Cooking with an induction cooktup in a camper van is great. Heating up is quick, temperature regulation is instant and cleaning is easy as spilled liquids do not burn. When it comes to energy, things are not quite as simple, as turning electricity into heat comes wih a suboptimal efficiency. However, there are many things that you can do in order to get the most juice out of your battery.

Use one hob only

We opted to install only one induction hob for multiple reasons. The required size of the electrical installation, the additional space requirements and the lack of space between hobs (leading to little to no room between pans and pots) are some of the reasons. But one reason was also energy efficiency. Even though induction hobs do not heat up like traditional electrical hobs, the pan or pot that is being heated does heat up the hob. Therefore, it is more energy efficient to cook on a single hob, making use of the otherwise wasted heat.

Use residual heat

Usually, we start our cooking sessions with our side dish (rice, noodles, lentils, potatoes, couscous, bulgur, quinoa...). We add the ingredients into cold water, it is not necessary to wait until the water is boiling. Once the water is boiling, we reduce the heat and leave the side dish cooking a certain number of minutes (this depends on the level of hardness of the food and needs some experimenting) and then remove the pot from the hob, leaving the contents to simmer while we turn our attention to the main dish.

As with the side dish, we usually add the main dish into the cold pan, as induction hobs heat up very quickly. One benefit is that you can toss your food into the pan right after you cut them, leaving more precious counter top space.

Always use a lid

This one is a no brainer, always use a lid to trap the heat. Try to minimize the number of times you have to remove the lid in order to stir or flip your food.

Use pre cooked food

We usually don't do this, as we believe fresh food to be healthier, but if you are really desperate to conserve your battery energy, you can use pre cooked food (potatoes, noodles etc) to save a lot of energy. So far we haven't been in the situation, but I think we would rather skip cooking altogether and go for a cold salad.

Cook in bulk

If you have a large pan, it might be advisable to cook your food for multiple days, especially when your weather forecast is not too sunny. This way you will only have to reheat during the cloudy or rainy days.