# Help me cook with an electric range. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 26, 2005, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-with-an-electric-range/323513 "2005-09-26T16:35:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jpeg\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@Jpeg\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jpeg_Jones)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-with-an-electric-range/323513/1 "2005-09-26T16:35:46Z")
So I have a brand new electric range, the kind with a smooth glass top. And before you ask, no I’m not changing to gas. Long story. Anyway, yesterday I put the kettle on, only it was still wet on the bottom from being rinsed. When the element got hot enough, it began to boil the water droplets on the bottom and made the kettle jump and splatter and jiggle. Very disconcerting. So, I’ll have to watch out for that. I think I’ll need more electric range cooking tips. Anyone have any techniques or advice to pass along? ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-with-an-electric-range/323513/2 "2005-09-26T16:46:43Z")
> [@Jpeg Jones](#): > > Anyway, yesterday I put the kettle on, only it was still wet on the bottom from being rinsed. When the element got hot enough, it began to boil the water droplets on the bottom and made the kettle jump and splatter and jiggle. Very disconcerting. Eh, you can do that all you want. It’s just water. As for tips…well…electric ranges, IMO, suck. There is no fine temp control, no FAST temp control (I do not like taking five minutes to go from a boil to a simmer…it should be five seconds,) and dangerous. Yes, more dangerous than gas. A lot of people think gas is so horrible because if it leaks, it will explode. Have you ever smelled gas? The chemical they add to stinkify it is very strong. You will smell it long before the concentration gets high enough to blow up. But a gas stove, well, that burner stays hot long after you turn it off, and there’s not always a way to tell it’s on (I can only tell if my burner is on when it’s on high, then it’s red hot, otherwise, still black.) What if you put a piece of paper, or your hand, or a kid puts their hand, on that hot burner? At least with gas you have an actual flame you can see, and the burner cools off quicker after you turn it off. That being said, just remember that it does take longer to heat up, and change temps, than a gas stove. The only real benefit of an electric stove is that the oven part (if it has an oven) is often more accurate than a gas. A gas oven has to turn the burner off and on and off and on to get the temp right, and behaves more like a sine wave of temp than a striaght line, wheras some electrics just have a set amount of current they run through the heating elements to give a set temperature. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-with-an-electric-range/323513/3 "2005-09-26T17:31:33Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > But a **gas** stove, well, that burner stays hot long after you turn it off, and there’s not always a way to tell it’s on… You meant to say Electric, yes? Re the OP: I do not have a glass cooktop, but read a tip in either Eating Well or Chow magazine this past month that glass cooktops require that your pots all be nice & flat on the bottom (which rules out a lot of older, dented cookware) because the pot needs smooth contact with the cooktop, or the burner cycles on & off too much and you lose what little temperature control you had. I hope never to have to give us gas, myself. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-with-an-electric-range/323513/4 "2005-09-26T17:32:48Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > I hope never to have to give us gas, myself. Or give UP gas, either. ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-with-an-electric-range/323513/5 "2005-09-26T18:21:41Z")
I love my glass top range. The only thing I don’t like about it is, the pan has to be the same size or smaller than the burner. It can’t stick out further than the edge or it will scorch the glass. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-with-an-electric-range/323513/6 "2005-09-26T18:27:22Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > You meant to say Electric, yes? :smack: Yes, I did. And a glass-top range? Ick. As mentioend, your pots and pans need to be flat and closer in shspe to the burner size. Although, it IS, by far, the easiest type of range to clean, so you do have that going for you. Still, I love gas, and can’t wait till I move out of this crappy apartment with it’s electric range (the downstairs neighbor has gas, why the hell can’t I? :mad: ) ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-with-an-electric-range/323513/7 "2005-09-26T19:30:31Z")
> [@hillbilly queen](#): > > I love my glass top range. The only thing I don’t like about it is, the pan has to be the same size or smaller than the burner. It can’t stick out further than the edge or it will scorch the glass. Is that just yours? I used my mom’s for years and never had a problem with that. She did have a fancy one where some of the burners had two sizes, though, but never a problem with “scorching” the glass. And there’s a light that’s on if the burners are still hot. I miss it because it was so easy to clean. ---
**Author:** ![EnderWay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d26b3c/32.png) [@EnderWay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnderWay)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-cook-with-an-electric-range/323513/8 "2005-09-26T19:48:10Z")
When cooking on an eletric stove top just switch the pot/pan to an unused burner when you need to remove the heat source. You can leave the other burner on and switch back and forth as needed. Or maybe if your lucky your counter top can take the direct heat from a pot/pan just removed from a burner. I realize that sometimes your cooking so much stuff that maybe you don’t have a free burner but most of the time you should have one or two free!