A quality electric makes a big difference fwiw. I’ve gone through several types depending on where I lived. I gotta admit that gas is my favorite to cook on. Just so many ways to control heat, where the heat is, and how quickly the heat can be changed. Most electric cooktops and ovens are shit unless you buy an upper tier brand, and even then heating a big coil under a glass top is inefficient AF.
Just switched to induction. While not the same as gas, and it does have a few peculiarities, it is by far better than standard electric cooktops. Way fast, more efficient, easy. These need to come down in price to help win over people used to gas.
I have found gas consistently shit for cooking at low temperatures because you can’t turn it down low enough. Minimum power on the lowest ring, nope, still far too hot right in the middle of the pan.
So put the pan on the edge of the burner…
Now the edge burns instead, while the other side remains cold. How is this helping?
Guess I was lucky? Our burner had a very low setting, perfect for low heat and reducing things like jams or whatever.
Electric is horrible. It’s either full on or off. No moderation other than time.
Huh, never seen an electric cooker that is full on/off. That sounds terrible.
Yeah, a good number of electrics do that. 100% or 0%, and they pulse between the two.
I think the core thing I have learned is getting a decent gas stove is easy. But it’s real easy to get a shit electric.
Indeed, that is very much true. Electric stoves are also much safer as it is less likely to cause a fire.
But still, I’m pretty pissed it is very VERY difficult to find a house on rent with gas stoves. I don’t care about this stuff, I like cooking and there’s nothing better (except a cooking wood stove) to cook in a house.
I’m just sad about that, besides that if you do not care about which one to cook on for sure go ahead with induction.
Have you ever used a proper, three phase induction stove?
As a foil: I grew up with an electric oven. Used an electric ofen through the 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, and finally got a gas oven in 2017.
Because I was concerned about gas in the home, methane, CO, etc. I invested in a bunch of sensors so I’d know the moment any of it became an issue.
It’s been almost 9 years now, and I’ve yet to experience an issue.
However, that whole “you can use it when the power’s out” thing: can’t use the oven; the valve is electric. On my first gas range, the range wouldn’t even come on without electricity.
The pots and pans I use now are designed for gas and heat up fast, maintain an even heat, and cool down fast.
Essentially, I think not all devices are created equal.
I like not depending on a single utility for my energy needs, but at the same time wouldn’t shed a tear if methane production vanished tomorrow (I’d probably convert to propane short term and electric long-term).
What metrics did you monitor? With my air quality monitor I’d see CO2, particulate, nox skyrocket in rooms even far away from the gas stove. If you got a carbon monoxide detector + explosive gas detector then yeah you wouldn’t get any alarms with normal use, but those aren’t the only pollutants to monitor.
Co2, CO, particulates, NO2 and volatile organics.
I guess it’s down to venting?
Did any of those sensors measure nitrogen dioxide?
Yes, actually. I can see the level go up slightly when the burners go on, but when the ventilation fan kicks in, the levels go back down almost immediately.
Yeah that’s why. Most people don’t have a real vent in their homes. It’s the recirculating one or nothing.
That’s what should actually be illegal. I see those everywhere now, and I can’t believe they were ever allowed. Mine is bad enough as a ceiling vent without hood but at least it does vent outside
I like not depending on a single utility for my energy needs
We had an extended outage in our neighborhood. Just over a week. I let the neighbors know I had enough wood and charcoal to keep the smoker at 275 all week and we could pop on the propane grills if we needed something hotter (I have been blessed with an abundance of backyard cookery). Fed half the neighborhood at some point that week, everyone at least got some ribs.
Last thing I want the folk on my street to do is go hungry, especially if all what’s wrong is the electricity.
One unexpected change with induction is the handles of my cast iron skillets take much longer to get hot. If I cook something relatively fast, like an egg, I can now pick up the cast iron bare handed!
But if I wanted to cook during a power outage, I have a propane grill.
Actually, it’s kind of amusing that my main grill is a pellet grill with powered auger to feed the pellets, so I can’t use that in a power outage
Indeed, we’re going with an induction stove top and a speed oven. Adios gas!
Growing up we usedgas. Mother’s home (not our childhood home) also has gas. I’m in a home that is wired for either but had electric when I moved in. We had to replace the stove and I choose to keep it electric which surprised my mom. “But gas baking is so much nicer!” And no it’s not. Electric interior was much easier and nicer to use. But she didn’t bake much so lol.
gas baking is so much nicer!
This is odd to me, as someone who has owned both gas and electric. Baking is pretty comparable between the two. Preheat oven, put in item for amount of time. Though, our gas oven’s exhaust would really heat up the kitchen, which was not so great in the summer.
Usually when people praise gas it’s about stovetop performance. As gas instantly changes temperature and lets you use things like woks. I have also heard people praise them for working in power outages just fine.
The glass top electrics are so damn easy to clean though. That alone has made them the winner for me. On the other side, every exposed coil electric I have used sucked ass and I would pick a gas well before I pick one of those.
If you have a gas stove and can’t afford, or don’t want to switch to electric, keep a window open in the kitchen while you cook. This is especially important if your over-the-range hood does not vent to the outside (yes, that’s a thing.) If your hood does vent to the outside, turn it on every time you cook and you’re golden.
Yeah, I’m going to open a window every time I want to fry a couple of eggs or bake a loaf of bread at -25F/-32C.
Just how many hours a day do you think any stove is continuously on? That 3D printer you might own runs far, far longer.
If you don’t want to poison yourself with fumes, then yes.
Then you must only breathe the finest purified filtered canned air. And not the dirty polluted air in whatever big city you live in.
Where the fuck else can it vent to?
Through an activated charcoal filter and right back into your face.
This is depressingly common and functionally accomplishes just about as much as you expect it does.
Ohhh, thanks. With the right filter it can make sense but it will be far cheaper to just pipe it out.
Not just the right filter but a strong enough fan motor to draw air through it. The filter needs to be changed so at some point outside venting becomes cheaper.
The reality is most people never change the filter and rarely use the fan.
Electrics are all I’ve used for the last 30 years
I just like being able to put tortillas directly on the flame burner.
Staying indoors during rain can dramatically cut wetness.
you don’t say, captain obvious is on it again today
but i guess it’s nice that we now have quantitative data on it
I’d rather have health than maybe marginally better cooking experiences
It’s not marginally. It’s a superior all issues aside.
Gas? What are you talking about?
Yeah gas is amazing.
Gas is dogshit. You’ve never used induction.
I have. You haven’t used a proper gas stove.
LOL if you have to get a “proper” stove to beat a 49$ IKEA portable induction cooktop, you’ve already lost.
GTFOH with your bullshit. Gas. FFS.
Wow calm there buddy. Ask any chef and they’ll tell you why the use gas. Inductions… a fancy gimmick if you have a good set of pots. Try using a wok on an induction stove 🤣
Gas stoves have a place, and I’m not about to take away anyone’s choice on the matter. With all that being said, to the title of this article, I say “duh”… Honestly, who thought that cooking using an open flame inside your home was somehow safer than the alternative?
I use electric, I’ve pretty much always used electric. I will continue to use some form of electric stove. I want to have complete control over the heat going into my cookware, and while it may not be as flashy or as quick to use electric, I can’t see any situation where electric would not be safer.
Having a gas stove certainly came in handy when we’ve had blackouts.
Electricity is expensive in my state but gas is relatively cheap.
get a camping stove for those occasions. I was worried about the same, that’s what I did.
I switched from gas to a 200v induction cooktop and I don’t think I would go back. Quality definitely matters. I have a cassette gas stove for power outages or if I have something that absolutely must use gas (so far, it’s never been pulled out).
A I understand it the temperature control with an induction stovetop is just as good, if not better than gas. Is that your experience?
In my experience, yes. The only difference is that you don’t have a visual flame so it takes a little getting used to which setting means what (unless you have the type with a knob and a temperature readout, but I do not).
Depends on the quality of the stove. The bad ones regulate like most resistive glass ceramic stoves in on/off pulses, which is fine for ceramic because the thermal capacity smoothes everything. I’ve got a mobile induction plate like that tho and it is absolutely horrible to work with.
My decent quality stove top goes from just hand warm (keep warm function) to the fires of mount doom (power function for boiling water) in 17 silky smooth steps. On top of the pulses there is some power regulation as well (you can hear the coil hum change depending on power).
How often are yall getting power outages?
the question might be more properly phrased as:
what is better, using electricity + backup power generator, or using gas stove in the first place?
A backup power generator that will run a household stove is kind of a tall order; most of the portable gasoline models on the American market won’t put out 220v.
I’ve got an electric stove, and I’ve got a backyard grill that runs on propane and propane accessories. Ain’t no power outage gonna starve me.
and I’ve got a backyard grill
yeah that’s what i meant with “backup generator” :-)
Every month or so. Every two if I’m lucky
A couple days a year typically, between hurricanes, tornadoes and winter ice storms.
Once a year maybe? Almost always due to storm damage.
Regardless of that, higher end modern gas stoves won’t allow you to use the stovetop during a power outage anyway even if you match light them, because they have electronic flame presence sensors for safety. And no modern gas range or gas oven with electronic oven controls will allow you to use the oven without power.
