Preference of Gas or Electric ranges?

[dustin92]

As is being discussed in the "Few Gas ranges in Canada?" thread, what is your preference for cooking fuel? I learned to cook on a gas range, but we now have a coil top electric range, and as far as cooking goes, I have to say I prefer electric. As far as baking goes, the electric is far more even, and it heats up extremely fast. I have to say I love the self cleaning oven as well. The top burners are great, at least after I got used to them, and again, it heats up far faster than gas. I have never seen a pot of water come up to a boil this fast, but woe to anyone who tries to cook in a warped or bent pan- two words "Ain't Happening!" I guess gas is better in that respect, but it heats the air more than the actual pan, thus heating the kitchen faster. I guess I can add another point to gas- the ability to function without power. We do have a gas range downstairs, but it serves more purpose as a dust collector than a cooking appliance, occasionally I will use the oven (mostly on holidays), but I can count on one hand the number of times the cooktop has been used in 1 1/2 years. If we ever lose power it could come in handy, but then again, so would the wood stove. What is YOUR preference and why?

 

[norgeway]

I have used both...

My old electric Norge is fine, but for absolute best baking I will take gas anyday, the only down side of a gas range is the top burners usually will not turn low enough for a true simmer, especially the newer ranges, the old ones with center simmer burners are fine.

 

[warmsecondrinse]

I'd take gas if I had to pick one. Several times in my life I've gone a week+ without electricity and I've learnt that I can handle lack of heat, reading by candle light, etc. PROVIDED I have my hot shower and coffee in the morning. A stove that functions without electricity is a must, as is a gas hot water heater. 90% of my cooking experience has been with gas. Coil-type electric burners do not impress me. However, I've heard many enticing things about induction burners...

So, along with my great-grandmother's wood/gas stove, my dream kitchen would include a 2 burner induction unit in the counter and an Advantium oven to experiment with.

My laundry room would have one gas dryer and one electric as I've lost my gas before while the electricity stayed on.

 

[zipdang]

The arrangement I'm most used to is a gas hob and an electric wall oven, although we've had an all-gas 36" wide range for almost four years and it's been my favorite thus far. The moist heat of the oven bakes beautifully. I could live with an electric oven again if I had to, but the hob/cooktop definitely has to be gas. Things just don't cook up as well for me on electric surfaces.

 

[vintagekitchen]

Electric

I grew up with the choice of electric or wood, depending on the season and which relative I was staying with at the time, so I suppose I am biased.

The times I have lived somewhere with gas, I always hated it. The cabinets walls and ceilings in the kitchen got dirty faster, the bottoms of the pans got dirty, and there was always a light scent when the gas was burning, I hated that smell, it threw me off on smelling food to see how it was coming along, especially baked goods. Not to mention having no storage drawer for cookware, because that's where the broiler was, and a mighty inconvenient spot for it too I will say. And to a boy who grew up and learned to cook depending on residual heat to finish cooking after the burner was off, and counting on the slow build to heat when the burner was turned on, the instant on or off of gas was a nuisance.

I will say, credit where credit is due, a gas stove is a handy thing when the power is out, but it's not so handy sitting there all summer with the pilot lights cranking out heat. A propane camp stove in the back of my pantry fulfills the same emergency use a gas stove would, and allows me to cook on cool clean electric year round. ( and yes I stole the phrase "cool clean electric" from the old reddy kilowatt campaigns. Anyone remember him? Lol)

My best guess is, nearly everyone is going to prefer whichever cooking fuel they grew up using. Nothing else seems "right". Since normal is a relative thing, our expectations for a cooking fuel are dependant on our experiences as to what we view as "normal".

 

[jeffg]

We went through this recently for our last stove purchase.

The bottom line is, for most general purposes I can't handle anything other than flame on a stovetop. Electric excels at a few things like low-temp simmering but not much else. In fact in our family anything other than fire for cooking was considered more heating of food than cooking.

Also imo it's telling that in the thousands of homes we've seen on real estate searches over the years, exactly one with an asking price over $1M had an electric stovetop instead of gas. So apparently fire is the only game in town for serious cooking, although some electric flavors (induction, radiant etc) have their uses.. Our last house had a radiant stovetop, it was one of the biggest fire traps I've ever seen (the top was perfectly smooth, not good for bumped pans but it had excellent low-temp simmering, as good or better than coils.

As for ovens imo nobody can credibly deny the physics of even baking: electric coils are larger and more spread out than gas burners, and operate at lower temps. Therefore the heat supplied will be more even. The only way gas can compete is with convection. But for a broiler, which at least in this house is used as much or more than the oven, again imo nothing compares to gas.

 

[tolivac]

I can use either-fine for me.Have used both.

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

I prefer gas. Hubby electric. BUT, since I do  the cooking...

 

[norgeway]

Re Gas oven...

I have never understood why a gas oven gets poor reviews, my experience has been overall more even baking, now I really dont have a opinion on the broiler, I dont broil anything because I dont want to clean up the mess!LOL..I bet the broiler in my Norge has never been turned on.

 

[jeffg]

Broilers

I think most broilers go either completely or almost completely unused today. Not sure why, I mean compared to baking it's often less than half the time (no preheating) and results are much tastier, at least with fish or chicken filets, veggies etc. As for cleanup tin foil is about as easy as it gets.

 

[intuitive]

Gas Vs Electric

I have the best of both worlds... Fisher & Paykel Gas cook top with seprate F & P under bench electric oven that has in oven grill (broiler). The cooktop/ oven configuration is now really popular in Aust now. Natural gas is the norm for most modern apartments in city areas for cooktops & water heating. Electric storage water heaters are being phased out of use.

I would use the grill about one or two times a year but is good for quick top browning/ crisping up.

Gas is the best for pots and pans cooking and electric is the best for baking, roasting etc.

 

[danemodsandy]

Electric!

I - like both James Beard and Julia Child - prefer electric when it comes to home equipment. Professional gas ranges are a whole 'nother beast, and I'm not talking about those - Julia had a Garland 182 installed in her home kitchen decades before it was fashionable, but happily used electric on TV and in demos. Beard was such a fan of electric he had Corning smooth-top units in his teaching kitchen.

Anyway, electric is, I feel, best for home cooks. Higher heat output, more even baking and easier cleaning are three big reasons. Gas ranges have improved dramatically in the last twenty years, particularly on the cleanability front, but most electrics can still out-bake and out-boil most gas ranges.

I also hate the fumes from gas ranges. Your local gas company will tell you there are no fumes. That is a big steaming pile of something usually found under the south end of a north-bound bull.

So, electric for me.

 

[petek]

I guess it's electric for me since I have little experience with a gas stove

 

[washman]

Gas

hate my Caloirc solid burner unit but I rent so................gotta deal with it.

 

[firedome]

why choose...?

both have their differing merits. Hoping to have an electric 40" double oven range AND a gas 2 burner cooktop in the small retirement home we're planning. Do prefer electric oven for baking due to the more precise temp control. Right now we're all electric here in NY, and elec wall oven Chambers and gas Chambers cooktop in VT.

 

[cycluxe]

I prefer gas for the simple reason that there's no stored heat left in the burners, waiting to ruin the pot of mashed potatoes I foolishly left on the stove.

I've had many ranges of both kinds, and am currently in love with my apartment-size Brown gas range.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

I LOVE GAS!

Hard to believe that if I grew up in a mostly-electric-range-world!

Unfortunately I hardly get to use the broiler in my range; the in-laws & even my own wife are starting to want us to GO VEGAN!!!!

(Now what do you use a broiler for if you can't broil MEAT, and wanna use it for more than just grilled cheese!)

It's otherwise my late-mom's ceramic-top electric--wish I could just move out the fridge & put a gas range next to it; can't see my dad lighting burners! (But, then, how would we store our cold & frozen stuff?)

-- Dave

 

[abcomatic]

I have both

I can use either one, but the electric is faster.
1935 gas Detroit Jewel
1990 electric Whirlpool

 

[toploader55]

Well then...

I have no trouble with either one. Of course Gas in the Restaurant and at home I have electric.

I think electric is just a matter of getting used to it. When I was a child we had a Tappan Gas Range. Then my Mom bought a Westinghouse exactly like the one Kevin313 has.

I had a Electric Kenmore range which was fine until I found my Fridgidaire. My Grandmother had a Fridgidaire and taught me how to cook on the radiant tubes. Once you get used to the heat and controlling them, I really like them. Although I've never had a problem with Corox or Calrod either.