[ReggieX]

Electric stoves suck!

[d4nth3m4n]

whoa. that's heavy man.

[Gankdawg]

I voted yes.

[Ghoser777]

Originally Posted by d4nth3m4n

whoa. that's heavy man.

There's that word again; "heavy". Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the earth's gravitational pull?

[Mr. Blur]

Originally Posted by Ghoser777

There's that word again; "heavy". Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the earth's gravitational pull?

great quote.

but yeah....i much prefer a gas stove.....unfortunately not available to me where i am without a *very* hefty premium that is not really worth it to me at the moment

[Ozmodiar]

Originally Posted by Ghoser777

There's that word again; "heavy". Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the earth's gravitational pull?

You're not thinking fourth-dimensionally.

[jasonsRX7]

I never had a gas stove until I bought the house I'm in now, and I gotta say I much prefer it to electric.

Having gas is the sh1t

[Ozmodiar]

I have paranoid delusional fantasies and I'm always worried the pilot lights are out and I'm going to blow myself up when I light a candle or something. But, I can make smores with my stove so that makes it trump the marginal safety of electric.

[Railroader]

MY wife once convinced me to get one of those flat top glass ranges. ARG!!! It was the most miserable appliance I have ever used. It was a very expensive Maytag model. I thought it was defective it sucked so bad. The old coil top electric model was 1,000 times better than that thing.

"Now we're cooking with gas!"

[jebjeb]

Gas cooktops (the actual table top burners) do rock. I have pretty much always had a gas cooktop.

However, gas ovens suck the big one. Electric ovens are much better. I guess that makes my kitchen a hybrid

[tooki]

Well, with electric, you have to specify whether it's a normal heating coil unit, the kind with the big iron circles, the glasstop type, or induction.

Induction stoves are amazing: they heat faster (!) than gas, and release FAR less waste heat into the room, saving lots of energy if air conditioning is in use. They're also really safe, since a burner can be turned on, but with no pan on it, it will not get even the tiniest bit hot. It really is like the best of both worlds. The only downside is that they cost a lot and require all your cookware to contain iron (be it the whole piece, or an iron core). These work by using a big electromagnet that excites the iron molecules in the cookware, causing them to vibrate, causing friction which creates heat. Since the heat is created in the pan (rather than being created elsewhere and then transferred to the pan), it's very efficient and speedy.

Exposed-coil electric works pretty well, but has terrible heat control, and are a witch-with-a-capital-B to clean.

The electric with the solid iron rounds reduce "hot spots", but have absolutely terrible temperature control, taking forever to heat up or cool down. Cleaning is easier, though.

Glasstops I like. They heat fairly quickly, cool fairly quickly, and are super easy to clean -- just wipe it down, use a razor-blade scraper to remove anything that cakes on. No gaps = nowhere for food to get stuck.

Gas stovetops are great (my personal favorite), have superb heat control, but can get really gunky with so many places for grease to hide. They also allow a lot of waste heat into the room.

Electric ovens come in two kinds: regular and "convection". The regular kinds just have coils in the top and bottom, but the heat can sometimes be uneven. Convection models use forced air to even out temperature within the cooking cavity, allowing much more even cooking. Electric heat is true dry heat, making it great for all types of baking. (Moisture can be added if needed.)

Gas ovens also can have uneven heating. But the biggest problem with gas ovens is that the combustion of gas creates water vapor as a combustion byproduct, so it's not true dry heat. This makes it harder for some types of things to bake or broil properly.

There's also another type of oven, which uses light to cook. Various wavelengths of light are used, some of which penetrate, while others crisp the surface. These ovens cook with convection-like results but in microwave-like time. I want one when i grow up.

tooki

[ghporter]

Given what tooki says about induction stoves, I'll temper my hatred for electric cooking by saying that I've hated every coil-type electric stove I've ever had to use. They take too long to heat up, they stay hot too long after you've turned them off, and they're much harder to control the heat from. Gas is what I learned to cook on, it is much easier for me to control, and when it's off, it's OFF. Further, I spend a lot less per BTU for natural gas than I would for electricity to cook with.

However, I think this poll is poorly written; the options should be different, not equivalent!

[Mediaman_12]

Originally Posted by tooki

Induction stoves are amazing: they heat faster (!) than gas, and release FAR less waste heat into the room, saving lots of energy if air conditioning is in use. They're also really safe, since a burner can be turned on, but with no pan on it, it will not get even the tiniest bit hot. It really is like the best of both worlds. The only downside is that they cost a lot and require all your cookware to contain iron (be it the whole piece, or an iron core). These work by using a big electromagnet that excites the iron molecules in the cookware, causing them to vibrate, causing friction which creates heat. Since the heat is created in the pan (rather than being created elsewhere and then transferred to the pan), it's very efficient and speedy.
tooki

This sounds supercool, One of the main things I never liked about Electric was the way it all stayed burning hot for ages after it went out. Never seen this type though.
We have a Gas stove top (or hob), but it has a flat glass base (like an electric) on which the burners and 'pot stands' sit on top. All the cleaning plus points the glass electric hobs get, also aply to this.

[SVass]

I saw a show on Discovery HD yesterday that said that gas (open fire) stoves provide Chi to the house whereas electric stoves do not. Thus, they are superior. Now if someone can explain what that means, I will be satisfied. sam

[analogika]

Originally Posted by ghporter

However, I think this poll is poorly written; the options should be different, not equivalent!

That was the point.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by SVass

I saw a show on Discovery HD yesterday that said that gas (open fire) stoves provide Chi to the house whereas electric stoves do not. Thus, they are superior. Now if someone can explain what that means, I will be satisfied. sam

Google for "feng shui".

[ReggieX]

Mainly I'm annoyed that I went to use the oven last night to bake my burritos, and it didn't turn on. I think it's a burnt fuse, but I didn't investigate to closely. And it was past 6pm, so not much was open by then.

[ghporter]

Baking with electric is the WORST! You absolutely NEED a good thermometer to set an electric oven, and you need to watch it carefully too-especially with older ovens. Gas ovens appear to be much more consistent and their knobs seem to be better calibrated too. And they warm up faster and more evenly, making it easier and quicker to get anything done with them.

Yes, I'm a gas cooking fanatic.

[ReggieX]

One tip I have heard to prevent burning your first tray of cookies or other baked goods: don't put them in the oven right away, open the door once, then close again, and wait for the temperature to equalize back to the thermometer setting. The theory being that by opening the door, you cool the oven enough that it has to kick the juice back on the get the temperature back to your original setting, thereby burning your first batch of cookies.

I'm not so much a fanatic as someone who's gotten very used to them over the years, and after 5 years in my old apartment, old habits die hard

[Kevin]

I hate electric because there is no quick way to roast a marshmellow

[tooki]

Originally Posted by ghporter

Baking with electric is the WORST! You absolutely NEED a good thermometer to set an electric oven, and you need to watch it carefully too-especially with older ovens. Gas ovens appear to be much more consistent and their knobs seem to be better calibrated too. And they warm up faster and more evenly, making it easier and quicker to get anything done with them.

Yes, I'm a gas cooking fanatic.

Sounds to me like you've been using defective electric stoves! A properly functioning one will maintain a proper temperature.

And as I said, gas combustion creates moisture which harms some baking processes.

tooki

[residentEvil]

Originally Posted by Kevin

I hate electric because there is no quick way to roast a marshmellow

I use those ligther stick things to do a single marshmellow

[Kevin]

Now that is dedication.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by ReggieX

One tip I have heard to prevent burning your first tray of cookies or other baked goods: don't put them in the oven right away, open the door once, then close again, and wait for the temperature to equalize back to the thermometer setting. The theory being that by opening the door, you cool the oven enough that it has to kick the juice back on the get the temperature back to your original setting, thereby burning your first batch of cookies.

And what happens when you open the oven door the *second* time to put in the cookies is different from that *how* exactly?

[BLAZE_MkIV]

Get a baking stone or two and put them in the oven and it will stop the temperature from spiking when you open the door.

[residentEvil]

Originally Posted by BLAZE_MkIV

Get a baking stone or two and put them in the oven and it will stop the temperature from spiking when you open the door.

Yup, I keep a pizza stone on the bottom rack. Not only does it not take up space in a cupboard it keeps an even temp in the oven.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by residentEvil

Yup, I keep a pizza stone on the bottom rack. Not only does it not take up space in a cupboard it keeps an even temp in the oven.

Ha, I always kept it in the oven for storage. Didn't know there were other good 'side effects'

-t

[spatterson]

Originally Posted by ReggieX

Mainly I'm annoyed that I went to use the oven last night to bake my burritos, and it didn't turn on. I think it's a burnt fuse, but I didn't investigate to closely. And it was past 6pm, so not much was open by then.

Where do you live... everything here is open till 11ish sometimes 24hrs