Advice on new range

[trader4]

If electric cooking is so peechy keen, why do you see the vast majority of pro chefs using gas? Why aren't commerical restaurants outfitted with electric? Ever watch the Food Channel? Count how may different chefs are using gas vs electric. It's overwhelming gas they are using. It ain't even close. And it's because of the above reasons.

How about this survey of pro chefs? 96 percent prefer gas.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- When it comes to results, the majority of professional chefs agree that cooking with gas, whether propane or natural gas, is the best option. According to a recent national survey, 96 percent of professional chefs prefer using a gas cooktop, and nine out of 10 would recommend that others use gas to cook as well.

"I've been in this business for more than 20 years and I don't know of any professional chefs that prefer using electric," said...

[trailer]

and they take longer to cool down.

I have electric, but I prefer gas.

Electrics are deficient in the following areas:

• They take a while to heat up,

• You don't have full control over the heat,

• They don't get as hot as a gas range,

• They cost more to operate,

• You can't tell by looking whether they're on or off,

• You don't have the versatility: #You can't toast marshmallows on an electric range. # You can't burn the pin feathers off a freshly-plucked chicken.

[mike]

That's fine. Let restaurants have their gas burners and industrial ventilation and, yes, giant *electric* grill countertops. Electric is the overwhelming choice in home ranges 60% to 35%, which is what we are faced with in this question. Everyday users weigh the pros and cons and most decide they can deal with the slower heat response characteristics of electric (again, not a biggie).

Some people don't like gas's humidity production, and they don't like the hot combustion gases making it uncomfortable to stir or add ingredients. Some people like the peace of mind of no gas leaks, no open flames and no explosions. Some like having the controls out of the reach of children, but because of the hot combustion gas issue, you often find gas controls right out front where kids can get to them, unfortunately.

Let it go.

[mike]

I don't care which one you pick. I take issue with the insults flying forth because some people factor their priorties differently or because others show problems with the option they appeared to be married to.

[Jon Danniken]

Yep.

Jon

[SteveB]

That's fine. Let restaurants have their gas burners and industrial ventilation and, yes, giant *electric* grill countertops. Electric is the overwhelming choice in home ranges 60% to 35%, which is what we are faced with in this question. Everyday users weigh the pros and cons and most decide they can deal with the slower heat response characteristics of electric (again, not a biggie).

Some people don't like gas's humidity production, and they don't like the hot combustion gases making it uncomfortable to stir or add ingredients. Some people like the peace of mind of no gas leaks, no open flames and no explosions. Some like having the controls out of the reach of children, but because of the hot combustion gas issue, you often find gas controls right out front where kids can get to them, unfortunately.

Let it go.

reply: You guys in the newsgroup just don't get it, do you. Mike says it is so, it is so. Let it go.

Steve

[ransley]

I dont know what state you live in but it must be the state of cheap electricity and maybe only a few qualify. Here folks are aware electric costs more and just about all have gas. Do folks heat with electric in your area, in mine nobody is that stupid, and electric heat systems are made.

[mkirsch1]

I don't know about all these other people with their electric vs. gas argument. I have a wood-fired range and oven.

You don't get that nasty gas smell. No open flames. No control knobs for kids to burn themselves or burn the house down with. Lots cheaper than electric. My oven is 112 years old, made in 1896.

Don't waste your time on gas or electric. You don't see gas or electric cooking at the REAL pizza shops or barbecue joints.... The true professionals cook with WOOD!

[mike]

I do have cheap electricity, but you're forgetting the energy transfer problem of gas ranges. That hot combustion gas flows rapidly upward and the energy is not transfered to your food very efficiently at all. Hence my earlier comments about hand and arm confort when reaching over pots and pans to stir or add ingredients.

This may not be a big deal in the winter as far as cost goes, but is counterproductive in the summer. What this means is that you cannot just make a comparison based soley on cost per energy unit of gas v. electric.

I cannot vouch for the numbers, but I've seen that less than 40 percent of the energy produced by a gas range surface burner actually gets to the food. In electric range surface units, this figure may increase to 60 percent.

[mike]

Actually the OP asked:

"Any rec's for a new one"

There are reasons for installations in restaurants and there are reasons for installations in homes. The OP lives in a home.

We've both had our say, and I'm not going to re-hash the points again. Twice is enough.

[Boden]

I agree. We have a gas cooktop on one island and an electric cook top in another. With few exceptions my wife always cooks on the gas one. It is more responsive. Heats faster and cools down faster. I can't imagine cooking with a wok or boiling lobsters on an electric unit. A

20,000 BTU gas burner heats up fast.

Boden

[mike]

On Nov 20, 2:23=A0pm, Boden wrote: =A0I can't

While you have a high-end model, no doubt, gas burners are typically slower to boil water than electric.

[SteveB]

It comes down to this for ME, Boden. People who know how to cook choose gas. It's very simple.

Now, IF I am stuck somewhere (like where I live now) where gas is not available, I CAN use electricity. However, I prefer using the $50 used propane four burner stove in my cabin to the nice electric range I have in my house.

We are going to do a kitchen remodel as soon as our ship is released from Somali custody, and the numero uno priority is having a large propane tank installed and gas piped to the new GAS range.

Steve

[Pete C.]

People who know how to cook just cook. While I have a nice dual fuel stove in my current house, the previous house had a crappy old electric stove and I produced great dinners there too.

From the small amount of appliance shopping I've done, it appears that at any given price point, you can get a better quality electric stove than gas stove.

[Pete C.]

Those with the halogen type electrics can see the glow as well. The calrod style electrics do have some lag time, but on the high setting they glow as well.

And yes, calrod style electrics tend to have better heat conduction to the pot/pan due to direct contact, vs. gas where a considerable percentage of the heat generated flows around the sides of the pot/pan and out the vent hood.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Let it go.

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What you see as an advantage, I see as a great disadvanatge after suffering iwth electric for a few years. Do yo really think it is a good idea to reach across a boiling pot to reac the controls on an electric? Or while a steak is being seared? We were very happy to give the electric away and have propane put in.

As for the fear of gas leaks, no rational facts can overcome fears of the mind.

[Ed Pawlowski]

In that price range, not much difference from what I saw. You'll get a basic range, not fancy controls and circuit boards to break in five years. It will do any basic cooking that 90% of people do.

If you want lots of fancy features, figure $1000 and up. Way up. You can drop $10,000 on a range.

I do love my Bertazzoni though. This is mine.

[Pete C.]

Advantages and disadvantages to both types, however they are all pretty superficial. A good cook can readily produce good food on either type. On control location, I like any location but on the front, which is oddly popular on commercial and pseudo-commercial units.

On that last part, I've seen at least four reports of houses leveled by gas explosions on CNN.com in the last few weeks alone. Oddly enough, not a single report of a house exploding from an electrical issue.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Sure, gas pops a couple of houses a year, but electrical fires are far more common, just not as dramatic.. Same with oil burners, woodstoves, coal stoves, etc. The fact that you hear of a house blowing up from gas shows how rare it is if it makes more than the local news. How many people were killed in traffic accidents this week? They are so common they don't even make the local news. IIRC, there are still 40-50,0000 traffic deaths a year, but no big outcry to fix anything.

[Pete C.]

Not as dramatic, not as likely to damage neighbors homes and most importantly a lot less likely to kill the occupants. Boom, you're dead, vs. fire, you run.

Not really, it's just more likely to kill the occupants and as we all know, the media loves dead people.

Indeed there are plenty of traffic accidents, and generally they get local press as well (media loves death remember). The key difference is that there aren't viable alternatives to traffic, your drive, take a bus, train, and all have plenty of accidents. On the home front, there are safer alternatives to gas in the home, so you are able to make a choice to reduce risk. You can also make a choice to reduce risk by having gas detectors too, but for some reason people tend to overlook this and only think about smoke and now CO detectors.