3 ms·
I've been noticing a shortage of cartridges for isobutane stoves and propane since 2020. It may be that the food bank users are using camp stoves instead of res
by foxyv 5y ago
I've been noticing a shortage of cartridges for isobutane stoves and propane since 2020. It may be that the food bank users are using camp stoves instead of residential electric or gas ranges. However the article makes zero mention of this so who the heck knows.
Boiling whole raw potatoes requires a lot more stove time than pasta and rice dishes. Also a lot more fluids and bigger pots. But it's still a stretch. I know for hiking I prefer dried foods because they are lighter.
- tonyedgecombe 5y agoThat’s not really how people cook in the UK. Most houses will have a direct connection to the gas main or they will be using an electric cooker.
- foxyv 5y agoWhat I mean is that the user of a food bank would be un-housed or homeless.
- tonyedgecombe 5y agoThat still doesn't sound right. There is a homeless problem in the UK but in terms of people living on the street that number is quite small. Food bank usage on the other hand is huge. The situation in the UK is quite different to what we hear about the US.
- vba616 5y agoI did an experiment and given that my power (from National Grid!) costs about 16 euro cents per kwh, it costs me ~3.4 euro cents to cook a 180g potato, and ~18 euro cents to buy it in the first place. Also, bringing the water to 100C over 10 minutes, and cooking covered on low for almost an hour, use roughly equal amounts of power.
- foxyv 5y agoYeah, power is super cheap. This is why the only thing I could think of is maybe a camp stove, which is orders of magnitude more expensive.
- tonyedgecombe 5y agoI suspect the real problem is poorer people in the UK tend to be on pre-payment meters. If they haven't got enough money to feed the meter they can't cook. Even though it was probably the crapy resistive heaters the landlord put in that drained their meter.