Gas or Electric Stove ?
toomuchglass
16 years ago
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marys1000
16 years agolast modified: 9 years agocynic
16 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Thursday's Question..............
Comments (35)Gas I grew up with a gas stove and when I got married we had an electric and I was always burning things and boiling things over. I couldn't remember I had to remove a pan quickly instead of just turning off the burner. When we moved from Our first home and had to get a new stove I went to gas. Won't have it any other way....See MoreHelp with Gas Stove important options
Comments (19)may_flowers-believe me I have tried that approach. I have went round and round and to him a stove is a stove. It cooks food and he doesn't feel there is much difference between say a $800 stove and a $2k stove. I have used the tool analogy (and he doesn't buy top of the line but a good middle of the line which is where I feel I am at with the stove). I might have him come along and have a demo at the appliance store and see if that helps. He thinks we don't 'need' convection (doesn't help that his mother struggles with hers), electric oven, etc etc. He has agreed that he prefers a slide in and that also ups the $$$. He has a total mental block when it comes to appliances. I don't really care as much about any of the others but this one - it is an uphill battle! Because it's a new build I fear by the time we get to the appliances there won't be much left anyhow if we go over budget like it sounds most people do! Hopefully this is the worst of what we disagree on. Most other things we are on the same page and I am grateful for that. Because as of right now we are making the switch to gas I have been researching btu's and all that goes with that - he has no idea about it and I did not so gently point out the other day that they DO matter. He sees it as strictly cash outlay and that he could buy me 2 stoves or 3 for the price of a few I have looked at....See MoreGas vs Electric Cooking
Comments (31)I also am trying to make this decision, but I have restricted the argument (for myself) to induction versus gas. I have lived with gas and currently use an induction hob (underpowered and featureless). Nevertheless, I have come up with my own list of pros and cons for gas, induction, and radiant electric and would love to hear comments on their validity and on where I am misinformed. (I am leaning towards induction despite my long list of cons--cleanup and quick, even heat are so important to me!) GAS PROS: 1. easily adjustable--continuous control from simmer to boil 2. intuitive to use--small flame versus big flame 3. familiar to most repair services--cheaper and easier to fix (parts not ridicuolously expensive) 4. can use the same pot on all burners (not always true--some ranges have different size burner heads which dictate small or large pots) 5. can span burners with griddle or roasting pan 6. no need to buy special pots 7. cooktop will work in a power outage (may not be true for oven) 8. heats the kitchen in the winter 9. cooktop/range makes a statement unlike a flat piece of glass 10. can char a pepper CONS: 1. difficult and time consuming to keep clean 2. knobs, if too close to burners get hot 3. requires vigilance to avoid burning/melting equipment (plastic pot handles or utensils) that gets too close to flame 4. some burners cannot achieve a true simmer, so sauces can burn since the flame is not evenly distributed across the bottom of the pan (a simmer plate can help with this) and hot spots at higher temps depending on the pot/pan 5. heats the kitchen in the summer 6. depending on btus, may require a high level of ventilation 7. some electric wall ovens cannot be placed under a gas cooktop INDUCTION PROS: 1. easy to clean in seconds 2. spills don't burn onto the cooktop 3. cooktop doesn't pose the same burn hazard as does gas or radiant electric 4. doesn't heat the kitchen 5. easily adjustable with a finger 6. easy to maintain a constant low temp with no hot spots--evenly heats the pan 7. doesn't melt the handles of neighboring pots or equipment 8. ventilation requirements are less due to less residual heat from cooktop 9. efficient in terms of power to the pan versus lost to the surrounding air 10. fast to heat CONS: 1. May require expensive wiring upgrade 2. Won't work in a power outage 3. Requires pans that the cooktop can recognize (i.e., magnetic and flat on the bottom) 4. Size matters when it comes to recognition of pot or pan and the hob--can't switch pots around easily 5. Not intuitive when deciding 'levels of power'--no visual on the differences between the levels 6. Restricted to the levels of power of the cooktop--"some may have various 'steps' and 'halfsteps' to create a broad range, others my not have as many levels, so you don't have as much control--not continuous 7. May have difficulty getting the cooktop to recognize finger presses (learning curve for the 'right' touch 8. Cookware may buzz even if magnetic 9. Cooktop may buzz and click as it cycles off and on--some are louder, longer, and more annoying than others 10. Power sharing can limit when you can use boost on the different hobs 11. Special requirements for install clearances and ventilation in the cabinet 12. May require for warranty purposes that the same brand of wall oven be used under induction cooktop 13. Sliding pans may scratch the cooktop as will salt 14. Controls on the actual cooktop surface reduce the available space for pots 15. Often expensive to repair due to electronics involved 16. Not as much of a statement in a kitchen--just a piece of glass on the counter 17. Cannot span hobs with a roaster or griddle on most induction cooktops (unless cast iron to radiate the heat but may risk damaging the electronics under the cooktop by doing so)--few cooktops have a griddle feature 18. Cannot char a pepper--or light a candle! RADIANT ELECTRIC PROS are similar to induction EXCEPT no special pots required CONS 1. food burns onto the cooktop and is difficult to clean if left 2. surface gets hot and can burn hands or items on cooktop 3. don't have immediate control over cooking temps (i.e., can't reduce temp without lifting the pot due to the residual heat of the cooktop) 4. Slow to heat 5. Sliding pans can scratch cooktop...See MoreWhat are your drawbacks on using gas stoves?
Comments (44)jasdip, sweetie, you're just TRYING to cause trouble aren't you? ;) I get such a kick out of reading threads when gas vs. electric comes up. The hyperbole comes flying and reason goes out the window. Few acknowledge that there's differences between stoves and yes, even between gas. Propane has approximately 8-10% less BTUs per gallon than natural gas, so some arguments have to be made as to whether you're talking about propane or natural gas. I did notice a difference cooking on LP and propane than on natural gas. If I were given my choice, all things equal, and the choice was only one fuel, I'd opt for natural gas, but I'm also very interested in induction. When thinking about buying a new place a while back I seriously considered an induction HOB and a couple gas burners with a small and large wall-mount electric ovens. I grew up with natural gas in town and propane at the cabin. For over 30 years I've cooked on electric at home and a propane camp stove when camping and at the cabin. I'll say this without reservation: GOOD COOKScolor="red"> can cook on gas OR electric! People bring up their mamas and others, and my mother was a fabulous cook but you know what? She could and would go across the street to help out on an electric stove and guess what? The food was fabulous! I have several aunts who were all terrific cooks and about half had gas while the other half had the dreaded electric. (How did they ever live???) And I know a lot of people will be upset, but the stove does NOT turn a bad cook into a good, to say nothing of a great cook. I know people with $5k "professional" ranges by Viking and other makers and they have trouble heating a TV dinner. I can take my camp stove, oops gas makes me perfect, so let's clarify, I could take a hotplate or an electric frypan and cook a circle around some of them. With all due modesty, I'm a good cook, but I don't claim to be a great cook. I know many great cooks that use and know how to use electric. There's some fallacies that should be cleared up: Few people are truly prohibited from putting in gas if they don't have it, fer cryin out loud I'd put in a propane tank and accept the lower BTUs if I were so heartbroken as to not have gas. I have a gas furnace and gas water heater but have an electric stove and electric dryer. That's what was in my place when I got it and it's the same stove although I've replaced a couple dryers, I couldn't see (for me) enough reason to pay to run a gas line and yes I could have done it myself, I wasn't comfortable doing it even though I replaced a gas water heater myself. I would prefer gas on those appliances also, but I don't get all hot and bothered because I don't have it. As far as no gas user will switch to induction. WRONG! Check out the appliance forum, I've seen a LOT of people switch! LOL It's entertaining how defensive people get over appliances. Shall we enter the rage of central air vs. window unit? The other thing that makes me split a gut laughing about, and my sister said this just the other day, if the power goes out, I can cook! Well whoopie-ding! My response to her was that when the power is out in the middle of the night, the last thing I want to do is run down and start cooking a Thanksgiving dinner and a birthday cake! And the fact is, that many gas stoves DO require electricity since they won't release the gas without power. Now there are ways around this. Use a battery and an inverter or use a UPS. But again, it's the misinformation that gets spread on a hot topic. Growing up, our house CERTAINLY got much hotter with a gas stove. That's common sense. HOWEVER, that was when pilot lights were used on virtually all gas stoves. And it's true that gas stoves are far less efficient than (coil) electric stoves because of the direct contact of the element compared to the flame and heat riding up the side of the pan. I know that the gasfans (I won't use the normal term of endearment I usually use) will jump and argue this but look at professional kitchens using gas stoves and how the sides of the pans are burned up the sides. MOST cooks don't do a lot of cooking on the side of a saute pan. I saw this dramatically growing up and also while camping that the flames go up the side. I was one to turn down the flame to keep it on the bottom of the pan and of course it would take longer but use far less fuel. Another experience I had with this issue was when I was at some friends' new home and we were in the dining/kitchen area. There was a crowd at the housewarming and Martha was cooking some things on the (gas) stove. Her husband was standing by the stove, leaned back and the back of his shirt caught fire. That fabric went up like a torch, and no, not because of gas. Another friend standing there had the sense to grab the shirt and rip it off him and throw it in the sink. I was looking at them at the time and I did not see the fabric touch the flame but it goes to show how much heat goes up the sides of pans. And I suppose I'd better clarify that I'm not using this to say not to get a gas stove. OTOH, his burns were minor enough so we were able to laugh about it (I suggested he was now inducted into the "Pepsi Generation" and we had a good discussion about how home injuries can happen quickly. The whole point is, if you're used to something you can do fine. If you don't like something you will not be able to tolerate it for love or money. I almost always refrain from using terms like "always" and "never". I'm pragmatic. I try to deal with facts and common sense. Luxury liners have professional chefs onboard and they use electric appliances, not gas. I've watched Wolfgang Puck, Julia Child and others cook on hotplates, electric stoves and gas. Further, if you compared a high end electric stove with a gas camp stove I think many peoples' choice would change. So let's compare things as we can and recognize they're different. Many bakeries use only electric ovens. Many pizza places use wood! That said, to me there's only one rational drawback for me I can see to gas, other things being equal, and that is generally speaking gas appliances cost more than electric. And that's a pretty minor drawback IMO. Most people who have a preference though, don't care and will gladly pay the difference. And there's the gasbags, oops, gasfans who will argue that gas is "always" cheaper than electricity, which also is not true. But often you can recoup some of the cost but it depends on your local rates and as said, most people just don't care. Some people want Ford over Chevy or vice-versa and will pay more to get their preference. You don't have to rationalize, you say, I preferred it and got what I wanted. Personally I have trouble believing that people with a big preference of one over the other will be swayed by the fuel/power cost. In the big picture I doubt it would be that much. It wouldn't be for me I guess. I will also comment on the simmer question. The stove we had growing up had a center "simmer" spot in the center of the gas burner. That stove had an adjustment for the gas though we never adjusted it and never used the "simmer" setting. My campstove will adjust down so low I can simmer anything. But I've also used gas stoves that couldn't simmer anything. A lot is the stove, a lot is the adjustments when so equipped and the cookware can make a big difference too so there's no definitive answer to the question. A friend of mine had emphysema and asthma and had to rip out the gas appliances from all the homes in which she lived. Now in fairness, she wasn't the normal person, but there are some people who advise against gas appliances if you have children with breathing difficulties. I'd advise using common sense. There are also a number of people who advise against vent hoods venting inside because it can draw more fumes. Most residential hoods don't have the suction to be a problem in this regard in my opinion, but here's another example of if I had my choice, I'd vent it outside. Naturally, you should vent a gas dryer, furnace and water heater outside though. I will say, that my sister has a gas stove, "LOVES" it but does admit that her asthma IS affected if she's using it a lot. So I think a person should be informed rather than going by uneducated comments. There can be issues. I know this is long, but I'll say it again: GOOD COOKS can cook on gas OR electric and yes, even on a campfire or a grill! Red Green did his Thanksgiving dinner in the hub caps and under the hood of his car.... but I'm not suggesting he's a good cook.... OK Jasdip, are you next going to ask propane vs charcoal? (Taste the meat, not the heat?) Or better yet, real charcoal vs briquettes??? :)...See Moreninos
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