ddb@mrvax.DEC (DAVID DYER-BENNET MRO1-2/L14 DTN 231-4076) (02/15/85)
I find electric stoves considerably preferable to gas stoves for three basic reasons: 1. Having gas piped into the house scares me, too (and I don't even live in an earthquake area). 2. Electric stoves produce a more stable and controllable low heat than gas stoves do (they tend to go out). 3. Electric stoves in general produce more heat on their highest settings than do gas stoves. (True in my experience of not all that many specific stoves; the generalization based on more facts is from Consumer's Reports.) The problem with an electric stove is that you cannot instantly\ increase or reduce the heat level by turning knobs. Normally, by reasonable planning I avoid the need of doing this. In an emergency I can reduce heat by lifting the pan off the burner (if my advance planning didn't work out). Also, I tend to prefer heavy pans, especially cast iron; they hold heat, so even on a gas stove turning off the flame wouldn't remove the heat from the food. I have seen (and used) electric stoves with only a few (5 or 6) discrete heat levels. These are an abomination. They don't seem to be the mainstream of modern electric stoves, I'm pleased to say. But electric stoves still don't transfer heat to a wok as well as I'd like. One possibility is to get one of the bottled-gas wok burners for that special case. One possibility is to get a good electric wok (and let me know if you find one). We won't even consider giving up chineese food. -- David Dyer-Bennet -- ...decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-mrvax!ddb
mmr@ritcv.UUCP (Margaret Reek) (02/18/85)
> > I find electric stoves considerably preferable to gas stoves for three > basic reasons: > > 1. Having gas piped into the house scares me, too (and I don't > even live in an earthquake area). > 2. Electric stoves produce a more stable and controllable low > heat than gas stoves do (they tend to go out). > 3. Electric stoves in general produce more heat on their highest > settings than do gas stoves. (True in my experience of not > all that many specific stoves; the generalization based on > more facts is from Consumer's Reports.) > Electric stoves may not go out, but they do not produce a constant level of heat at low levels; they turn the various elements on for a period of time, then let them go off. For most things, the net effect is the same as having the elements on at a low level all the time. However, if you use a pressure cooker, the constant fluctuations in temperature change the pressure. If you are canning in the pressure cooker, this fluctuation can force food out of the top of the jars, and if the pressure drops below the required level requires that the timing start all over again. I would gladly trade my electric burners for gas burners, but there is no gas in our area, and those propane tanks are ugly as well as a nuisance. (The same does not apply to the oven, I once had a gas oven blow its door off because the pilot wasn't really on.) Margaret Reek Rochester Institute of Technology rochester!ritcv!mmr