Readers Respond: Gas or Electric Stoves? Which do you prefer and why.

Responses: 65

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I just moved to a new apartment and I miss my gas stove/range so much! I burn food so easily on these electric units. Safety-wise they are about the same. Sure, gas could explode. But an electric range could short and start a fire, too. Get a CO detector to be safe and don't worry about it. The post about gas fumes made me laugh a bit. If you can smell gas when cooking something is wrong with your stove, get the gas leak fixed! Natural gas has no smell on its own, the gas companies add sulfur to give it a bad smell specifically so you'll know if you have a leak. It's a safety precaution and if you ignore it and whine about the smell of gas, you're getting what you deserve.
—Guest Cooking away

Electric is way cleaner - I love to cook and find a quality halogen/ceramic can't be beaten. No fumes so all I smell is aroma of fresh food & spices - not carbon monoxide & charred burners/ pan bottom- you really notice the difference. Plus 2 swipes and your hob is clean. Gas can be messy and all that combustion/ condensation etc. I find mine easy to control. Electricity is renewable energy (i.e. solar) - gas is not. Therefore... all that plus all the fumes means I prefer electric ; )
—Guest Ami

The gas stove is better because. 1.It is not electric. 2. It takes long to heat up
—Guest Jean

I preferred electric stove as it safe if we live in apartment buiilding if gas stove in apartment building tenants left the gas stove on by accident BOOM!!! exploded. So I preferred electric stove is safe living in apartment building or condo
—Guest MARKIE

Electric stoves are the best!.I just came to Brazil for a visit from my home in Carlifornia.Gas stoves are so hot!! and very hard to maintain. Unlike the electric stoves at home which are so convenient. The only reason i kinda like gas stoves is b'cos food can be cooked at any time. But anyways i still prefer electric to gas. Maybe b'cos i'm not used to them.Lol.to every one!!
—Guest lila

I've had better cooking results using a gas stove, but will not live in home with gas appliance again after carbon monoxide incident. So, now I'm learning to use the electric stove in my apt but I really don't have the knack of it yet. I have noticed that the temperature has to be adjusted lower for every recipe in the oven and stove top.
—Guest precook

Gas gives you faster response when you want to change the heating rate. With electric, you have to wait for the element's thermal inertia to catch up. Electric heat is more spread out, so with gas you need better quality pans. There's not much heat in domestic gas flames so if you cook at high heats (like if you stir fry and sear a lot) you'll find that domestic gas ranges are too weak. Commercial-grade gas burners give much more heat because they burn much more gas.
—Guest R McD

I prefer the quality of meals and bakes done by gas. With my gas cooker, I get better reslts.I decided to get myself an electric oven because finding the best all-in-one gas cooker (gas tops,oven and gas house) was so difficult. So, I had to buy a glass table top 2 burner gas cooker and an electric oven. The food on the cooker is nice but the cakes in the electric oven turn to rocks after a day in the fridge.
—Christabel_Oyindamola

I prefer a Gas Stove or I should say one that I can use with Propane, since I live in the country and not able to get Natural Gas, Propane is the next best thing. Its and even heat and does not smell, and I can Bake very well with one. Sourdough Bread is my preferred choice to Bake.
—Guest Art Miller

We live in Taiwan (think Miami). My wife was raised on gas and I have learned to hate it. Grease everywhere, a kitchen so hot you can smoke a hams in February. The real problem is the brand, construction and design. We have oh so 'cool' German appliances. They are TERRIBLE. Everything is supposedly intuitive except for figuring what the squiggly lines mean. The oven is a failure, way too small, 13w-5d, and no where near hot enough to do a big bird properly for the holidays. We have three eyes on the range, not four, so much for urban chic. The worst is the grill layout. You must be ever so careful because if you aren't you hot pan will tip on you! Overall, it is a pain to cook with unless it is like a proper chef's range wherein the entire thing is one flat piece of stainless steel with the burners below. Now, that's "cookin'" the right way. Easy to clean and precise temp control. I was raised on an electric and do so dearly miss that concept of self-cleaning oven.
—JMichaelH

I like my electric stove, and oven which cleans itself, except when the electricity is off, which happens in rural area, especially in the winter in USA. Also a gas oven helps heat the kitchen if the power is off in a blizzard. I am presently living in Kenya and the kitchen stove is both gas and has an electric oven and one electric burner. The cost of gas is less expensive here so I use the gas burners most of the time. My neighbor had a few electric burners on top but a gas oven. When the electricity is off, which is several times a week sometimes, it would be nice to have a gas oven. I once took a dish to put in her oven, as I had already mixed it up and then our area's electricity was shut off for the day and did not come on until that night. I do think that electric ovens stay cleaner and the area above the electric burners are cleaner also. Aren't we lucky not to have to gather firewood to cook on our stove.
—Guest Rose Dobler

Most houses are equipt with elec for cooking... here in Arkansas. So have learned to use electric. I prefer gas because it can be controled immediatly.. Elec is a contact fuel source.. therefore take the coils some time to reduce in temperature. Prefer Gas. .
—Arkansas_Granny

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