Why don’t I have one of these? I can’t explain it. Years ago, when I was at Gourmet, I asked Jeffrey Steingarten to write an article on conduction cooking. He, of course, did one of his typically obsessive inquiries and wrote a piece so persuasive every single editor at the magazine vowed to buy one. We all thought that a single portable burner would be perfect: it doesn’t take up much space, it gives you an extra burner - and it heats water with remarkable speed. Everyone who makes coffee or boils pasta, we reasoned, should have one.