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BTW, there are still gas stove around that have pilot lights. I have a completely refurbished (professionally done inside and out) 1953 Wedgwood gas stove that I had set for propane gas, since that's all that's available where I live. There are two constant pilot lights on the stovetop and a constant pilot in the oven. That way there is never any stray gas/odor since there is always a pilot burning, and the oven is always warm for raising bread, etc. The monthly cost is negligible. Everyone that sees the stove thinks it's adorable, because I had it custom-painted in white with red accents to match my vintage kitchen. And it cooks like a dream too!
So, most of the heat escaping the pot and going around the sides of it is hogwash, and "my problem"? Its a scientific fact. If you cook on a gas stove, you can feel the airflow around the edges of the pot, and you feel all that heat. That heat isn't going into the food, so its wasted energy that you're paying for, it heats up your environment (can make a/c costs worse in summer), and unless you have thick pots/pans you'll end up with cold spots and hot spots as you're cooking. Everything I've said in this paragraph so far, have been facts, that can be backed up with scientific evidence. Now, developing an opinion on how all that affects the cooking of food and preference for gas/electric is up to each individual. MY opinion is that with all that evidence for how gas is a pain to cook on, I don't like it, and prefer electric. And yes in the face of such evidence I find it funny how there are still diehard fanboys. Well, to each his/her own I guess, I mean heck there's people who still believe the world is flat.
Electric burners are "flat". Gas fire molds itself around the pots and pans. You will clearly always be an electric "fanboy" (your word). The rising heat around the edges of your cooking pot/pan adds to the heating of it. Efficiency isn't the only reason to choose gas over electric or vice versa. Cost of repairs and how prone to needing them an appliance is are big concerns. Gas is far more reliable. If you have an power failure you have no stove if it's electric. Many gas stoves need no power. I've never lost gas service.
I have my opinion and you have yours. No one is going to change them it seems. You can have my gas stove when you pry it from my cold dead fingers.
Then how come when I cook food using an electric burner, the area around the sides of the pot is cool? You'd have to be using a pot way undersized for the burner to encounter what you're saying. In my experience the heat is even and goes up into the pot and instead of around the sides. Meanwhile on gas you can use a pot 10x the size of the burner and still feel heat going up the sides of it.
When you use a larger pot or pan the heat is simply mixing with more cool air before reaching the sides.
Then how come when I cook food using an electric burner, the area around the sides of the pot is cool? You'd have to be using a pot way undersized for the burner to encounter what you're saying. In my experience the heat is even and goes up into the pot and instead of around the sides. Meanwhile on gas you can use a pot 10x the size of the burner and still feel heat going up the sides of it.
Oh that's probably because you have the last remaining Unicorn Magick Oven in the Known World.
BTW, there are still gas stove around that have pilot lights. I have a completely refurbished (professionally done inside and out) 1953 Wedgwood gas stove that I had set for propane gas, since that's all that's available where I live. There are two constant pilot lights on the stovetop and a constant pilot in the oven. That way there is never any stray gas/odor since there is always a pilot burning, and the oven is always warm for raising bread, etc. The monthly cost is negligible. Everyone that sees the stove thinks it's adorable, because I had it custom-painted in white with red accents to match my vintage kitchen. And it cooks like a dream too!
Believe me, if we had gas service to the house we'd have a gas oven. Sadly, we have old clunky New England-style oil heat, and electric everything else. I totally miss gas.
I've cooked with electric and with gas, and I like gas better. I like it even with crappy cookware. I don't like electric stoves because when you turn them off, it still takes a good 20 minutes to cool down. With a gas stove, when you turn the burner off, it's cooled down within a minute. The same with an oven, though the oven stays warmer if you have an always-on pilot light.
The always-on pilot light also means you have consistant continual heat when you need your bread dough to rise. That was THE BEST thing about the gas oven. I don't even try making it in an electric oven, I haven't made a loaf of bread in 14 years and I totally miss it (I don't own a breamaking machine, THAT is for noobs).
For me, everything came out better, more consistant, on a gas stove or in a gas oven. Cleanup was easier as well - having to disconnect the burner from the electricity to wash underneath it is a pain. With a gas stove, I pull the range-cover up, wipe it down, and it's clean. I only have to keep my sponge away from the pilot light itself, which is easy to avoid.
I love being able to keep food warm on warm burners, that's one of the best parts of using an electric. On gas as items get finished its tricky trying to keep them warm; its like the burner is on or off, hot or cool, not really any way to utilize residual heat and just keep items warm without cooking them more. I almost never run into a situation where I absolutely need to get something off the heat right away, I don't get caught off-guard like that when I cook.
Gas has a wet kind of heat, look it up....makes browning things in the oven a pain. That and there's a consensus that electric heats more evenly in an oven. A lot of people who prefer gas stovetops still prefer electric ovens and say that gas top/electric oven is the best combination. Anyways, when I've baked bread its always been in electric ovens and I've never had a problem.
I don't like the gas ovens I've used....they vent way too much heat. Its too volatile, like it just cranks up to max and controls the heat by letting excess out through the vent. On my electric little to no heat escapes through the vent, and I'd like to think that any energy its using is actually going into the food, and not into my environment.
Cleaning....nothing beats a flattop electric. Coils are a pain to deal with, and I don't like the rack/burner setup on gas. On my flattop cleaning it is as easy as cleaning any of the other counters.
Electric burners are "flat". Gas fire molds itself around the pots and pans. You will clearly always be an electric "fanboy" (your word). The rising heat around the edges of your cooking pot/pan adds to the heating of it. Efficiency isn't the only reason to choose gas over electric or vice versa. Cost of repairs and how prone to needing them an appliance is are big concerns. Gas is far more reliable. If you have an power failure you have no stove if it's electric. Many gas stoves need no power. I've never lost gas service.
I have my opinion and you have yours. No one is going to change them it seems. You can have my gas stove when you pry it from my cold dead fingers.
Tell yourself whatever you like, fact of the matter is if the heat isn't going INTO the pot/food its inefficient. The flame "molding" itself around the sides of the pot is transferring heat to the pot, true, but not nearly all of it is making it into the pot/food. If it were, you wouldn't feel that heat rising around the pot!
When I'm cooking on electric, and the only hot areas are the burner, the bottom of the pot, and the food, a vast majority of the heat is making it into the food. Hence, efficiency. People like to say that gas saves on utility costs but it DOESN'T help when its adding all that wasted heat to my environment, forcing my a/c to work harder. Where I live its 80+*F 8-9 months of the year and this is a major concern for me. This is actually what made me question gas in the first place, and these days I just can't accept cooking on a gas stove while running a/c with it 90*F outside.
lol power failure argument, as usual. Its called a camp stove, look it up, if you're like me and go camping you'll have 1 around and it makes the power failure point moot.
Gas is dangerous. Last year lightning struck my house. It arc'd through from my gas line and into my furnace, producing a quarter-sized hole in my gas line. Because my house is all electric except for the furnace, I get my gas shut off in April and turned back on in November (this happened in August). Had the gas not been shut off at the time, my house would've likely burned down. Its likely the lightning would've ignited the gas shooting out through the hole, producing a 2-3' flame, or perhaps a fireball or something that would've caused an explosion. Anyways, apparently I'm very lucky that I don't prefer gas appliances!
Tell yourself whatever you like, fact of the matter is if the heat isn't going INTO the pot/food its inefficient. The flame "molding" itself around the sides of the pot is transferring heat to the pot, true, but not nearly all of it is making it into the pot/food. If it were, you wouldn't feel that heat rising around the pot!
When I'm cooking on electric, and the only hot areas are the burner, the bottom of the pot, and the food, a vast majority of the heat is making it into the food. Hence, efficiency. People like to say that gas saves on utility costs but it DOESN'T help when its adding all that wasted heat to my environment, forcing my a/c to work harder. Where I live its 80+*F 8-9 months of the year and this is a major concern for me. This is actually what made me question gas in the first place, and these days I just can't accept cooking on a gas stove while running a/c with it 90*F outside.
lol power failure argument, as usual. Its called a camp stove, look it up, if you're like me and go camping you'll have 1 around and it makes the power failure point moot.
Gas is dangerous. Last year lightning struck my house. It arc'd through from my gas line and into my furnace, producing a quarter-sized hole in my gas line. Because my house is all electric except for the furnace, I get my gas shut off in April and turned back on in November (this happened in August). Had the gas not been shut off at the time, my house would've likely burned down. Its likely the lightning would've ignited the gas shooting out through the hole, producing a 2-3' flame, or perhaps a fireball or something that would've caused an explosion. Anyways, apparently I'm very lucky that I don't prefer gas appliances!
Keep dreaming. Gas is pressurized it's moving faster than simply heated air from an electric element. I think you need a larger a/c ...that seems to be one of your main concerns. If heating up the house is such a big concern why don't you get a small countertop electric oven? You can do many of the things you point to as special about an electric stove in one.
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lol power failure argument, as usual. Its called a camp stove, look it up, if you're like me and go camping you'll have 1 around and it makes the power failure point moot.
Maybe you should cook with it outdoors and save on that cooling the house stuff. How efficient is that? LOL! I'd still be enjoying the use of my 4 burner waist hight gas stove. You'd be bent over on a stool outdoors (weather permitting) trying to use your little camp stove.
Quote:
Gas is dangerous. Last year lightning struck my house. It arc'd through from my gas line and into my furnace, producing a quarter-sized hole in my gas line. Because my house is all electric except for the furnace, I get my gas shut off in April and turned back on in November (this happened in August). Had the gas not been shut off at the time, my house would've likely burned down. Its likely the lightning would've ignited the gas shooting out through the hole, producing a 2-3' flame, or perhaps a fireball or something that would've caused an explosion. Anyways, apparently I'm very lucky that I don't prefer gas appliances!
At last! The reason for your paranoia ....
Let's see... "electricity" (lightning) burns a hole in your gas line so you blame it on your gas? Do you have any clue as to the dangers in your home electric system? Check the chart on the right in the link...36.8 % of house fires caused from cooking...open flames 8.4 % of those.
As I've said I'm quite experienced with gas and electricity. I'll take my chances with gas heating and well.. you just do what ever you want to do.
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Its a scientific fact. If you cook on a gas stove, you can feel the airflow around the edges of the pot, and you feel all that heat. That heat isn't going into the food, so its wasted energy that you're paying for, it heats up your environment (can make a/c costs worse in summer), and unless you have thick pots/pans you'll end up with cold spots and hot spots as you're cooking. Everything I've said in this paragraph so far, have been facts, that can be backed up with scientific evidence. Now, developing an opinion on how all that affects the cooking of food and preference for gas/electric is up to each individual. MY opinion is that with all that evidence for how gas is a pain to cook on, I don't like it, and prefer electric. And yes in the face of such evidence I find it funny how there are still diehard fanboys. Well, to each his/her own I guess, I mean heck there's people who still believe the world is flat.
LOL! I'd still be enjoying the use of my 4 burner waist hight gas stove. You'd be bent over on a stool outdoors (weather permitting) trying to use your little camp stove. 
