Hello again MMM forum,
I'm not sure if this is the right forum but I'm going to go for it. I have seen a few mentions of cooking using a wood stove or wood oven and thought I would mention a different option that may be frugal as well. When I was stationed in Japan and got my apartment there...the stove top was covered in glass and so I thought...ok it's electric. Yes, but no. It used a technology known as induction which I had not heard of at the time. I learned hat it heats the pot or pan itself up by using magnetism in a way to cause iron molecules to vibrate causing rapid friction to create that heat. Downside is that you have to buy cookware with iron in it. However, after coming to the MMM and FI community, I've found that most only buy quality products with iron that last a lifetime. So that ends up being frugal in the end with an upfront cost. Of course there is always craigslist, ebay, inheritance/relatives as a nice source of cheaper iron cookware.
Anyways, the frugal aspect is that it is cheaper than an electric coil range because it is way more efficient. I am not sure how it compares to gas. Natural gas I believe is pretty cheap and new discovery methods have led to even cheaper prices. As for comparing to wood...I'm sure there is really no comparison especially if you chop your own. But if you find yourself in an apartment or rental where you have to use electricity for cooking, (or its the summer and too dang hot for wood) getting an induction cooking top might be a decent choice. Another great benefit is that it heats up really, really, really fast. Bring a pot of water to boil within a 2 min or even under a min. That saves you time in the kitchen to get back to what ever it is you'd rather be doing than cooking...not that cooking isn't fun, but being able to cook more efficiently a nice perk to have.
Another cool thing to add is that only the pan or pot becomes hot. The surface of the stove is quite cool even while the cooking is going on.
Well, let me know what y'all think about this one. MMM forum has been a great boon for my life and money stash. It may not be grand but it does not bleed or leak!
