I find myself in a position where I will probably end up renting a cheap apartment for awhile. Almost without exception, these contain electric rather than gas stoves.
I really enjoy cooking on gas (as I’m sure many do). I really just became what I would consider a cook over the last 5 years or so after I had access to gas.
I understand that the biggest aspect to get used to is the delay in temperature change on an electric range.
Any other bits of advice to keep from ruining the first dozen meals I attempt by trial-and-error?
I like gas, too, but really, I think a lot of the hoopla over cooking with gas versus electric is not really warranted. What’s really important is that you have a range that heats up well and fits your pots - the temp change in gas isn’t really that much quicker than electric, and heck, it’s not like a hot pan full of hot stuff instantly cools down or heats up just because you turn the burner up or down regardless of what kind of heating element you have.
Every stove top is a little different - I have trouble going from my gas range to my mother’s gas range, for example. I don’t think going from gas to electric will be that much different, you just have to get used to a different stove.
Now, if you rent an apartment with a 30-year-old electric stove that hasn’t been serviced since it was new and barely works, that’s one issue. But that’d be the same regardless of if it were gas or electric.
I prefer cooking with gas, but I’ve lived in an all-electric house for the last 11 years without too many problems. Yes, the big thing is that changes in temperature are slower with electricity, so if cooking something requires quick application of heat (e.g., stir-fry), you should let the pan heat up first before adding oil and food. Similarly, if the food is cooking too fast, you need to take the pan off the stove to cool down fastest: just turning the stove off isn’t enough, because there will still be a lot of heat coming out of the stove.
However, if you want something to cook long and slowly, electricity is probably better, because at the lowest setting on a gas stove there’s a danger of the flame going out.
I wailed an gnashed my teeth, but it’s not difficult to get used to. Pay attention to how quickly (or slowly) it is heating up t first and it will go well.
Different types of electric are better than others. Ones with “exposed” coils/heating elements are best.
My current place (that I only have one more week left in! Woo!) has a glass/flat top electric. So the coils don’t directly contact the pan, they heat up the glass top above them, and that, in-turn, heats up the pan. Because there is no an intermediary step between the heating element and the pan, any kind of temperature change takes even longer to effect. Just boiling a small amount of water takes several more minutes than a regular electric. God forbid you need to simmer something, because you have to turn it down, wait about five minutes for it to finally get to the set point, see if it’s at the right level for a simmer, if it’s not, chage it and wait five more minutes.
Edit: Oh, I also want to clarify that some flat-top electrics are induction-style heaters, which are a whole 'nother ballgame. They’re as fast, if not faster, than gas, but you can only use certain kinds of pans on them.
My condolences. I’ve only lived in a place with an electric range once, and I still have spiral scorch marks on the covers of a couple of cookbooks and a wooden cutting board. In a crowded kitchen space, I was used to putting stuff on the unused burners. I was amazed how easy it was to forget that I had just turned a burner on or off, and without seeing the flame it just wouldn’t register. Make sure you have a fire extinguisher.
I actually cooked on a flat-top glass electric stove for a month or so after moving into my current house while I waited to get the gas line into the kitchen. My experience was totally different than yours - I was surprised at how fast it responded and how nice it was to cook on. That’s actually what got me into re-thinking my opinions on electric versus gas; it performed almost as well as my gas range. Considering it was a standard home stove, and my gas range was a very premium high end home unit that probably cost 5 or 6 times as much, that’s saying a lot.
And it definitely wasn’t induction - just a standard glass top electric.
I burned a lot of stuff when I had to live in a place with an electric stove. There is no visual cue as to how high the heat is like you get with actual flame, and as others have said, the changes in temperature are much slower and hard to judge. And remembering to remove a pan from the heat was a challenge, too. Especially in a small kitchen without much counter space…if you were making a big meal with all the burners in use, there is no place to put a pot that needs to come off the heat.
Thanks everybody for the input. I guess it will just be something to get used to.
That will likely be the case
Might wail and gnash teeth anyway…just for fun.
Did this on the electric stove of the last place I lived…had a plastic spoon catcher thing. Turned on the wrong burner and went out to have a cig (when I smoked)…opened the door to come in and the kitchen is filled with black smoke and the burner is on fire!
My only advice is to just try to plant the memory, “Take it off the burner,” and you will be golden. That’s always my big adjustment problem, I forget that just turning the burner off will not stop a boilover, you have to pick up the pot and move it. I think you’ll adjust fine!
This is going to sound totally dumb, but here’s what I do. Suppose the recipe calls to bring to a boil, then simmer. I use one burner set on high for the boil, then move the pot to a second burner, which I set to low for the simmer.
I don’t have to worry about how long it takes for the first burner to cool down. Of course, I do have to worry about forgetting there’s a hot burner laying in wait for me, but since I’m usually the only one in the kitchen at that point, I can deal with it.
A lot of good advice has allready been said but a few things i’ve noticed with mine which is the exposed spiral top ones, is for one getting those metal stove top covers are a wonderfull purchase to help keep things clean and also from having as many accidents plus they realitivly cheap.
Also because I’ve also had this happen if you can pick up a steel wire brush.
The reason is if you spill any food on the exposed coil or have something burn on there like a tea pot (is well missed) the brush comes in handy getting any thing that burnt on to the coil and will keep it from transfering to the other pots and such.
You mean like those coils glowing a bright orange?
I have a glass top and it heats up really fast, but as you and others have mentioned, its real drawback versus gas is taking something down from a boil to a simmer quickly. It can’t really be done with just one burner, which is why when I have to cook something like that I always have a second burner going at the appropriate temperature and just switch the skillet, pot or whatever from the boiling hot burner to the other one.
How old was that glass top? I’ve a glass top stove from the early 1990s, and we hates it, we does. OK, “hate” is perhaps a strong term, but I’m not that fond of it. I’ve learned its various idiosyncrasies, but I strongly doubt I’ll replace it with another glass top. Mine’s slow to heat up, slow to cool down, slow to do anything.
It is old, though, so there is that. Doubtless new ones are better.
I don’t actually have that stove - I only used it for a few weeks before I got a gas line put in for the stove I’ve been lugging around from house to house for 15 years or so now.
If there are no kids or cats in the house, develop a habit of turning on the burner before you reach for the pan.
When using the oven, you do actually need to pre-heat - especially for baking. Expect the top burner to be on during the pre-heat phase, most people make a lot of brown cookies and casseroles before they get used to it.
The broiler is the top burner in the oven. Put the rack on it’s highest setting and don’t close the oven door all the way when using it. It may actually broil faster than you are accustomed to, but the light will be orangey instead of blue, so things will look brown long before they really are.
With a roast, you can put it in during the heat-up phase and get a nice sear on by the time the oven gets up to temp and the burners turn down a bit.
One you become accustomed to the specific stove and it’s cool-off rate, you’ll be able to save some money by keeping it closed and shutting it off 15-30 minutes before things are done. With a really high end one, you can heat the thing up to 500, throw in a prime rib and just turn it off. 1.5 hours later - perfect beef. But a low-end one will nto be that well insulated.
Hang in there, it’s a problem, but a high-class problem.
We replaced ours, and they are better. But I still would prefer gas (no chance) or coils.
For those who may be getting a glass top stove, the main thing to remember is that your pots and pans have to have absolutely flat bottoms. If not, they will spin and dance around the stovetop, and drive you utterly bonkers.
Our first house, 30 years ago, had a gas stove by General Electric. When it broke the repair guy thought we were nuts, and it took forever to fix. Electric cooktops can be swapped in in a few minutes.
This is also true of glass topped stoves. My favorite sized teflon skillet for making grilled cheese sammiches has a slight lean to it that I never noticed until using it on this stove I have here now. I have to keep rotating the sammiches and the skillet to get even heat.
