Kitchen Stove - Gas or Electric

[HFWR]

Electric now, but gas in the near future.

 

[Moemg]

I think it depends on the availability of gas lines . In my last house we had natural gas so of course I had a gas stove . In this house I'd have to have a propane tank so I have an electric stove . I prefer a gas stove but I get the job done with electric and nobody complains .

 

[calmloki]

When we redid our home, like Rambler we plumbed in gas and electric to the stove and dryer sites for any future folks - we've been using the $25 1950s gas range we bought at a church rummage sale back when we moved in 10 years ago. My understanding is that electric or better yet electric convection is the shizznit for baking. Gas s'posedly puts too much moisture in the oven for super baking. I am not much of a cook - cookies seem to get made okeedokee in the gas oven. I will say I've replaced many a stove element but never had to do more than rod out the spaghetti sauce from the gas range burner rings. And relight the pilots.

 

[harley]

I've never had a gas oven, just stoves. I was reading about them in a cooking forum (http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f84/gas-oven-vs-electric-oven-2902.html) and was surprised to read so many positive comments for gas. I had always heard they produce too much moisture, but some people say that is a positive for baking bread/cake/etc. But at the same time, some people (like my SIL) who bake a lot love convection ovens, which I believe are electric only. We don't bake flour products much (Type II), so it doesn't matter to us. But we've been very happy with the gas stove electric oven combination.

 

[SciFiFan53]

We remodeled the kitchen 2 years ago and converted from all electric to a gas cooktop and dual electric ovens (1 convection). DW is the cook in the family, and that was her request. Works great so far.

 

[Trek]

We have both gas cook top and oven. Once you've had gas, you can never go back. I find the gas oven pre-heats much faster than any electric oven I've used and the temp adjusts faster if I need to modify it in the middle of baking an item.

Only thing I don't like about gas is that I have this paranoia that there will be a leak somehow and we'll all die in our sleep. I purchased a dedicated gas detector/alarm that is installed in the kitchen just to put myself at ease.

 

[F4mandolin]

My wife has had gas (well, me as well) for most of her life (UK). I grew up with an electric back in WA. Gas has speed advantages over regular electric coil type, but my wife is NOT going to get a gas top she says when we retire back to Spokane. She is positive it's going to be a smooth top stove from now on (although induction is waaay too expensive still, although it is faster than gas). Less cleaning...and both of us find the low heat on a gas stove is just not low enough for some things that you want to leave on barely cooking. I can see it either way....but when it comes to the kitchen I just get the hell out of the way. Halogen might be the alternative that is cheaper.

 

[Tesaje]

Gas cook-top, sealed burners for easy clean up, with electric oven. I love this new range. It is so much better than the old electric one.

I've had electric, halogen, induction cook top, and gas. Gas is by far the best.

 

[F4mandolin]

If the sealed burners that I saw online are really the sealed ones.....that's the kind we have had for years.....wife is tired of it. Tired of cleaning underneath the supports and the area under them. I don't really think it is all that bad, but then again.....when was the last time I cleaned them??

 

[Martha]

I would like a gas stove that is easy to clean.

Me too. Cleaning was more important than gas so I have a glass cooktop.

 

[Martha]

Electric now, but gas in the near future.

Getting a new stove or a new house?

 

[HFWR]

Getting a new stove or a new house?

Reluctantly, from a cheap bastard POV, I am remodeling my kitchen. There's natgas on the other side of the wall for a gas dryer, so no major plumbing involved. Even doing much of the labor myself, and having a BIL contractor, the $$$ are racking up fast...

 

[harley]

Only thing I don't like about gas is that I have this paranoia that there will be a leak somehow and we'll all die in our sleep. I purchased a dedicated gas detector/alarm that is installed in the kitchen just to put myself at ease.

Very good point. We went to visit DD a couple of weeks ago. When we walked into the townhouse it reeked of gas. She had had a cleaning person come in to do a few things, and we suspect they bumped the knob while wiping down the stove. Just a tiny amount, enough to open the gas, but not enough to start the igniter. We found the problem and opened the windows, but it could have been worse. DD and DGD didn't get home until 5 hours later, and by then DKC could have been doing the dead cat bounce.

It's not much of a danger, but definitely get a detector.

 

[DeborahB]

I love to cook, and have a gas cooktop. I like the control (you can see the flame) and I like that if the power goes off, I can cook. Gas burners generally can be lit with a match if necessary.

I have separate double ovens which are electric and both are self-cleaning. One is convection. I'm in kitchen heaven If the house hadn't been set up for separate ovens and cooktop already, I probably wouldn't have bought a separate cooktop and ovens - it is far more expensive that way.

If you are buying a range, gas cooktop and an electric convection self-cleaning oven is the way to go (IMHO, of course).

I do use a gas grill Hey, it's so EASY...

 

[Telly]

I'd like to point out that the far majority of electric smooth-tops are radiant resistance coil type. With the ceramic glass top, they work differently than the old exposed-element type. The new ones turn the element on and off more often, and when on, they go red immediately. They duty-cycle modulate to hold the heat setting. The old exposed-type had a lot of thermal mass to swing about, and took quite a while to get up to heat. That's all changed.

"Stove?" I haven't heard that word in years. I grew up with it, but when we moved to TX, it was separate electric cook top, and electric wall oven(s).

 

[Telly]

I love to cook, and have a gas cooktop. I like the control (you can see the flame) and I like that if the power goes off, I can cook. Gas burners generally can be lit with a match if necessary.

Is that still true that you can operate a gas cooktop WITHOUT electricity? Years ago I know it was true, but are there electric controls now (like a solenoid-operated gas valve) that would prevent that? I realize that if you can get the gas flowing, you can ignite it. But can you get it flowing without electricity these days?

 

[CuppaJoe]

Is that still true that you can operate a gas cooktop WITHOUT electricity? Years ago I know it was true, but are there electric controls now (like a solenoid-operated gas valve) that would prevent that? I realize that if you can get the gas flowing, you can ignite it. But can you get it flowing without electricity these days?

Good question, hope someone has the answer.

During the '89 earthquake here, the city had a system of sending a car with load speaker, "don't turn off your gas, it is safe to use it." Nice, we were able to cook dinner by candlelight as the electric was out for about eight hours. I've since moved but have an old gas stove that also works without electric, it may be as old as mid-century, I love it.

 

[ERD50]

Is that still true that you can operate a gas cooktop WITHOUT electricity? Years ago I know it was true, but are there electric controls now (like a solenoid-operated gas valve) that would prevent that? I realize that if you can get the gas flowing, you can ignite it. But can you get it flowing without electricity these days?

Probably varies by model. We can light our cooktop burners manually, and the valve is just mechanical so no problem w/o power.

But the oven has one of those ceramic igniters, and that is powered by electricity and has a safety-interlock with the electrically powered control valve. No easy way around that if the power is out.

This thread represents the majority view - most cooks greatly prefer a gas cooktop (I just noticed, the poll is not whether you prefer gas/electric - it asks what you use. Some people have no choice, they use what they have).

For ovens, electric may have an advantage, but not such a big deal. I recently cooked a dinner over at my Moms for a family gathering. Electric cooktop drove me nuts. I suppose you get to learn what HI, MED_HI, MED, etc really mean in terms of heat output, but I was constantly fretting that I was going to burn something or that it would be cold without the feedback you get from simply looking at the size of the flame.

Our kitchen window faces East, and sometimes I have to draw the shades if I'm cooking in the AM - I can't see the blue flame in sunlight, and I feel like I'm driving blind (or cooking with electric). OTOH, at least with my gas cooktop, you NEED to look at the flame - the manual control is not linear at all, the flame is not really predictable based on the knob setting, you have to look.

-ERD50

 

[DeborahB]

I'd like to point out that the far majority of electric smooth-tops are radiant resistance coil type. With the ceramic glass top, they work differently than the old exposed-element type. The new ones turn the element on and off more often, and when on, they go red immediately. They duty-cycle modulate to hold the heat setting. The old exposed-type had a lot of thermal mass to swing about, and took quite a while to get up to heat. That's all changed.

"Stove?" I haven't heard that word in years. I grew up with it, but when we moved to TX, it was separate electric cook top, and electric wall oven(s).

LOL! Stove/range... cost is $600 and up.
Separate good cooktop and 2 ovens (or even one...)? $1400 and up. I haven't figured out the need. Cool looking. Gotta have an island, granite, etc.

And those dollar figures are low, I think. We spent over $3K on the cooktop and 2 ovens when we replaced them - I did insist on convection and self-cleaning- also it's a 5-burner cooktop since the hole in the counter was too big for a 4-burner.

But ALL the new houses seem to have separate stuff. I'm a dinosaur. It's possible.

Here in MO we lose power occasionally and it gets very cold (usually thse events are simultaneous) - having a gas cooktop helps. I know the new electric cooktops are different than the old ones, I've used them. But I still prefer gas.

 

[Danny]

Surprise - looks like we agreed on a Gas stove top and an electric oven.

While looking at the stove tops we saw 5 and 4 burner models.

Dear One shook her head and said that 5 burners were too ostentatious - as in "look we don't use that many burners and I have no plans on opening a restaurant it costs more and it will look too ostentatious" - me - well...5 look cooler than 4 and its nice to know you got it if you need it besides the next owners may look fondly on the 5 burners and decide right there to buy the house and ...never mind.. (i"m working on a plan to get the 5 )

 

[DeborahB]

LOL! We've had those discussions...

I never use all 5 burners at once, but I have some large pans so I do use all of them at one time or another. I have a continuous cast-iron grate so you can slide the pans around easily, that's something I'd recommend.

On the oven: convection and self cleaning are worth it.

Have fun!

 

[hguyw]

bad burrito?

 

[hguyw]

In August, I bought a new range, all electric with a glass top to replace my old one with the hard to clean coil burners. With that purchase, I can now proudly say that I no longer own any avocado green appliances!

We have a gas range at camp, so I've cooked on both. I find it easier to get a more appropriate heat setting by adjusting the flame, than by using the dials on the electric. I burn more food on the electric stove! And I think food tastes better when cooked over gas - though either way, it's in a pan, so I don't quite understand why this is.

Maybe someday when I can really redo my kitchen the way I want, I'll switch to gas. But right now I don't want the extra expense of running a new gas line to the kitchen.

 

[ERD50]

LOL! We've had those discussions...

I never use all 5 burners at once, but I have some large pans so I do use all of them at one time or another. I have a continuous cast-iron grate so you can slide the pans around easily, that's something I'd recommend.

I also was thinking that the continuous grate would actually be more of a feature than the 5th burner. It does seem handy for just sliding pots from one side to the other.

We will be doing new appliances and counters next year, so this will be a consideration.

-ERD50

 

[easysurfer]

I have electric and am quite happy with that.