# Everything you always wondered about cooking with gas **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 1, 2023, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-you-always-wondered-about-cooking-with-gas/992413 "2023-11-01T13:27:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2023, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-you-always-wondered-about-cooking-with-gas/992413/21 "2023-11-01T17:54:01Z")
As I said last time this topic came up in discussion at a family get-together, “An electric stove can hurt me, but a gas stove can kill me. And it can kill me in _two completely different ways!_” ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2023, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-you-always-wondered-about-cooking-with-gas/992413/22 "2023-11-01T18:09:01Z")
I have seen ranges that had both gas _and_ induction, so you do not have to be decisive. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2023, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-you-always-wondered-about-cooking-with-gas/992413/23 "2023-11-01T18:14:23Z")
I never forgot to turn off my gas burners. I forget to turn off the electric ones we have now fairly often. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2023, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-you-always-wondered-about-cooking-with-gas/992413/24 "2023-11-01T18:15:52Z")
If you have an induction stove, that won’t cause a problem (unless you have way, way too much iron in your blood, I guess). ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2023, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-you-always-wondered-about-cooking-with-gas/992413/25 "2023-11-01T18:27:22Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Is there really that big of a difference if you boiled water with a gas flame versus an electric coil? I don’t know how big the difference is, but a gas flame heats the pan and the air all around it. With electric there is direct contact between the heating element and the pan, so less leakage. With induction, there is virtually zero leakage–all the energy goes into heating the pan. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2023, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-you-always-wondered-about-cooking-with-gas/992413/26 "2023-11-01T18:27:24Z")
Sadly, I have no choice in the matter. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2023, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-you-always-wondered-about-cooking-with-gas/992413/27 "2023-11-01T19:31:10Z")
> [@glowacks](#): > > Gas cooking is extremely wasteful in terms of heat delivery. I’m paying for it. Everyone else who is not paying for it, can just fuck right off on that. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2023, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-you-always-wondered-about-cooking-with-gas/992413/28 "2023-11-01T19:32:51Z")
Agree. I know the flame. I know what it can do. It works great with cast iron. Gas it is. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2023, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-you-always-wondered-about-cooking-with-gas/992413/29 "2023-11-01T19:47:34Z")
The stove is gas, the furnace is gas, the dryer is gas, the water heater is gas, even the outdoor grill is piped natural gas. Ain’t changing anytime soon. (I’d have to think the furnace would be a bigger health deal than the stove given that it runs much more often and vents throughout the house) ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2023, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-you-always-wondered-about-cooking-with-gas/992413/30 "2023-11-01T20:21:04Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Why would the method used to heat an insulated oven matter? There is a big difference in the oven. A gas oven is basically a chimney where air enters the bottom, is combusted and the (heated) products of combustion exits the top. An electric oven is more of a sealed chamber that is heated. I was made aware of this difference when I noticed that the kitchen was not getting warmer when I turned the oven on when I got an electric oven. I was very surprised of how efficient the electric oven was (that at least that was my thinking of it at the time) > [@hajario](#): > > Is there really that big of a difference if you boiled water with a gas flame versus an electric coil? Likewise but to a lesser degree than the above, there is quite a bit of heat that goes ‘up’ with gas around the pot. I can feel the air current from it and it can be quite warm. This is really not the case with electric. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2023, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-you-always-wondered-about-cooking-with-gas/992413/31 "2023-11-01T20:23:06Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > (I’d have to think the furnace would be a bigger health deal than the stove given that it runs much more often and vents throughout the house) Well it could be if it was malfunctioning, however if it was working properly the products of combustion in the furnace is vented outside, while a stove and oven, even with a hooded vent, still can have lots of the products of combustion inside. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2023, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-you-always-wondered-about-cooking-with-gas/992413/32 "2023-11-01T20:24:44Z")
> [@Common\_Tater](#): > > I’m paying for it. Everyone else who is not paying for it, can just fuck right off on that. Thanks. Who isn’t paying for global warming, your welcome 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2023, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-you-always-wondered-about-cooking-with-gas/992413/33 "2023-11-01T20:44:10Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > if it was working properly the products of combustion in the furnace is vented outside Good point. Was idle musing as I listed gas appliances and I didn’t consider that. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2023, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-you-always-wondered-about-cooking-with-gas/992413/34 "2023-11-01T20:54:45Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I’ll use an electric stove when restaurants start using them. There is no comparison between the (terrible) resistive heating elements you probably have experience with and induction ‘burners’. The restaurant industry tends to be very conservative but induction burners have a lot of benefits over natural gas and propane, including heating up faster, controlling temperature with greater precision, and being much easier to clean and maintain. Of course, you can only use ferromagnetic cookware, and you can’t just slam pots and pans down on the glass surface, but the advantages over gas are manifest, notwithstanding the pollution hazard of unburned and partially burned hydrocarbon aerosols. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2023, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-you-always-wondered-about-cooking-with-gas/992413/35 "2023-11-01T21:13:59Z")
When we replaced our old electric stove, we inquired into getting one with a combination electric convection oven and gas range, but they weren’t available locally. The salespeople we talked to offered us stoves with induction burners as the next best thing, but I use a cast iron skillet and I’m not very gentle with my movements when I’m in the middle of cooking, so I was pretty sure I’d end up damaging it sooner rather than later. At the very least, I thought I’d scratch it dragging the cast iron across the top. Have they started making models that are less delicate than they used to be? ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2023, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-you-always-wondered-about-cooking-with-gas/992413/36 "2023-11-01T21:21:03Z")
> [@Common\_Tater](#): > > I’m paying for it. Not really. The costs of global warming are in no way part of what you’re paying for, especially if you’re in the US. If we had a solid carbon tax here that would properly price all carbon usage (clean up, mitigation, reallocation of those impacted by climate change, etc.), then the market would sort it all out, but a carbon tax is DOA. So, if natural gas and propane prices were set to include those externalities, then, sure, make your choice and pay for it. But, until that happens, you’re not really paying for it. (Neither am I – I have a natural gas stove at home and a propane one at another house. We looked at an induction stove, but it was much more money. Now, if carbon were taxed, maybe we would have made a different decision) ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2023, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-you-always-wondered-about-cooking-with-gas/992413/37 "2023-11-01T21:24:42Z")
I agree totally about conventional electric ranges. I was forced to cook on one for nine years of my life. I don’t know much about what it’s like to cook on an induction stove except a lot of my beloved pans won’t work on it. And they are wicked expensive. But I am willing to try it out. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2023, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-you-always-wondered-about-cooking-with-gas/992413/38 "2023-11-01T21:26:04Z")
When China quits burning coal I’ll consider my personal input to global warming. But y’all gotta quit with the woodstoves and patio pits. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2023, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-you-always-wondered-about-cooking-with-gas/992413/39 "2023-11-01T21:59:38Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > induction burners have a lot of benefits over natural gas and propane, including heating up faster, controlling temperature with greater precision, and being much easier to clean and maintain. Of course, you can only use ferromagnetic cookware, and you can’t just slam pots and pans down on the glass surface I agree with this; I am not sure they’re all glass surfaces. I used a hot-plate style one in a cooking school that had a metal surface. I just replace my gas cooktop. I considered switching to induction for the reasons you mention, but the salesman said I would have to have a dedicated 220v circuit installed, so I decided not to. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2023, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-you-always-wondered-about-cooking-with-gas/992413/40 "2023-11-01T22:10:11Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > but the salesman said I would have to have a dedicated 220v circuit installed So, the other reason we went with propane on that stove was because of that. Of course, when the old stove was pulled out, what did I find? A 220v circuit, just sitting there waiting. Oh well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-you-always-wondered-about-cooking-with-gas/992413.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-you-always-wondered-about-cooking-with-gas/992413.md?page=3)