electric cooking

[PASteelers]

For all of my husband's military career I have always managed to live in a home with gas appliances. Now we are moving into our home in the Villages with electric ones. Any suggestions about the difference between gas versus electric??? I can burn things like a pro on my gas stove....a proficient cook I am NOT!!! I don't want my first meet and greet to be the fire truck!
Thanks for your input.
Jan

[travelguy]

My mother embraced electric cooking as son as it was available, so I am guessing that was around 1950. I have cooked on electric ranges all of my life, and the few times I had to use a gas stove were not good experiences. Simmering/very low heat is impossible on gas as the slightest bit of air movement puts the flame out. Electirc cooking taught me to anticipate turning down the heat , making adjustments, and now with the ceramic/glass cooktops the cleanup is so easy.
I would never have gas appliances in my home.

[Bay Kid]

Electric is safer for my parents, plus that is what Dad wants. Mom is still waiting for the 1st gas microwave open!

[Birdie Dreamer]

I will leave the nuances to the good cooks.

Main thing to remember is gas is instant heat and instant off. Electric is slow to heat and slow to cool down.

So give yourself a head start on dinner and do not leave pots on the burner after you turn it off.

[asianthree]

its a process to change from gas to electric...but your pans will be prettier on the bottom

[ugotme]

Much prefer gas!
What I do when I am supposed to boil then lower and simmer is put the next burner on low ahead of time and move what I am cooking there after it starts to boil.
Reason - while moving the dial to low will eventually work it takes several minutes and you may burn the food.
Still can not get real fluffy scrambled eggs on electric. Must be doing something wrong. Never had a problem with gas. OH WELL !

[SpicyCajunPugs]

I too like gas stovetops, but did not like the possible dangers and drawbacks. My husband burned many things on our previous electric tops by not removing a pan after turning the heat down or off, so I needed to come up with a solution in the Villages. WE FOUND IT !!! We got an induction stovetop, which the Villages allowed us to order through them when we designed our house. It goes instantly on and off just like gas, but it is much more green and efficient than normal electric tops, and much safer than both regular electric and gas because it will not explode and does not stay hot to the touch. Once you turn it off, or even if you forget, when there is no pan on the burner, it instantly turns off with no heat. Only the pan obtains the heat. The only drawback, which isn't much in my opinion, is you cannot use aluminum pots and pans as they will not conduct the induction heat. Most stainless steel and all iron pans work. We love it, and no more burned food and no burned on mess at all !!!!

[batman911]

Most professional chefs prefer gas over electric. You can have gas in any home in TV by burying a propane tank in your yard.

[Russ_Boston]

Still can not get real fluffy scrambled eggs on electric.

Eggs need low and slow to be fluffy. Start pan on high for about 2-3 minute then immediately down to 4 or less. Don't mess with them much. Just break them up with wooden spoon and do not, repeat do not, overcook.

Tip: When beating eggs that you want fluffy - try about 2-3 tbs. of milk or water mixed in. Something about the reaction - saw it on Alton Brown's show which discusses science of cooking. Works for me.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/perfect-scrambled-eggs-recipe/index.html

[Russ_Boston]

Most professional chefs prefer gas over electric. You can have gas in any home in TV by burying a propane tank in your yard.

Yes but many kitchens of restaurants have flat tops which get heated from underneath by gas burners not direct flame to pans (for example watch Hell's kitchen's burners). And many restaurants will re-heat when ordered by placing under a broiler (salamander) Salamander Broiler, Commercial Broiler, Commercial Oven, Restaurant Equipment (http://www.centralrestaurant.com/Salamander+Broilers-pl1043.html?cid=WSPCBICEPSB4196)

[ugotme]

Eggs need low and slow to be fluffy. Start pan on high for about 2-3 minute then immediately down to 4 or less. Don't mess with them much. Just break them up with wooden spoon and do not, repeat do not, overcook.

Tip: When beating eggs that you want fluffy - try about 2-3 tbs. of milk or water mixed in. Something about the reaction - saw it on Alton Brown's show which discusses science of cooking. Works for me.

Perfect Scrambled Eggs Recipe : Alton Brown : Recipes : Food Network (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/perfect-scrambled-eggs-recipe/index.html)


We will have to give it another try. Thanks Russ. Never worried about it much with gas - eggs ALWAYS came out fluffy. Always add a little milk to the eggs before I scramble them.

Maybe I just got too impatient with the electric. We will see.

[babyjayne]

Check out an electric induction range....easier to control than gas and top stays pretty cool. Instant heat and off. Just got a KitchenAide.

[Toscana]

Agree with Babyjane...Induction is a great alternative to gas. I have one and love it! Finding pans for it can be a bit challenging in TV but more and more are becoming available.

[BarryRX]

Eggs need low and slow to be fluffy. Start pan on high for about 2-3 minute then immediately down to 4 or less. Don't mess with them much. Just break them up with wooden spoon and do not, repeat do not, overcook.

Tip: When beating eggs that you want fluffy - try about 2-3 tbs. of milk or water mixed in. Something about the reaction - saw it on Alton Brown's show which discusses science of cooking. Works for me.

Perfect Scrambled Eggs Recipe : Alton Brown : Recipes : Food Network (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/perfect-scrambled-eggs-recipe/index.html)

I agree...low and slow is the best way to cook scrambled eggs. I also scramble them with a chop stick to ensure I get small curds. My personal favorite is the way Julia Child did them. Melt butter over low heat and wait till it stops bubbling. Beat the eggs in a bowl, but not too much. Julia liked having the white and yellow colors. Give the eggs a moment or two to start to set up and start scrambling. Remove from heat (she liked them very loose) and add a bit more butter to stop the cooking process and because its French! delicious! P.s. almost forgot.....I also add a bit of water to them before cooking as well as salt.

[CaptJohn]

I scramble my fluffy eggs in a microwave. The milk is the secret to fluffy (learned that from a cook at Waffle House) and take them out to scramble every 25 seconds for about a total of 75 seconds or when they look like you want them to. Instant shutoff!

If you want gas and natural is not available, then propane is the next best, plus it's made from natural gas, just under a higher pressure.

[graciegirl]

There are two things I am told I do pretty well. One of them is to cook.

I find that electricity is easy to adapt to. You must learn to remove the pan from the heat at the end of the process and be patient at the beginnng.

Both gas and electric cooking is using conducted heat through a pan, in electric cooking the difference is adjusting the level of it and not expecting it to be hot immediately and stop being hot at the end is the key.

The rest is the same. Except for catching brandy on fire from the open flame.

[gjbl8114]

Birdie Dreamer has said it all - I think that answer is what you should be guided by. Electric verses Gas as with other things is simply a matter of preference. Most cooks, people who are avid cooks generally prefer gas. You'll never find an electric range in a chef's home or any restaurant, but then again, you have already indicated that you don't profess to be a cook per sey.... Just follow Birdie's advice and you won't go wrong...