

But frankly speaking there is lot of potential in the electric stove market now if not any earlier. The cost seems to work out very well and the best part is it can be automated. To people who have never used electric rice cookers here is a fact, the cooker turns itself off after some time so no more electricity is consumed but this cant be done with a gas stove. A simple but effective benefit. But the problem in India is the raw material itself. Electricity!!! itself.

Assume you have few relatives in your house and you are totally dependent on the electric stoves. You have chosen the best dish to be served and half way through the process busssshhh!!! (Not George W Bush) the power goes off... You have to cut a sorry figure. This is the most important reason why women prefer gas stoves. You can cook as and when you like. But if the availability of electricity is really dependable then electricity can be used for cooking. Only one way to achieve this is that the electricity board has to inform people the schdule of the maintenance work. Simply speaking people need to be informed about the time when power wont be available in their area so that women can plan their kitchen routine accordingly. The electricity boards do enough planning about this but all that they have to do is disclose it to people and make them aware. If electricity is really a dependable source for cooking then the gas demand falls down and it can be used as a back up in homes when power is not available.

All it needs is some co-operation from the EB people and the people itself.



P.S : Assuming that women are the primary cooks I have used women invariably. It is not intended that women are meant to work in kitchens alone :P