However, this was a fairly low-energy way of doing things. It"s likely cooking the potatoes in the microwave would have used even less energy, so I could have microwaved rather than boiled them, but pan frying used less energy than grilling or roasting. My induction hob, which works by putting heat directly into the base of the pan, likely uses slightly more energy per minute than a ceramic hob – but warms up much faster, reducing my cooking time overall and thus my energy use.