Question of the Day: Gas, electric, other?
What type of cooktop do you have in your kitchen? Gas, electric, induction? What are the advantages and disadvantages?
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41 Comments:
I grew up cooking with gas. It was great to learn on because the burner changes temperature very quickly. If you have set it too hot it is easy to fix. However, with our stove at least, it was a bit tricky to get a steady low heat. You need a diffuser.
Now I have an electric cooktop. It is much easy to balance the little espresso maker on an electric burner, but otherwise, I have not noticed any particular advantages.
laura dot at 8:09AM on 04/27/07
I just bought an electric ceramic cooktop. My house is not plumbed for natural gas and I don't want a big propane tank sitting in my garden.
I love the even heat the cooktop produces and the fact that the burners are is level. (The coils on my old cooktop wouldn't stay level, so all the oil always flowed to one side of the pan - that was a nuisance!)
One drawbacks is that your pans need to be flat, flat, flat on the bottom and it's best to have pots and skillets with heavy bases. Luckily, I already am well stocked with those types of implements. The only other drawback is cleaning. My cooktop is black. It shows streaks. I use a ceramic cooktop cleaner that works quite well. However, mom lives with me and she streaks it up with glass cleaner. Oh well....
pageycooks at 8:13AM on 04/27/07
i finally have a gas stove after years of using electric. i prefer using gas top over electric top, but prefer electric oven versus gas oven. my baking was much better in my old electric oven, but my stovetop cooking has gotten better. i can now use a wok properly.
french tart at 9:00AM on 04/27/07
Gas all the way. It is quick, even heat. Drawback: turning on the wrong burner and scorching whatever item had the misfortune of being on said burner.
AuntJone at 9:27AM on 04/27/07
Gas all the way! Not only do I have better control of the heat, but it's such a sensory experience--especially the sight of the flames and the whooshing sound as it lights up.
homesicktexan at 9:47AM on 04/27/07
Gas. Hands down, no contest. I cooked with electric until I was 24 and bought an old house with a finicky gas range. Despite the cantankerous nature of the old range, I knew I never wanted to go back to electric. We replaced it with a new gas range and haven't looked back.
savvy at 9:49AM on 04/27/07
Gas, gas, gas.
hereandthe at 10:13AM on 04/27/07
Gas. The biggest advantage is how quickly the oven heats up. The disadvantage is the layout of the burners. One burner is so huge I have to have it on low to keep from scorching whatever I'm cooking, but the others are so tiny it takes 20 minutes to boil water.
Lucia at 11:45AM on 04/27/07
Electric is EXPENSIVE in California where the cost is 30+ cents per kWh
peekpoke at 12:47PM on 04/27/07
I grew up using electric and when I moved my apartment had gas. I love having gas for the cooktop, but far prefer an electic oven. I scorched a lot of cookies in the first months of using the gas oven.
Sarahrm at 1:23PM on 04/27/07
Right now I have a small electric GE, and I manage pretty well on it. My dream is to one day have a Viking six burner gas cooktop, with convection ovens!
ride&cook at 1:27PM on 04/27/07
I grew up with Electric and have had gas in almost all the places I've lived since then, and I definitely have to say that I find gas far superior.
Alm25 at 1:36PM on 04/27/07
I've only had electric (that's what my kitchens have all been wired for), and I've never been happy with any of them. I currently have one of those smooth-top models, which is easy to clean, but yeesh. It doesn't get hot enough for my wok, and low temperatures are more or less non-existent. This makes simmering anything a real pain. Using my friend's gas stove took a little getting used to, but I was much happier with the performance.
Some guys dream of having the sports car. Me? I want a big, burly, bad motha' sort of stove. Hi-five, ride&cook.
corycm at 1:47PM on 04/27/07
Gas, thank goodness. Easier to control the heat.
NSW at 4:13PM on 04/27/07
I'd rather have gas. Wait, did I say that out loud ...?
LunaPierCook at 9:02PM on 04/27/07
I grew up in a kitchen with electric, but when I move back home for the summer I will get to use gas since my mom since redone her kitchen since I went off to school.
Ash at 1:12AM on 04/28/07
I had a mixture of gas and electric over the years and I long for a gas stove again. Easier to control the heat and I totally agree with the level burners thing. This makes me CRAZY! Not to mention when you get a midnight hankering for a smore' you just can't beat a marshmellow cooked on a fork over your burner.
BTW, CORYCM WILL YOU MARRY ME?!?
Sindy at 7:24AM on 04/28/07
I love my gas range. It has two 9,500 BTU burners, one 12,000 BTU burner, and one 5,000 BTU burner. Everything from simmer to blast cooking. I can cook a steak in 10 minutes, or simmer a tomato sauce for 6 hours.
Lou at 8:08AM on 04/28/07
Gas. No contest. If I could, I would have restaurant levels of BTU's going. And since I cook a majority of my dishes with wok, I find an electric stove can't heat and sustain the wok properly. The gas just hits the middle and rides up the sides. Beautiful sight.
@ Lou. Ooooooohhhhhh. Can I play with your stove?
JubileeNYC at 2:05PM on 04/28/07
Absolutely gas- it is sensitive and much more controllable in terms of the minor adjustments needed. Also, it heats up fast and shuts down fast. Also, as someone else above said- there is a sensory advantage to cooking with gas. I do get a little freaked out on the gas stoves that you have to light with a match, as I always worry I may light a huge flame and scorch my hair off, but that's part of the thrill, I guess.
That said, I grew up with a mom who cooked incredible restaurant-worthy meals on electric. But still- Gas!
shaofan at 4:32PM on 04/28/07
@JubileeNYC: Absolutely. It's not an expensive range. It's a Kenmore, and cost about $500. The only down side is that a tank of propane lasts only a couple of months. It's worth it though.
The oven works great too. I made pizza yesterday. At 500F, pizza takes just 12 minutes.
Lou at 6:38AM on 04/29/07
There is no contest. Gas is far superior to electric in every way.
@Lou-- I think I'm in love with your stove.
@Jubilee, or anyone with the electric stove/wok problem-- You can use a charcoal grill for wok cooking, if you'd like. Just put the ring around a few hot coals on the coal grate.
Calichef at 4:56AM on 04/30/07
Gas, gas, gas....we have electric in our Vermont condo and I hate cooking on it (even though it's a nice stove). But at home? After using a piece of crud 40 year old Caloric gas stove since I was 5, I am now living the life with my dream range - my six burner Wolf gas range. Life is good.
tkln at 8:58AM on 04/30/07
I have a gas stove in our new place. After years of using electric, I must say I enjoy the finesse a gas flame can bring to my cooking. Plus, one of the burners is designed to have a power flame (I forget how many BTUs) for wok cooking!
Amandarama at 9:58AM on 04/30/07
I grew up with electric, but since coming to NYC, I've mostly had gas ranges. And unfortunately, all the gas stoves that I've had must need a diffuser as the first commenter suggested. They've all had one setting: blazing. For that reason alone, I miss electric ranges. I can see the advantages of gas though.
brookeleigh at 2:01PM on 04/30/07
I grew up with gas and learned to cook on it (well, ok, scramble eggs on it). I prefer it. We have electric now (rental apt), and it's OK for the oven, but I find I have only 1 decent burner. Drawbacks: 1) the stove/cooktop is level, but the coils aren't and anything I put in my pans slides to one side, 2) when the power goes out (like in the recent Nor'Easter) you can't cook the defrosting food slowly going bad in your 'fridge. When we buy a house, I'm insisting on getting gas.
KDBlue at 6:51PM on 04/30/07
I have a dual fuel Dacor range that fits in the 30" space in my kitchen, and I love it. It also needs a diffuser to simmer at low temps, but the gas cooktop and electric (and convection) oven are super. It was a big transition from the barebones electric cheapo I had before, but I hope to never go back. There are newer models now made by a number of mfrs. that are cheaper; my range was the newest thing in 2003. I also love the new, more powerful hood needed with it--anytime you have more BTUs you need careful ventilation. I was tempted by one of the big 6-burners but they are space hogs, needed an even bigger hood, and realistically, I manage quite well with four burners and one oven, supplemented by the microwave oven and a dandy toaster/convection countertop oven.
Estrallita at 5:10AM on 01/01/09
I grew up with electric and we always wanted gas, but it wasn't really economically or physically feasible. Now, in my apartment, I have 2 gas burners which are FANTASTIC. I wish I had more but eh, I'd rather have 2 gas than 2 electric
machellebelle at 6:09AM on 01/01/09
gas all the way. i've never felt comfortable cooking on electric burners.
cybercita at 11:21AM on 01/01/09
I have such a small kitchen that removing the gas to go with a smooth top electric made so much more sense. I had a gas oven in college and never really liked the way that things turned out, but if I could (and if I had the money at the time of getting the new range) I would go duel- fuel. There's a kitchenaid range that has a gas cooktop with grates that go across the entire surface, which would really appeal to me since you could still set a bunch of stuff on top of it. Pout.
MoEats at 11:48AM on 01/01/09
I grew up with electric but have had gas for many years now. I much prefer gas. You can go from High to Simmer immediately. The only down side to it is super low heat, but I've circumvented that by using the grate of another burner on top of the one in use.
I spend a lot of time at a friend's house that has electric only. It's always a pain to cook because I can't gauge, by site, the temperature I'm cooking at, and my low isn't necessarily theirs.
chisai at 11:57AM on 01/01/09
I also grew up with electric burners, but my grandparents had gas, and I used to be fascinated by it:-). While I never had a problem cooking on electric burners (nor did my Mum), ever since I started using gas (probably 12 years or so), I've been really enjoying it. It would probably be hard for me to go back to electric burners at this point. Now, induction cook top is something I'd really like to have.
brooke29 at 12:12PM on 01/01/09
Has to be gas...besides, that flame sure does come in handy when there are no matches around.
bessfour at 12:37PM on 01/01/09
I would love a gas stove, but I had to get rid of mine because of the excessive heat it would generate in my small kitchen. I would have to open a window (even in the dead of Winter) but the window was situated such that it would make the flames flicker! If I was cooking a large meal and using all the burners, my face would be redder than a fire truck - so, I find my ceramic topped electric stove does a fine job and helps keep me cooler.
bareneed at 6:57PM on 01/01/09
I grew up on electric, currently have gas, but prefer induction. Ever since I was pregnant several years back, the smell of gas ovens makes me nauseous. My father has had 2 induction stoves in the past 6 or so years -- he left the older induction stove when he sold the house I grew up in, and bought a new one when he moved into a condo.
It took a little getting used to, since I do not cook with oil, but I learned to love it. It's so easy to clean.
Cassaendra at 7:32PM on 01/01/09
@bareneed ~ HRT time????
SIGNS THAT YOU MIGHT BE EXPERIENCING MENOPAUSE
* You sell your home heating system at a yard sale. (Hot flashes)
* The person you sleep with complains about snow piling up on the bed. (Nightsweats)
* Your husband jokes that instead of buying a wood stove, he is using you to heat the family room this winter. Rather than just saying you are not amused, you shoot him. (Mood swings)
* You write post-it notes with your kid's names on them. (Memory loss)
* Your husband chirps, "Hi honey, I'm home." and you reply, "Well, if it isn't Ozzie f*cking Nelson". (Irritability)
* The phenobarbital dose that wiped out the Heaven's Gate Cult gives you four hours of decent rest. (Sleeplessness)
* You find Guacamole in your hair after a Mexican dinner. (Fatigue)
* You change your underwear after every sneeze. (Mild incontinence)
* You need Jaws Of Life to help you out of your car after returning home from an Italian restaurant. (Sudden weight gain)
Just sayin'..........*_*
PerkyMac at 8:50PM on 01/01/09
@homesicktexan~I've never seen you here before! I love your blog and I'm with you you on the homesick!
carolrsfMISSESTEXAS at 12:33AM on 01/02/09
I grew up cooking on gas. Then I moved out of NY.
In Colorado I was forced to cook on electric due to the lack of natural gas available. OMG, was that ever miserable. No one cooks on glowing coils by choice. And just try to roast a pepper without gas burners!
In FL, same thing - Only electric available in most homes. BF had a glass cook top which was only slightly less obnoxious than the glowing coils.
Now we are in Atlanta and I'm thrilled to say, the new house has natural gas! In my Christmas card was an IOU for one of these. (Closing on the house is 1/9.) What do you think is the first thing I'm going to do?
Roast peppers on the burners.
therealchiffonade at 9:00AM on 01/02/09
always had gas until 2 years ago. i hate my electric stove. the first time i used the oven my mit touched the element and burst into flames. freaked me out. thank god the sink is close. in the new house i'm going gas. the only thing i like about the electric is the self clean oven.
dearrie at 9:58AM on 01/02/09
I have a gas range and prefer it to electric.
bobbob at 12:04PM on 01/02/09
@perkymac - Oh, how I wish to have those days back - No, menopause is far behind me - but still, I did love the telltale signs clip! Thanks for the laugh!
bareneed at 10:38PM on 01/02/09