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Old 11-09-2014, 02:06 AM
 
15,631 posts, read 26,117,738 times
Reputation: 30907

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81 View Post
Yes, that happened to me once ... and the bowl was full of hot strawberry Jell-O. It ran down the cupboard doors and seeped under the refrigerator ... I was scraping that goop from all over the kitchen for days.

We should be careful with any glass bakeware, really, no matter who made it or when it was made.
When I was learning to cook, as a kid, I shattered a Pyrex pan while making pineapple upside down cake. The recipe was for making it in a cast iron skillet, but I was using a Pyrex deep pie plate. I didn't know any better, so I followed the directions to melt the butter, and add the brown sugar in the pan over low heat.

KABOOM!!

Pretty spectacular. And I was young enough that it freaked my mom out that I might have been badly hurt, and I was scared and crying. Considering there was melted butter and sugar heating up to a hot temp and the Pyrex exploded into teeny tiny shards it was a miracle I was unhurt.

Better than that -- my sisters had to clean up the mess, while my mother comforted me, and check me over...
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Old 11-19-2014, 07:24 PM
 
22 posts, read 24,070 times
Reputation: 44
I see the gas fanboys are out in force!

I absolutely HATE gas stovetops and ovens. First, let's start off with gas fanboys' two main points. Faster temperature control and you can see the flame.

Faster temperature control is mainly an issue in commercial kitchens, where they need to produce food quickly and can't devote much time to each individual item. When you're trying to cook that many items, its handy being able to shut off the burner and instantly cut off the heat. In a home kitchen this is only a problem if you don't have the time/skill to keep up with your food as it cooks. Me, I consider the residual heat on an electric stove to be a BENEFIT. Many times when I'm preparing meals items finish at different times, and its handy being able to keep them warm with the burner off. If its too much I can just move it off the burner. Never had a problem with it, and I have a skill called anticipating the temperature needs of my food. I don't REACT to the food as it cooks, I'm proactive and I know what it needs ahead of time, which removes the need for instant temperature control.

Seeing the flame. I don't need to see the flame to know my temperature. In fact its better just LOOKING AT YOUR FOOD and determining if it needs more or less heat. And even on a gas stove it takes a minute for the change in temperature to affect the food, both operate on the same principle that if you change the heat input it takes a second to see the change in your food.

BTUs. Gas stoves are widely regarded as being hotter than electric, because each burner has a higher BTU rating. When you've cooked on gas, you notice that the sides of the pot get very hot? There's a lot of heat going up and around the pot? Even if gas stoves have a higher BTU rating, they're not as hot because most of the heat goes AROUND the pot. When cooking on my flattop electric there is NO HEAT GOING AROUND THE POT. In fact its all cool except for what's going in the pot. That is much more efficient, and I find it tends to heat things faster. Its been proven time and time again that electric stoves boil water faster than gas, because of this effect. To me, it infuriates me to see all that wasted energy not ending up in the FOOD and instead in the environment. My a/c bills in summer are high enough as it is! And I've been burned, as that heats up handles on pots, and you can't prop the spoon/spatula on the side of the pot.

Also, even heating. If you notice on gas stoves, most have 1 ring of flame producing 1 ring of heat. In the middle of that there's a cold spot. When I used to cook on gas this would burn things to the sides of the pot. On my electric flattop there are several rings of heat all across the burner. This provides very even heating. I've never burned anything to the sides of a pot on an electric stove! And my electric goes MUCH lower than any gas stove I've used, giving a much broader ranges of temperatures down low. Which brings me to my next point.

Simmering. This is a total failure on 90% of gas stoves, except for the most expensive. On my electric I can turn it on high to get the water boiling, throw rice in, cover it, set it to 2 and come back in 20 minutes and its PERFECT. I used gas for years and it was infuriating not being able to simmer on it. Coming out to find the rice burnt, or boiled over, or the flame out. And yes I was using the smallest flame on the simmer burner! Most of my cooking involves simmering and if the stove can't simmer to me its USELESS. There's a simmer plate you can get that makes the heat more consistent, but it gives you the same problems as you have on electric: delayed heat control and a hot burner when you turn it off. You can also stack the grills from the other burners, but then again same problem as electric when you move items to cool burners: you lose use of your other burners.

Anyways, just because professional cooks prefer gas doesn't mean its better. One thing I try to do is replicate restaurant-style meals at home, and I find I cook better than the professionals because I devote myself to each item instead of trying to rush them out in a business environment. I get my food PERFECT, while when I go out to eat there's almost always something a bit off about it. Gas is faster, and that's why the pros prefer it. That doesn't mean it cooks food better, just that they can get customers in and out faster and increase their take.

Gas ovens are inferior as well. Its widely known that they impart moisture into the food, and makes it difficult browning things in a gas oven. They produce more volatile, less consistent heat and therefore don't cook as evenly. My electric oven produces food perfectly by the recipe I can simply put it in the oven set a timer and come out and its PERFECT. Gas ovens also have a larger vent and a LOT more waste heat.

Safety. Someone here said that electric appliances can short out and cause a fire. I've NEVER seen that happen. However, all it takes is for a pilot light to go out, or you try to simmer something and the flame goes out, or you forget to turn the burners all the way off after you're done cooking, and you've got a gas leak and a potential explosion. Back when I lived with gas stoves it was common for me to get woken up in the night by a headache and heavy gas smell in the place and I'd have to go turn a burner off. Apartment complexes don't choose gas for this very reason, all it'd take is 1 resident leaving a burner on unlit and the whole place could go up! Meanwhile the chances of an electric short are extremely slim.

I learned to cook on gas stoves. My first electric stovetop was a coil burner setup when I was in college. Ever since then I haven't looked back, when I was looking at buying my house I avoided anything with a gas stove. At this point even with how much electric coil burners suck I'd prefer them over gas. With the ease of cleanup and other benefits of a flattop its no contest.

Anyways, there are benefits to a gas stove. Do you use a wok? Then it won't work at all on electric and using a frying pan isn't the same. Maybe you want to char peppers so you can skin them, or something? Impossible on electric, better on gas. For me though I don't like stir fry, don't use a wok, and I char peppers in the broiler just fine.

In my house the only thing that uses gas is the furnace and if I had my way that would be electric too. I just got my gas turned on, and found out that the house could've burned down back in August. A lightning strike hit and had arc'ed a hole through a gas line. Had I had gas service at the time, the house would've burned down. Yet the strike didn't overheat the wiring or an appliance and burned it down!

Anyways, if you're looking to cook as fast as possible, use a wok, never simmer, and you don't have the skill to keep track of your food as it cooks and you might burn it, gas is for you.
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Old 11-20-2014, 08:36 AM
 
Location: FL
297 posts, read 570,453 times
Reputation: 745
Quote:
Originally Posted by sdgdf View Post
I see the gas fanboys are out in force!

I absolutely HATE gas stovetops and ovens. First, let's start off with gas fanboys' two main points. Faster temperature control and you can see the flame.

Faster temperature control is mainly an issue in commercial kitchens, where they need to produce food quickly and can't devote much time to each individual item. When you're trying to cook that many items, its handy being able to shut off the burner and instantly cut off the heat. In a home kitchen this is only a problem if you don't have the time/skill to keep up with your food as it cooks. Me, I consider the residual heat on an electric stove to be a BENEFIT. Many times when I'm preparing meals items finish at different times, and its handy being able to keep them warm with the burner off. If its too much I can just move it off the burner. Never had a problem with it, and I have a skill called anticipating the temperature needs of my food. I don't REACT to the food as it cooks, I'm proactive and I know what it needs ahead of time, which removes the need for instant temperature control.

Seeing the flame. I don't need to see the flame to know my temperature. In fact its better just LOOKING AT YOUR FOOD and determining if it needs more or less heat. And even on a gas stove it takes a minute for the change in temperature to affect the food, both operate on the same principle that if you change the heat input it takes a second to see the change in your food.

BTUs. Gas stoves are widely regarded as being hotter than electric, because each burner has a higher BTU rating. When you've cooked on gas, you notice that the sides of the pot get very hot? There's a lot of heat going up and around the pot? Even if gas stoves have a higher BTU rating, they're not as hot because most of the heat goes AROUND the pot. When cooking on my flattop electric there is NO HEAT GOING AROUND THE POT. In fact its all cool except for what's going in the pot. That is much more efficient, and I find it tends to heat things faster. Its been proven time and time again that electric stoves boil water faster than gas, because of this effect. To me, it infuriates me to see all that wasted energy not ending up in the FOOD and instead in the environment. My a/c bills in summer are high enough as it is! And I've been burned, as that heats up handles on pots, and you can't prop the spoon/spatula on the side of the pot.

Also, even heating. If you notice on gas stoves, most have 1 ring of flame producing 1 ring of heat. In the middle of that there's a cold spot. When I used to cook on gas this would burn things to the sides of the pot. On my electric flattop there are several rings of heat all across the burner. This provides very even heating. I've never burned anything to the sides of a pot on an electric stove! And my electric goes MUCH lower than any gas stove I've used, giving a much broader ranges of temperatures down low. Which brings me to my next point.

Simmering. This is a total failure on 90% of gas stoves, except for the most expensive. On my electric I can turn it on high to get the water boiling, throw rice in, cover it, set it to 2 and come back in 20 minutes and its PERFECT. I used gas for years and it was infuriating not being able to simmer on it. Coming out to find the rice burnt, or boiled over, or the flame out. And yes I was using the smallest flame on the simmer burner! Most of my cooking involves simmering and if the stove can't simmer to me its USELESS. There's a simmer plate you can get that makes the heat more consistent, but it gives you the same problems as you have on electric: delayed heat control and a hot burner when you turn it off. You can also stack the grills from the other burners, but then again same problem as electric when you move items to cool burners: you lose use of your other burners.

Anyways, just because professional cooks prefer gas doesn't mean its better. One thing I try to do is replicate restaurant-style meals at home, and I find I cook better than the professionals because I devote myself to each item instead of trying to rush them out in a business environment. I get my food PERFECT, while when I go out to eat there's almost always something a bit off about it. Gas is faster, and that's why the pros prefer it. That doesn't mean it cooks food better, just that they can get customers in and out faster and increase their take.

Gas ovens are inferior as well. Its widely known that they impart moisture into the food, and makes it difficult browning things in a gas oven. They produce more volatile, less consistent heat and therefore don't cook as evenly. My electric oven produces food perfectly by the recipe I can simply put it in the oven set a timer and come out and its PERFECT. Gas ovens also have a larger vent and a LOT more waste heat.

Safety. Someone here said that electric appliances can short out and cause a fire. I've NEVER seen that happen. However, all it takes is for a pilot light to go out, or you try to simmer something and the flame goes out, or you forget to turn the burners all the way off after you're done cooking, and you've got a gas leak and a potential explosion. Back when I lived with gas stoves it was common for me to get woken up in the night by a headache and heavy gas smell in the place and I'd have to go turn a burner off. Apartment complexes don't choose gas for this very reason, all it'd take is 1 resident leaving a burner on unlit and the whole place could go up! Meanwhile the chances of an electric short are extremely slim.

I learned to cook on gas stoves. My first electric stovetop was a coil burner setup when I was in college. Ever since then I haven't looked back, when I was looking at buying my house I avoided anything with a gas stove. At this point even with how much electric coil burners suck I'd prefer them over gas. With the ease of cleanup and other benefits of a flattop its no contest.

Anyways, there are benefits to a gas stove. Do you use a wok? Then it won't work at all on electric and using a frying pan isn't the same. Maybe you want to char peppers so you can skin them, or something? Impossible on electric, better on gas. For me though I don't like stir fry, don't use a wok, and I char peppers in the broiler just fine.

In my house the only thing that uses gas is the furnace and if I had my way that would be electric too. I just got my gas turned on, and found out that the house could've burned down back in August. A lightning strike hit and had arc'ed a hole through a gas line. Had I had gas service at the time, the house would've burned down. Yet the strike didn't overheat the wiring or an appliance and burned it down!

Anyways, if you're looking to cook as fast as possible, use a wok, never simmer, and you don't have the skill to keep track of your food as it cooks and you might burn it, gas is for you.
^^This. Thank you for articulating my thoughts! I just rep'd you. I agree 100% with everything you said, except for the gas furnace part, because I'm lucky enough to have an all-electric house. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm from the northeast, but for the past decade+ I've been living in an area that's traditionally been all electric. In recent years, developers have been building "natural gas communities" - most likely because there are so many transplants. I plan to downsize soon and I will be avoiding those communities!
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Old 11-20-2014, 10:16 AM
 
7,413 posts, read 6,193,187 times
Reputation: 6660
Quote:
Originally Posted by sdgdf View Post
I see the gas fanboys are out in force!

I absolutely HATE gas stovetops and ovens. First, let's start off with gas fanboys' two main points. Faster temperature control and you can see the flame.

Faster temperature control is mainly an issue in commercial kitchens, where they need to produce food quickly and can't devote much time to each individual item. When you're trying to cook that many items, its handy being able to shut off the burner and instantly cut off the heat. In a home kitchen this is only a problem if you don't have the time/skill to keep up with your food as it cooks. Me, I consider the residual heat on an electric stove to be a BENEFIT. Many times when I'm preparing meals items finish at different times, and its handy being able to keep them warm with the burner off. If its too much I can just move it off the burner. Never had a problem with it, and I have a skill called anticipating the temperature needs of my food. I don't REACT to the food as it cooks, I'm proactive and I know what it needs ahead of time, which removes the need for instant temperature control.

Seeing the flame. I don't need to see the flame to know my temperature. In fact its better just LOOKING AT YOUR FOOD and determining if it needs more or less heat. And even on a gas stove it takes a minute for the change in temperature to affect the food, both operate on the same principle that if you change the heat input it takes a second to see the change in your food.

BTUs. Gas stoves are widely regarded as being hotter than electric, because each burner has a higher BTU rating. When you've cooked on gas, you notice that the sides of the pot get very hot? There's a lot of heat going up and around the pot? Even if gas stoves have a higher BTU rating, they're not as hot because most of the heat goes AROUND the pot. When cooking on my flattop electric there is NO HEAT GOING AROUND THE POT. In fact its all cool except for what's going in the pot. That is much more efficient, and I find it tends to heat things faster. Its been proven time and time again that electric stoves boil water faster than gas, because of this effect. To me, it infuriates me to see all that wasted energy not ending up in the FOOD and instead in the environment. My a/c bills in summer are high enough as it is! And I've been burned, as that heats up handles on pots, and you can't prop the spoon/spatula on the side of the pot.

Also, even heating. If you notice on gas stoves, most have 1 ring of flame producing 1 ring of heat. In the middle of that there's a cold spot. When I used to cook on gas this would burn things to the sides of the pot. On my electric flattop there are several rings of heat all across the burner. This provides very even heating. I've never burned anything to the sides of a pot on an electric stove! And my electric goes MUCH lower than any gas stove I've used, giving a much broader ranges of temperatures down low. Which brings me to my next point.

Simmering. This is a total failure on 90% of gas stoves, except for the most expensive. On my electric I can turn it on high to get the water boiling, throw rice in, cover it, set it to 2 and come back in 20 minutes and its PERFECT. I used gas for years and it was infuriating not being able to simmer on it. Coming out to find the rice burnt, or boiled over, or the flame out. And yes I was using the smallest flame on the simmer burner! Most of my cooking involves simmering and if the stove can't simmer to me its USELESS. There's a simmer plate you can get that makes the heat more consistent, but it gives you the same problems as you have on electric: delayed heat control and a hot burner when you turn it off. You can also stack the grills from the other burners, but then again same problem as electric when you move items to cool burners: you lose use of your other burners.

Anyways, just because professional cooks prefer gas doesn't mean its better. One thing I try to do is replicate restaurant-style meals at home, and I find I cook better than the professionals because I devote myself to each item instead of trying to rush them out in a business environment. I get my food PERFECT, while when I go out to eat there's almost always something a bit off about it. Gas is faster, and that's why the pros prefer it. That doesn't mean it cooks food better, just that they can get customers in and out faster and increase their take.

Gas ovens are inferior as well. Its widely known that they impart moisture into the food, and makes it difficult browning things in a gas oven. They produce more volatile, less consistent heat and therefore don't cook as evenly. My electric oven produces food perfectly by the recipe I can simply put it in the oven set a timer and come out and its PERFECT. Gas ovens also have a larger vent and a LOT more waste heat.

Safety. Someone here said that electric appliances can short out and cause a fire. I've NEVER seen that happen. However, all it takes is for a pilot light to go out, or you try to simmer something and the flame goes out, or you forget to turn the burners all the way off after you're done cooking, and you've got a gas leak and a potential explosion. Back when I lived with gas stoves it was common for me to get woken up in the night by a headache and heavy gas smell in the place and I'd have to go turn a burner off. Apartment complexes don't choose gas for this very reason, all it'd take is 1 resident leaving a burner on unlit and the whole place could go up! Meanwhile the chances of an electric short are extremely slim.

I learned to cook on gas stoves. My first electric stovetop was a coil burner setup when I was in college. Ever since then I haven't looked back, when I was looking at buying my house I avoided anything with a gas stove. At this point even with how much electric coil burners suck I'd prefer them over gas. With the ease of cleanup and other benefits of a flattop its no contest.

Anyways, there are benefits to a gas stove. Do you use a wok? Then it won't work at all on electric and using a frying pan isn't the same. Maybe you want to char peppers so you can skin them, or something? Impossible on electric, better on gas. For me though I don't like stir fry, don't use a wok, and I char peppers in the broiler just fine.

In my house the only thing that uses gas is the furnace and if I had my way that would be electric too. I just got my gas turned on, and found out that the house could've burned down back in August. A lightning strike hit and had arc'ed a hole through a gas line. Had I had gas service at the time, the house would've burned down. Yet the strike didn't overheat the wiring or an appliance and burned it down!

Anyways, if you're looking to cook as fast as possible, use a wok, never simmer, and you don't have the skill to keep track of your food as it cooks and you might burn it, gas is for you.
Very informative post. I'm finding out a lot of what you're saying to be true. Especially with the pot of water taking forever to boil, and the low simmer still burning food. However, I'm liking the quick searing of meat and the crunch that goes with it, and also the taste of the food is better somehow. In addition, sauces come to a simmer a lot quicker, although I have to keep an eye out for it sticking to the bottom (depending on the dish).

I haven't baked anything yet. My question to those who have, is it possible to get a nice crust on top of casseroles in a gas oven?
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Old 11-20-2014, 10:46 AM
 
7,672 posts, read 12,724,961 times
Reputation: 8030
Quote:
Originally Posted by daylux View Post
Very informative post. I'm finding out a lot of what you're saying to be true. Especially with the pot of water taking forever to boil, and the low simmer still burning food. However, I'm liking the quick searing of meat and the crunch that goes with it, and also the taste of the food is better somehow. In addition, sauces come to a simmer a lot quicker, although I have to keep an eye out for it sticking to the bottom (depending on the dish).

I haven't baked anything yet. My question to those who have, is it possible to get a nice crust on top of casseroles in a gas oven?
Yes. Especially if you broil it. Takes literally a minute so watch it. I actually don't like to overbake so I tend to broil it as it's usually done but not quite browned. (I did the same thing in electric ovens too)

So people are having trouble simmering on a gas stove? I had trouble simmering on an electric stove with the constant on and off mode of the burners to maintain heat. I actually burned a lot more on the electric than gas. Funny how it's opposites for people. And I lol'ed hard at the fanboy comment. It wasn't till last year that I got a gas stove and yeah I guess I am a huge fan of it now.
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Old 11-20-2014, 12:24 PM
 
22 posts, read 24,070 times
Reputation: 44
Quote:
Originally Posted by momtothree View Post
Yes. Especially if you broil it. Takes literally a minute so watch it. I actually don't like to overbake so I tend to broil it as it's usually done but not quite browned. (I did the same thing in electric ovens too)

So people are having trouble simmering on a gas stove? I had trouble simmering on an electric stove with the constant on and off mode of the burners to maintain heat. I actually burned a lot more on the electric than gas. Funny how it's opposites for people. And I lol'ed hard at the fanboy comment. It wasn't till last year that I got a gas stove and yeah I guess I am a huge fan of it now.

What I've found is that the cycling on the electric burner is actually what keeps it from burning food. When it cycles off it allows heat to spread through the food and keeps constant heat from developing hot spots. The constant heat on a gas burner always made hot spots in my food which if left unchecked would burn. I can see though that on cheap electric stoves they may cycle too infrequently, keeping the burner on too much at a time and leading to the same effect. I vaguely remember cheap coil burners being like that. On my flattop the cycling is very fast which produces good results.

Simmering, on the gas stoves I've used they just don't seem to go low enough to simmer properly. And their constant heat and hot spots (around the sides of the pot/pan) and uneven heating with just the single ring of heat it just makes it worse. I like to say that gas stoves have 4 settings: med-low, med, high, and ULTRA high. On my electric stove it can go a lot lower than just simmer, on the lowest setting it'll just keep items warm, and in comparison with gas it seems to have low and ultra low settings gas just doesn't have. Apparently you can adjust the burners on a gas stove to make them go lower but from what I saw I couldn't see how they could get the burners to flow any less gas without them having trouble staying on.
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Old 11-20-2014, 12:32 PM
 
7,672 posts, read 12,724,961 times
Reputation: 8030
Quote:
Originally Posted by sdgdf View Post
What I've found is that the cycling on the electric burner is actually what keeps it from burning food. When it cycles off it allows heat to spread through the food and keeps constant heat from developing hot spots. The constant heat on a gas burner always made hot spots in my food which if left unchecked would burn. I can see though that on cheap electric stoves they may cycle too infrequently, keeping the burner on too much at a time and leading to the same effect. I vaguely remember cheap coil burners being like that. On my flattop the cycling is very fast which produces good results.

Simmering, on the gas stoves I've used they just don't seem to go low enough to simmer properly. And their constant heat and hot spots (around the sides of the pot/pan) and uneven heating with just the single ring of heat it just makes it worse. I like to say that gas stoves have 4 settings: med-low, med, high, and ULTRA high. On my electric stove it can go a lot lower than just simmer, on the lowest setting it'll just keep items warm, and in comparison with gas it seems to have low and ultra low settings gas just doesn't have. Apparently you can adjust the burners on a gas stove to make them go lower but from what I saw I couldn't see how they could get the burners to flow any less gas without them having trouble staying on.
I think you had bad gas stoves and I had bad flat tops. But I am glad your electric stove working fine for you as my new gas stove is working for me after decades of using electric.
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Old 11-20-2014, 05:05 PM
 
17,455 posts, read 38,855,436 times
Reputation: 24080
Quote:
Originally Posted by sdgdf View Post
I see the gas fanboys are out in force!

I absolutely HATE gas stovetops and ovens. First, let's start off with gas fanboys' two main points. Faster temperature control and you can see the flame.

Faster temperature control is mainly an issue in commercial kitchens, where they need to produce food quickly and can't devote much time to each individual item. When you're trying to cook that many items, its handy being able to shut off the burner and instantly cut off the heat. In a home kitchen this is only a problem if you don't have the time/skill to keep up with your food as it cooks. Me, I consider the residual heat on an electric stove to be a BENEFIT. Many times when I'm preparing meals items finish at different times, and its handy being able to keep them warm with the burner off. If its too much I can just move it off the burner. Never had a problem with it, and I have a skill called anticipating the temperature needs of my food. I don't REACT to the food as it cooks, I'm proactive and I know what it needs ahead of time, which removes the need for instant temperature control.

Seeing the flame. I don't need to see the flame to know my temperature. In fact its better just LOOKING AT YOUR FOOD and determining if it needs more or less heat. And even on a gas stove it takes a minute for the change in temperature to affect the food, both operate on the same principle that if you change the heat input it takes a second to see the change in your food.

BTUs. Gas stoves are widely regarded as being hotter than electric, because each burner has a higher BTU rating. When you've cooked on gas, you notice that the sides of the pot get very hot? There's a lot of heat going up and around the pot? Even if gas stoves have a higher BTU rating, they're not as hot because most of the heat goes AROUND the pot. When cooking on my flattop electric there is NO HEAT GOING AROUND THE POT. In fact its all cool except for what's going in the pot. That is much more efficient, and I find it tends to heat things faster. Its been proven time and time again that electric stoves boil water faster than gas, because of this effect. To me, it infuriates me to see all that wasted energy not ending up in the FOOD and instead in the environment. My a/c bills in summer are high enough as it is! And I've been burned, as that heats up handles on pots, and you can't prop the spoon/spatula on the side of the pot.

Also, even heating. If you notice on gas stoves, most have 1 ring of flame producing 1 ring of heat. In the middle of that there's a cold spot. When I used to cook on gas this would burn things to the sides of the pot. On my electric flattop there are several rings of heat all across the burner. This provides very even heating. I've never burned anything to the sides of a pot on an electric stove! And my electric goes MUCH lower than any gas stove I've used, giving a much broader ranges of temperatures down low. Which brings me to my next point.

Simmering. This is a total failure on 90% of gas stoves, except for the most expensive. On my electric I can turn it on high to get the water boiling, throw rice in, cover it, set it to 2 and come back in 20 minutes and its PERFECT. I used gas for years and it was infuriating not being able to simmer on it. Coming out to find the rice burnt, or boiled over, or the flame out. And yes I was using the smallest flame on the simmer burner! Most of my cooking involves simmering and if the stove can't simmer to me its USELESS. There's a simmer plate you can get that makes the heat more consistent, but it gives you the same problems as you have on electric: delayed heat control and a hot burner when you turn it off. You can also stack the grills from the other burners, but then again same problem as electric when you move items to cool burners: you lose use of your other burners.

Anyways, just because professional cooks prefer gas doesn't mean its better. One thing I try to do is replicate restaurant-style meals at home, and I find I cook better than the professionals because I devote myself to each item instead of trying to rush them out in a business environment. I get my food PERFECT, while when I go out to eat there's almost always something a bit off about it. Gas is faster, and that's why the pros prefer it. That doesn't mean it cooks food better, just that they can get customers in and out faster and increase their take.

Gas ovens are inferior as well. Its widely known that they impart moisture into the food, and makes it difficult browning things in a gas oven. They produce more volatile, less consistent heat and therefore don't cook as evenly. My electric oven produces food perfectly by the recipe I can simply put it in the oven set a timer and come out and its PERFECT. Gas ovens also have a larger vent and a LOT more waste heat.

Safety. Someone here said that electric appliances can short out and cause a fire. I've NEVER seen that happen. However, all it takes is for a pilot light to go out, or you try to simmer something and the flame goes out, or you forget to turn the burners all the way off after you're done cooking, and you've got a gas leak and a potential explosion. Back when I lived with gas stoves it was common for me to get woken up in the night by a headache and heavy gas smell in the place and I'd have to go turn a burner off. Apartment complexes don't choose gas for this very reason, all it'd take is 1 resident leaving a burner on unlit and the whole place could go up! Meanwhile the chances of an electric short are extremely slim.

I learned to cook on gas stoves. My first electric stovetop was a coil burner setup when I was in college. Ever since then I haven't looked back, when I was looking at buying my house I avoided anything with a gas stove. At this point even with how much electric coil burners suck I'd prefer them over gas. With the ease of cleanup and other benefits of a flattop its no contest.

Anyways, there are benefits to a gas stove. Do you use a wok? Then it won't work at all on electric and using a frying pan isn't the same. Maybe you want to char peppers so you can skin them, or something? Impossible on electric, better on gas. For me though I don't like stir fry, don't use a wok, and I char peppers in the broiler just fine.

In my house the only thing that uses gas is the furnace and if I had my way that would be electric too. I just got my gas turned on, and found out that the house could've burned down back in August. A lightning strike hit and had arc'ed a hole through a gas line. Had I had gas service at the time, the house would've burned down. Yet the strike didn't overheat the wiring or an appliance and burned it down!

Anyways, if you're looking to cook as fast as possible, use a wok, never simmer, and you don't have the skill to keep track of your food as it cooks and you might burn it, gas is for you.
Fantastic post - everything you said I agree with 100%. I FAR AND AWAY cook better food on my awesome heavy-duty flat top range. Like you said, the only things that don't work as well are wok and frying pan. Even then, the few things I do fry, I have no issues with. And my ovens turn out perfect pizzas and baked goods. I always hated how the flames on the gas went up the sides, and I also could never get it low enough for a proper simmer.

I love this beautiful electric range so much that if I ever move I am taking it with me. Electric all the way, baby - clean and efficient!
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Old 11-20-2014, 05:12 PM
 
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Electric absolutely sucks for cooking. It is great for baking though.
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Old 11-20-2014, 08:56 PM
 
Location: The analog world
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Count me in as a gas stove fan girl, but I admit to preferring an electric oven. My dryer, water heater, fireplace, and range run on natural gas. No problems at all, and my energy bills are lower than my all electric neighbors.
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