# Why I hate electic ovens **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 7, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-electic-ovens/167089 "2003-04-07T16:15:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-electic-ovens/167089/21 "2003-04-08T13:20:48Z")
And from [this site](http://www2.us.schott.com/hometech/english/products/ceran/faq.html), it appears that there might be some dangers in using an induction cooktop if you’ve got a pacemaker or if you’re pregnant (see the footnote at the very bottom of the cited page). I suspect the pregnancy warning, however, is an example of caution run amok. It would take one hell of a monstrous magnetic field to harm a fetus. ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-electic-ovens/167089/22 "2003-04-08T13:32:42Z")
I grew up using gas and when we bought a house I purposefully chose an induction stovetop and electric oven. I agree that the coil stovetops are from satan (we had one in our first apartment), but these are really nice. We did get a higher-end one so it heats up to temp in like 3 seconds and cools down quite quickly. I can boil a big pot of water in in about 5 minutes. It always looks clean (but you do have to clean them with special cleaner - you can’t just spray them with kitchen cleaner.) ---
**Author:** ![In\_Conceivable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@In\_Conceivable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Conceivable)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-electic-ovens/167089/23 "2003-04-08T13:47:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kanicbird \* > \*\*The few times I did use electric ovens I almost always burned myself on that electric heating element. \*\* You aren’t suppose to touch the element. It gets hot. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-electic-ovens/167089/24 "2003-04-08T13:47:53Z")
We recently replaced our gas stove (we had a minor gas leak and my wife insisted on the switch) with a ceramic flat-top. For the cooking we do this works just great, although if we were into gourmet cooking it wouldn’t be the first choice. Yes, the pots should have flat bottoms, yes, the top takes a loong time to cool, but cleanup is a breeze. Also, in a very small kitchen the top provides a little extra workspace when not in use. ---
**Author:** ![Elvis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/958977/32.png) [@Elvis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elvis)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-electic-ovens/167089/25 "2003-04-08T14:25:22Z")
Nothing beats gas for the stovetop. I grew up in a house with an electric-coil stove and moving to the city and cooking with gas for the first time was quite a revelation. I have never had a problem with my gas oven, though I don’t do much baking–mostly roasting and broiling, for which it is fine. If your gas stove smells, it should be checked for a leak. All the gas that comes out should be burning, so there should be minimal odor… ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-electic-ovens/167089/26 "2003-04-08T14:58:26Z")
Gas stovetops are the BEST. No question. One of the things I was happy about when I moved in here was the gas stove. It’s also old enough that the knobs are on the front, so I can reach them without endagering my life. Some of us short people have trouble reaching waaaaay to the back of a stove without burning ourselves! ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-electic-ovens/167089/27 "2003-04-08T16:00:21Z")
The four months I lived with a gas stove and oventop were horrible. I **love** my electric stove and oven. Wouldn’t ever change. and **kanicbird** – buy a F#$%in oven mitt or two 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-electic-ovens/167089/28 "2003-04-09T10:34:24Z")
Again another suggestion to spend money and to make cooking less convenent just to use an electric oven. Like I said before most of my oven usage is broiling, you can’t easily turn a steak with a oven mit on. Oven mits are for removing hot pots from the oven, not for turning steaks. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-electic-ovens/167089/29 "2003-04-09T18:48:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Early Out \* > \*\*Sounds good, but remember that you’ve got to have [the right kinds of pots and pans](http://www.inductionsystems.com/cookware.html). Aluminum, for instance, won’t work at all on an induction cooktop. \*\* True, the pots and pans you use have to have a magnetic base, and obviously aluminum cookware isn’t going to have that. (Less obviously, neither will all stainless steel cookware.) We use mostly IKEA’s 365+ line of cookware, which is affordable and works wonderfully on an induction stove. Cast iron also works well. I can’t believe some of the prices for the cookware they’re hawking on that site :eek: The owner’s manual mentions potential problems for pacemaker users, but nothing about pregnant women. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-electic-ovens/167089.md?page=1)