Natural Gas vs Electricity for cooking

I've been thinking about a gas cooktop (for burners) and a electric wall oven (mounted so I don't have to bend over so far).

I'm more concerned about gas ovens than gas cooktops, but I haven't used gas cooktops much in my life. It has some qualities that I like, but I am a bit concerned about the environmental issues (although I don't know if there's any way to accurately compare gas vs electricity and I haven't found much on the subject other than opinion pieces).

I've seen a couple gas cooktops that have a feature which shuts off the gas flow if there's no flame, so given some people's experience with that, I think I'll opt for that option. :)


Pickle Juice said:
I've used electric for most of my life. I have no gas lines in this house, so I have no option anyway, and I am quite accustomed to how to cook with electricity. I am sensitive to odors, and when I lived in a house with a gas range, it seemed I could always smell gas, which I didn't care for.
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Great point. I'm really sensitive to odors too and have had issues with gas heaters and hot water tanks in past apartments (where my roommates or spouse have not). :(

Lord Snot said:
Electric hobs (stove tops) are extremely inefficient, and gas is much much better for money saving and also for the environment. I also prefer it to cook on, because I hate waiting for electric hobs to get hot and I hate how they are a burn hazard for so long after you turn them off, too.

When I moved out of the last place, I swore I will never again live in a place with electric heating or electric hobs.
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I agree to an extent with the inefficiency of electric heat in general, since most electricity comes from burning fossil fuels, it makes little sense (to me) to burn fossil fuels and convert it to electricity (already inefficient, heat loss, as well as inefficient conversion), transmit that over some odd distance (loss due to resistance), then convert it back to electricity (again inefficient). So I've always thought that electric heat (whether to heat water, food, or household) was silly if one's power came from fossil fuels.

What about other environmental concerns?
 
Dave in MPLS said:
How about an induction cooktop? Never used one myself, but they look keen.
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I use cast iron cookware and am concerned about the glass cooktops.

I also wonder about efficiency of induction cooktops. I haven't looked into them other than to be worried about the glass issue with heavy cast iron.
 
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Dave in MPLS said:
How about an induction cooktop? Never used one myself, but they look keen.
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IDK, I will look into them as Consumer Reports seems to rate them excellently, but like nog I do use cast iron quite often and I'd worry about scuffs and such. If I'm impressed enough I might just have to buy myself some new pots/pans made for induction cooktops.
 
My ideal kitchen would have a gas stove and electric oven. I love to cook on gas burners, but I'm a little scared of the gas ovens. I have electric everything where I am now.
 
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As someone who's been a professional cook for the majority of my life, I say go with gas. You have much better control of temperature, plus it's much more efficient.
 
Electric - hob and oven. Vitro ceramic all the way.

Electric hobs heat up far quicker than gas, don't give out any odour and you can control them more effeciently. I hate gas and think that it is dangerous. Newly built appartement buildings (overhere) do not have gas anymore as it is thought not to be safe.

I have a Siemens rectangular one and it is very easy to use and maintain.

http://www.ubaldi.com/electromenage...que-induction-scholtes--sh09dltab--860623.php
 
Dropkick said:
As someone who's been a professional cook for the majority of my life, I say go with gas. You have much better control of temperature, plus it's much more efficient.
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From what I read, induction beats gas on both counts. I do like cooking with fire though, but I can get my fill with that with the grill and campfires.
 
Forster said:
From what I read, induction beats gas on both counts. I do like cooking with fire though, but I can get my fill with that with the grill and campfires.
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You're right and I'm wrong, after doing some research I've found that induction beats gas for efficiency.

I apologize for not doing the research before giving advice (I always hate when others do this). And I don't have experience with induction stove tops as I've never seen one in a professional kitchen.

However, after doing the research I've found it's only more efficient as long as your using a flat bottomed pan that sits flat on the induction surface/coil and is made out of a ferrous metal (fancy way of saying steel or iron - a magnet sticks to it).

That means it won't work with my copper bottom pans, my aluminum stock pots, my aluminum saute pans, any of the glass Visionware I got for Christmas 20 years ago (I didn't really like it much anyway). It also means it won't be as efficient (if it works) with my copper clad Revereware. I can't use my wok on it. I also have concerns about some of my Lodge cast as they have a ridge around the bottom and wouldn't sit surface to surface.

I can't saute as I would in a working (business) kitchen as sauteing often requires flipping while still cooking/browning and quick variations of the temperature by lifting above the flame, or setting the pan somewhat to the side, none of which you can do with the induction because as soon as you lift the pan the heating stops.

These problems combined with the worries about damaging the cooking surface (especially with my cast iron), and the fact that the cheapest induction (that I found - there may be cheaper, but I wasn't looking to buy one so I didn't look very hard) cost almost 3 times what a professional grade gas range would cost, make me feel that if you do anything above heating soup and simmering noodles/vegetables you'll be much happier with a gas range.
 
I much, much, much prefer gas. Grew up with gas hobs, but since moving out, I've only had electric and I hate it. Gas hobs are a requirement for when I move again.
 
Gas hobs scare the hell out of me. Always had electric and I don't think I will ever get a gas hob.

Currently we have a ceramic electric hob which is lovely. My dream kitchen will have an induction hob :D
 
Annia said:
Gas hobs scare the hell out of me. Always had electric and I don't think I will ever get a gas hob.
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Same here. Even if there are some advantages to having a gas stove, I'm still sticking to electric. Gas ones just freak me out way too much.
 
thefadedone said:
Same here. Even if there are some advantages to having a gas stove, I'm still sticking to electric. Gas ones just freak me out way too much.
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Why? Are you also scared of gas water heaters and gas furnaces?
It's my belief that unless you're extremely foolish in your use and care of it, or deliberately abuse it, a gas stove is no more dangerous than a gas water heater.
 
Dropkick said:
Why? Are you also scared of gas water heaters and gas furnaces?
It's my belief that unless you're extremely foolish in your use and care of it, or deliberately abuse it, a gas stove is no more dangerous than a gas water heater.
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Yeah pretty much. I get paranoid about fires. Probably because I grew up with someone lacks common sense and is extremely careless and foolish when it comes to things like this. This person has come close to starting large fires (started some small electrical ones) or poisoning everyone in some way. :rolleyes:
 
nog said:
I use cast iron cookware and am concerned about the glass cooktops.
I also wonder about efficiency of induction cooktops. I haven't looked into them other than to be worried about the glass issue with heavy cast iron.
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From my experience cast iron cookware is no problem for induction cooktops. As long as you don't bang them on top. ;)
And switching from electric hobs to induction saved us a lot of money!
But I still use an electric water heater, if I need hot/boiling water for pasta or soups. It's more economical and faster to preheat the water.

We use a small gas cooker when we go camping and I always check twice, if I turned it off... I can't imagine to use gas at home, I'm just not used to it.
 

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