How to cook without power safely

The short answer

In a short outage you may not need to cook at all. For longer outages, hot food lifts morale and is easier to digest. The safest options make no fumes: no-cook meals, or an induction cooktop on a power station. Fuel-burning stoves and grills belong outdoors. The CDC lists grills, stoves, and lanterns among the sources of carbon monoxide.

Start with no-cook meals

Cooking uses power, fuel, and water. Begin with food you can eat as it is.

• Eat perishable food first. Ready.gov says a fridge keeps food cold for about 4 hours and a full freezer for about 48 hours. Eat the most perishable items first. See the food safety guide.
• Think no-cook: peanut butter and crackers, tortillas, canned beans, canned fish, tinned fruit, dried fruit, nuts, cereal with shelf-stable milk, granola bars.
• Keep a manual can opener. An electric one is useless in a blackout.

• Have some ready-made meals. Some long-life emergency meals need only hot or even cold water.

Many freeze-dried meals need boiling water. If you cannot boil water, soak them in warm or cool water for longer, as the package says.

Option 1: induction cooktop on a power station

An induction cooktop heats the pot directly with a magnetic field. It makes no flame and no exhaust, so it is one of the safer ways to cook indoors in an outage. The catch is that cooktops draw a lot of power, so use the low-wattage settings.

How to do it

1. Check your power station. It needs enough continuous output for the cooktop's setting. Read both product pages. Many cooktops let you choose a low power setting, which is best for a battery.
2. Plug straight in. Plug the cooktop into the station, not into house wiring. Never feed power into the house.
3. Use the right pot. Induction needs a flat-bottomed pot made of magnetic metal, such as stainless steel. Test with a fridge magnet. If it sticks to the bottom, it works.

4. Cook on low. Use the lowest setting that works. Put a lid on the pot to keep heat in.
5. Heat only what you need. Boil a small amount of water for a drink or a pouch meal, rather than a big pot.
6. Turn it off early. Heat continues in the pot after you switch off.

The power cost

A cooktop on a low setting still uses far more power than a fridge. We do not have a government figure for this, because it depends on the model and the setting. Check your cooktop's wattage and your station's watt-hour rating, then divide: station watt-hours divided by cooktop watts gives roughly how many hours it can run. For example, a 1,000 Wh station and a cooktop set to 500 W would run in theory for around 2 hours, or about 1.7 hours assuming 85% conversion efficiency. Boil small amounts, and keep your fridge in mind. If the station is also running a fridge, cook less. Our guide on running a fridge on a power station has the maths.

Option 2: camp stoves and grills (outdoors only)

If you cook with fuel:

• Set up outdoors, on flat ground, well away from doors, windows, and vents.
• Keep it away from dry leaves, fences, and the house wall.
• Keep children and pets back.
• Never leave a flame unattended.
• Let it cool fully before storing.
• Store fuel outside living areas, as the maker advises.
• Have a battery CO alarm inside the house anyway. See the carbon monoxide guide.

Option 3: a gas stove with a match

Some gas stovetops can be lit with a match when the electricity is out. This is possible on many models, but check your manual first. Ventilate the room, and stay in the kitchen while it burns. Ready.gov says never to use a gas stove or oven to heat your home. Cooking a meal is different from heating a room, but keep the time short, and use your CO alarm.

Water and clean-up

• Use safe water for cooking and drinking. If you are unsure, see make water safe to drink.
• Wash hands before you cook and eat. Use soap and water or sanitiser.
• Save water. Use paper plates and cups if you have them, and wipe pots clean before washing.
• Do not leave leftovers out for more than two hours.

A simple 3-day food plan

Adjust to your family's tastes and allergies. Include comfort foods for children.

Next steps

• Read the carbon monoxide safety guide.
• Learn the fridge and freezer food rules.
• Plan how much water to store.
• See the Family Kit, which includes an induction cooktop.