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Gas

33 (80.5%)

Electricity.

8 (19.5%)

Total Members Voted: 39

[smokin soon]

When I cooked with propane, simmering was out of the question. A friend gave me one of these and it really helped.

[Hank D Thoreau]

Gas adjusts more quickly. You need to allow electric time to cool down. I have had both and much prefer gas.

As far as fear of gas, I will not work on gas myself due to the safety factors. I will bring in an expert to do any gas work that is necessary.

It is kind of like plumbing I do myself. I have to leave a pail underneath for a couple of weeks while I wait for the pipe to stop leaking.

I can't catch gas in a pail.

[pmillen]

We specified a natural gas (methane) kitchen range because we preferred it.  Simmering without burning is easy, especially since I have an infinitely adjustable heat source.  And when I turn it off, it's off.  There's no red-hot coil slowly cooling down and continuing to add heat to the pan.  Even thicker sauces, like pasta sauce, simmer without burning (although I confess I'm in the habit of periodic stirring).

The oven is convection and is controlled in such a way that the gas flame reduces as it approaches the setting.  From that point on it varies up and down to maintain an accurate temperature.  I suspect that it's a PID.

[JoeGrilling]

An additional problem for us is that we don't cook on gas, which is what is piped into most residential kitchens which use gas for stove tops. We cook on propane. We even had to buy appliances that were special for propane and not gas  At the time, I was advised that propane cooks hotter than gas.  I truly despise it.  I wish I had an induction cook top.

This brings back memories.  My mom inherited a fairly new "gas stove" from her mom in New Jersey.  We moved to Maryland a few years later and it was only bottled propane there.   The stove ran on propane without any modifications.  My mom loved the even heating of a gas oven.  She refused to be converted to electric. 

We spec'd a gas cooktop for our current home.  My wife makes a lot of soup on our cook top that requires a lot of simmering.  All of our pots are thick bottomed to distribute the heat.   

[pmillen]

This brings back memories.  My mom inherited a fairly new "gas stove" from her mom in New Jersey.  We moved to Maryland a few years later and it was only bottled propane there.   The stove ran on propane without any modifications.

That's unusual.  Natural gas and propane normally require different gas jets.

[yorkdude]

This brings back memories.  My mom inherited a fairly new "gas stove" from her mom in New Jersey.  We moved to Maryland a few years later and it was only bottled propane there.   The stove ran on propane without any modifications.

That's unusual.  Natural gas and propane normally require different gas jets.

As well as a different spring in regulator or different regulator altogether.
At least that's how we have had to do ours.

[slaga]

In my opinion:

Induction>>Gas>>>>Electric (I cannot answer the poll if you lump induction in with electric)

Induction should not be lumped in with electric, although they share the same fuel source. They are not the same by any stretch of the imagination. I have cooked with all 3 and induction is my favorite by far. Induction has higher highs and lower lows than gas. The heat in the bottom of the pan is much more evenly distributed with induction compared to gas. 90% to 95% of the energy you buy goes right into the bottom of the pan with induction. 50% to 60% of the gas you buy goes right around the pan and heats the kitchen, which is fine during the winter but really sucks during the summer when your air conditioner has to cool the same air back down. Because the induction burner does not produce heat itself, it is much easier to clean than gas or standard electric. Induction has the same instant off like gas. When you turn induction or gas off on a pot about to boil over, both stop boiling immediately, unlike standard electric. Induction is very repeatable and by that I mean if setting 4.5 is correct for frying protein, every time you walk up to the range you can set it to 4.5 and start cooking, without worrying about it getting too hot or not hot enough. With gas you set it where you think you did last time, look at the flame and adjust to the correct flame, start cooking and then adjust again if it gets too hot or not hot enough.

From an actual cooking standpoint gas and induction are on par with one another with a slight nod to induction for the higher highs and lower lows, and better repeat-ability and more evenly distributed heat source, in my opinion. From a cleaning standpoint, induction all the way.

Bentley, Have you considered using one of those round cast iron griddles on the burner and then putting the pan you want to simmer with on the cast iron griddle? It would act much like the flat top used in commercial kitchens. All they are is a gas burner under a 1/2" to 3/4" plate steel.

[slaga]

Gas adjusts more quickly. You need to allow electric time to cool down. I have had both and much prefer gas.

This is not true for induction, which is lumped in with electric at the moment. Induction adjusts just as fast as gas, in every aspect.

[JoeGrilling]

This brings back memories.  My mom inherited a fairly new "gas stove" from her mom in New Jersey.  We moved to Maryland a few years later and it was only bottled propane there.   The stove ran on propane without any modifications.

That's unusual.  Natural gas and propane normally require different gas jets.

As well as a different spring in regulator or different regulator altogether.
At least that's how we have had to do ours.

Yup.  I was surprised too.  My Kirkland BBQ grill was shipped with the conversion kit.   My mom's stove was from the late 50's and it was switched to bottled gas in the early 60's. 

[Trooper]

You and I are definitely gonna part ways on this one, BentMan.

I used to cook on a glass top electric and I HATED it.
Trying to regulate the heat was a ridiculous project. When we remodeled our kitchen I had a natural gas line installed at location of the range and went with a GE gas range. Ahh. Life is beautiful again.

I refuse to believe that you actually prefer a electric stovetop compared to a gas range. And you ask, How do I simmer things? I turn the burner down to a tiny whisper and simmer away. How simple is that!

[LowSlowJoe]

IMHO, Induction reacts even faster then gas.    ( and definitely should not be lumped in with electric ).

 It's crazy how fast induction changes temperature.  I don't fully understand why it's so much faster than gas, but do understand some of the theories.   The induction actually causes the metal in the bottom of the pan to heat, not the surface of the stove itself, and not even the bottom surface of the pan, but potentially the entire thickness of the magnetic part of the bottom of the pan.  With gas, the flames heat up the bottom of the pan, and the metal that the pan sits on, the heat travels from the outer surface from the bottom of the pan, through the thickness of the pan, to where it makes contact with the food.   On Induction, the entire magnetic base of the pan becomes hot, due to the magnetic forces.     If I boil a bot of water on my natural gas burner, it might take 5 to 10 seconds for the bubbles to stop coming off the bottom inner surface of the pan. With Induction, if I turn off the burner while boiling water, the bubbles seem to disappear almost instantly , I mean like less than 2 seconds.   Now, my gas stove has cast iron burner grates, so those must retain heat and keep the bottom of the pan warm longer, or something.  All I know for sure, is I'm 100% convinced, induction cooktop is capable of changing temperature seen at the  cooking surface of a pan far more rapidly than gas burner/flames can.

 Only reasons I'm not 100% ready to switch from Gas to Induction are...    I can get higher BTU output from my gas stove than I can with most induction burners.    And, if I lift a pan off a gas stove burner by a inch or two, the pan doesn't instantly start to cool,  with induction , if you lift the pan off the surface by even one inch, the pan starts to cool very very quickly.   So, I still prefer gas for some cooking. I love induction, but not for everything.

[BC Buck]

Have two glass tops and will NEVER again. There sell is easy to keep clean. The problem is then the metal pans heat they expand. The bottom of cookware bows out and its like cooking on a bowling ball. Also your pan is making partial contact with element and you get poor heat transfer. I have spent a fortune on expensive cookware designed for glass top with no luck.

[bregent]

>I have spent a fortune on expensive
>cookware designed for glass top with no luck.

We've had a ceramic cooktop for almost 20 years, and I'm not crazy about it, mostly for the reason you stated. But we've got several Scanpans and never had a warp problem with them - after close to 15 years, the skillets are still perfectly flat. They're expensive but I like the way they perform - give them a try if you haven't already and plan on keeping the glass top.

When we had natural gas plumbed to our outside bbq area, I also had the plumber install gas-line in the cabinet under the cooktop in hope we would get a gas cooktop - but we haven't been able to find a decent one that would fit into the space. Now I'm thinking about switching to induction, but have never tried it.

[cookingjnj]

I prefer gas mostly due to feeling it is easier to regulate the heat while cooking either very high or very low.  I do not have any issues with my gas stove top simmering at low temps.  My Mother in Law has always had electric ranges, and I really do not like cooking on the electric stoves.  It is what you get used to I guess.

[LowSlowJoe]

Interesting.  I haven't seen any pan failures yet with my induction cooktop.  But then, I don't use mine full time, it really mainly gets used for simmering , and once a week or so, to boil 9 quarts of water in a 16 quart kettle/pot.