So, what we do we know about stoves? Seems my ancient electric stove is about to completely shut down, having two burners that do not work. Going to buy a gas one (I have an outlet). Any suggestions, as this is something I’ve never even thought about buying before? And I’m not made of money, so think quality but thrifty.
What is the difference between open and sealed burners on a gas stove? And when they say 30″ stove, they are referring to the width, correct? Not the depth…
asdf
As a lifelong renter, having lived in, oh, 20 places, I’ve come, believe it or not, to prefer the electric stove. Pillar me if you will, I can work it better than a gas stove.
Cacti
You’ll never regret ditching the electric.
The difference in temperature control will make you wonder why you waited so long.
That said, I’ve never purchased a new stove, so, I’m not much help on that front.
Kevin
Get another, used if necessary, electric stove. I’m 57, and have NEVER been comfortable using a gas stove. Plus, they can blow up, which I’ve never heard of an electrical one doing.
idioteraser
Gas cooks a lot faster then electric so you will have to adjust cooking times when using the burners plus no preheating of the oven. Plus there is the issue of increased safety since when turned off grease fires die almost instantly since the source of heat is kaput, plus no eyes that retain heat for a long time.
TaMara (BHF)
Oh, boy, You have no idea what controversy you’ve entered into now.
I, personally, after cooking for years on both electric and gas prefer…..electric. And a glass top at that. I feel I have much more control over an electric stove than gas. And forget being able to walk away and let something simmer on a gas stove. Doesn’t happen. And I’ve cooked on a professional grade gas stove.
Let the flaming begin. (see what I did there, I made a funny).
chopper
@asdf:
you, sir, are everything that is wrong with america. why don’t you tell us how to microwave a bowl of pizza or cut hot dogs into cereal.
idioteraser
@Kevin:
Electrics have a habit of catching on fire. Plus explosions are due to idiots installing them or chopping into the gas line. Also if the power goes out you can ignite the burners on the top giving you the ability to cook. Just have to use very long matches or those candle lighters. Set the gas burner on the ignite setting to have the lowest amount of gas coming out.
Bill
If you’ve got both electric and gas, think about a dual-fuel range- gas burners with electric oven. Gas ovens can be a little hot-spotty if you bake. If you don’t bake much, straight gas will be cheaper.
idioteraser
@TaMara (BHF):
You can simmer on a gas. You set the temp lower you cannot leave it for hours same with an electric unless you put more water in it.
Ana Gama
The perfect stove has gas burners on top, and an electric oven. But they are expensive.
Keith G
A lot of folks get whacked out about stoves. I have cooked in several good professional kitchens along side some very gifted professionals (I’m trying to join them).
Two things struck me right off. No designer cookware, no designer stoves and the cuisine was still magnificent.
Short story – get something that is reliable and cleans up well. Save your money for pet food and vet bills.
Edit – Better add: Get gas.
tom p
30″ refer to the width. All residential stoves are designed to fit in a standard countertop (25″). Don’t know about sealed v open burners.
kommrade reproductive vigor
Congrats on the move to gas. I’ve had both and gas is just better. (Flame War On!) Plus, if you lose power you’ll at least have the burners. (I assume all stoves are now electric start so you won’t have an oven.)
We recently got one of these because the ancient one died (on Thanksgiving Day, no less).
I really like it but the landlord picked it out so two things:
1. The beep that lets you know the oven has reached the set temperature is impossible to hear unless you’re sitting on the damn thing.
2. The timer function takes a little getting used to.
Not sure how your budget will stretch but I once lived in a place that had a convection oven. Awe.Some.
Do NOT get an oven that has the touch pad on the front. Comme ça. If you spill anything hot on it, it will be temporarily befucked and you won’t be able to change the settings for the oven. That was the only downside to the convection oven.
Jon H
You can’t replace the elements?
chopper
@Kevin:
yeah but gas stoves never transform into a robot and punch you in the junk and kidnap your girlfriend.
Grace Nearing
Over the years I’ve used gas and electric stoves. I prefer the gas stoves, especially during power outages. Even with today’s automatic pilot models, you can still light the burners with a match. My sister-in-law has a nifty dual-fuel model: gas for the stovetop and an electric/convection oven. The nice thing about the electric/convection oven is that it also has a built-in rotisserie device.
Don’t forget to upgrade the vent system! Go as quiet and powerful as you can afford.
asdf
“plus no preheating of the oven”
Pardon me, not trying to be argumentative, but, yes, of course, the oven part does have to preheat just as electric ovens do. In my experience, there is no difference in the time it takes for the oven to preheat either. They both take too damn long.
TaMara (BHF)
@Keith G: THIS. Smart man, that commenter Kevin.
Edit: okay, until he edited and said get gas. ;-)
debit
Go gas. Unless you prefer electric, which I will never understand. I could never get used to cooking with electric.
Jenn Air, as I understand it, is an excellent brand, but I’m pretty happy with my Maytag.
John Cole
@Jon H: This thing is 30 years old or more. I need a new one.
@Keith G: I use cast iron skillets that I asked for from my grandmother’s estate when she died. I have another set of calphalon’s, but I basically never use them. I like the weight of cast iron. For some reason, I like heavy skillets/pots and heavy knives.
@Bill: I bake a turkey once a year, and every now and then heat up taco shells. I’m thinking gas all the way will be fine.
Xecky Gilchrist
Forget gas and electric. Get a Mac!
…I know that doesn’t make sense, but somebody had to say it.
ellaesther
All I know about stoves is that my great-grandfather used to build them. And he was active in establishing the union in his factory. Which back then made him a hero.
And I prefer a gas stove, myself. Which given that my great-grandfather was around a very long time ago, is what he used to build.
debit
@Xecky Gilchrist: I don’t think Cole’s cast iron pans are Mac compatible.
MikeTheZ
….and Ben Nelson is voting against Kagan.
Can he just change that D behind his name to an R and be done with it?
WereBear
Second the convection oven. Utterly and totally awesome.
I say this as someone who is sketchy on the entree thing, but has a Tiger Woods like talent for baking.
And…
Now you’re cooking with gas!
Keith G
@TaMara (BHF): Plfffft!!
idioteraser
@asdf:
Never had to preheat. If I wait for it to preheat the pizza etc will be severly overcooked. You just put whatever you need to cook in the oven to bake and set the temp and then cook the recommened time. No preheating whatsoever. Electric I have had to wait for preheating. Perhaps you just had crappy gas ovens.
ellaesther
@debit: I know, me to. I will never buy an electric unless it’s the last stove on the planet. I hated the one we had during some years of my youth, before my mom could go back to gas. Hated with the electric fire of its own burners!
TaMara (BHF)
BTW, except on rare occasions, you do not need to preheat an oven. Try it – put a batch of cookies in an unheated oven and one in a preheated oven. Once they are baked you will notice no difference. Same goes for most foods. Works great for bread, too. A few specialty items need a hot oven, but the key word there is few.
sven
The Western Climate Initiative, a sort-of regional cap-and-trade, could be really interesting:
http://www.tnr.com/blog/the-vine/76638/cap-and-trade-coming-the-west
But, I think we are right to worry about whether the Supremes will allow it to continue:
http://www.samefacts.com/2010/07/international-affairs/is-the-western-climate-initiative-constitutional/
Obviously, principled adherence to states’ rights is paramount,…
except when it isn’t!
ellaesther
@debit: Mademesnort.
Xecky Gilchrist
@debit: They’re compatible if he downloads the right patch. : D
blogbytom
Prediction: This debate will prove far more contentious than anything Greenwald could ever incite.
Prediction, qualified: No, it won’t.
Moral of the story: Electric is stupid, slow, wasteful, and hard to predict from stove to stove. With gas, you can see how much heat you’re applying at all times. Gas is, ergo, a million times better than electric. Yay, gas!
Gas, gas, gas, gas, gas, gas, gas?
Michael D.
When you use electric, you are burning COAL.
When you use gas, you are burning Natural Gas.
You decide.
MikeJ
Emacs. Ctl-alt-meta-bucky-major-mode-cook
Eight Meals And Cooking Slowly.
I got nothin.
Cassidy
asshole
Teri
Gas sealed burners with electric convection oven. LG has high quality with good customer service and fewer repairs and problems. If possible opt for high output burner for a wok! It also works great for a grill pan (the joys of grilling in the winter) and big stock pots of soup. Make sure you upgrade your exhaust fan as well. Install a gas monitor to alert alarm company as you have animals at home. I don’t know if Tunch jumps but on our old gas stove the cats like to sit on the top because of the warm pilot lights. Keep extinguisher handy if you are a sloppy cook!
demo woman
I had a Jenn-Aire gas stove top in my previous house and I loved it. The house that I’m currently in has a glass top which is easy to clean but the heat does not adjust as quickly. When I remodel, I’m thinking of buying an induction top..
I have been told that with inexpensive gas ranges, the oven is not insulated enough and it heats the entire house.
debit
@Xecky Gilchrist: Crossover for Cooking? Bake Camp?
I’ll be here all week. Try the veal!
grumpy realist
Grew up with electric, got introduced to gas in Europe and Japan. My vote’s for gas because of the better control over the temperature. (With electric I have to remember to change settings 2-5 minutes before I need a particular temperature.)
jeffreyw
We bought a Jennair gas top, electric oven 20 years ago or more. It’s been fine, has modules on the left side: Griddle, grill, or 2 reg burners. Center downdraft fan that vents through the wall behind the oven. I noticed just this year that the self clean feature of the oven doesn’t work anymore. The temp dial for setting the heat in the oven is trial and error, thermometer in the oven hanging from a rack lets us get the preheat right. Our next stove will have a serious output burner for boiling water. We can do without the griddle or grill, we almost never put those in, a Lodge two burner cast iron griddle works great for pancakes and flips to a ridged side for burgers. We has a glass top range before the Jennair, an Amana iirc, it sucked because it really needed special cookware. The newer induction style tops are different, I understand.
dmsilev
@TaMara (BHF): Cakes might object to that sort of treatment. I’m always paranoid about times and temperatures for cakes, but most other things have a lot of wiggle room as long as you keep an eye on them.
dms, prefers gas over electric
Corner Stone
@demo woman:
When I buy my next house closer to downtown I’m going to have a Teppanyaki Grill installed along with a gas stove and a hell of a powerful vent system.
ETA – have gas stove now and would never ever choose to cook on electric
TaMara (BHF)
@Michael D.: Actually Michael, I’m using wind power. But of course I don’t live in WV.
ellaesther
Ok, it’s an Open Thread, so even though this will likely get lost in the flame war (good one, TaMara (BHF)! But you’re wrong), I thought I would mention that I posted about the whole shameful, ridiculous “mosque” “at” “Ground Zero” controversy:
Dear President Obama – Please address the Ground Zero mosque incitement.
Complete with link to Islam reading list!
No really, it’s cool, and everything…! Ahhhh, forget it. Let the flaming continue.
Gas gas gas!! Say I.
apikoros
I’ll come down on the “gas” side of things as far as preferences go.
I like a stove that starts cooking when I turn it on and stops when I turn it off. Like now… not in 2-3 minutes.
On buying one, I actually recommend the budget stoves. All gas stoves these days have electronic igniters, rather than pilot lights, which is fine. Saves gas, never need to worry about pilot light blown out filling your house with gas, etc. etc. BUT many of the higher end stoves have heavy duty electronic control modules that do everything but brush your cat. This is also fine AS LONG AS THE MODULE WORKS. But if the module blows, your stove is dead and they (sears in my case) have very limited stocks of replacement modules. Once those modules are gone you are SOL. The basic stoves do not have the fancy modules and the electronic igniters are generic and can be replaced forever. Get a cheap stove!!! Brush your own cat!!!
Where to buy? Habitat for Humanity stores! Sears bump-and-ding stores! You might even search “the Google” for used appliance stores in your area or “builders surplus” stores. I am (you might be able to tell) terminally frugal, deeply into recycling, and can repair minor dings easily.
If you prefer electric… The problem with your old stove is 70% likely to be burned out element coils. Take a VOM and measure the resistance between the ends of the coil. If it’s infinite, type your stove’s model number and the word “element” into the Google and you can buy replacements for ~$10. If the element is good, then test the socket for 220V. Got 220v? if so the element is still bad. If not, test the controller (knob). 29% of the time that’s bad, ‘specially if you have full on but not intermediate settings. Since you have some working elements on the stove I will not remind you to check the plug and fuse, but anyone who has no working elements should definitely do so. Lastly, about 1% of the time the controller and element are fine, but the socket is fried. Those cost only ~$5, but usually require soldering/brazing.
Any questions?
lamh32
jSomeone tell me again why it was a bad idea for Obama to go on “The View”. He got 1 full hour of some “hard-hitting”, but mostly softball questions from the ladies, AND he got his message out to at least 6.59 millions viewers mostly women,. This is how Obama would beat Palin. Cause ain’t no way Palin would do anything but conservative news/media programs, cause she knows even the ladies of “The View” would be harder interviewers than her strokers over at Fox News. Anyway, here’s the data:
“Obama visit sets ratings record for ‘The View'”
Here’s some of the release from ABC:
Mac from Oregon
A couple of years ago I got a new Jenn-Air dual fuel range and oven. Electric oven w convection for baking and roasting, and gas range with down draft venting. I sprung for the extra burner cartridge to replace the grill when I want to, takes two minutes to swap them and no tools needed. I don’t have a rotisserie in the oven, I have one on the BBQ grill, works great.
If I had to do it over again, and money was no object, I would get a professional range and oven. But since I am not a rich man, the Jenn-Air was a good choice.
Eric U.
we can’t get gas so we’re stuck with electric, so I’m jealous of anyone with gas. Our last electric stove was decades old, and finally died in a shower of sparks. When I looked inside the control box, about half of the contacts on the controls had burned off. I’m really surprised that nobody ever got shocked.
TaMara (BHF)
@dmsilev: Yes, must always preheat for cakes. And when Kirk Spencer taught me how to roast a nice piece of beef. Then, very important for the oven temp to be at 500 degrees before starting. Else you have a dry piece of brick for dinner.
debit
I also have to point out, since it’s an open thread, that my current stove replaced a stove that probably was new back in the 40’s. Only one burner worked reliably, and the oven never really maintained a steady temp, which made baking an adventure every time. I’d lived with this stove for almost 18 years.
I love my new stove. Sometimes I forget I can use more than burner at a time and get a real and sincere thrill when I remember that I have four. I’ve baked more in the last couple of months than I have in years. I repeat; I love my new stove.
WOOF
Cheapest is to pull used elements from discarded stoves.
Then there’s induction stoves.
Induction cookers are faster and more energy-efficient than traditional electric cooktops; moreover, they allow instant control of cooking energy, which no energy source other than gas offers.
the wki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induction_cooker
debg
I myself have an electric because I love the flat surface of the ceramic stove. You might look at Kenmore for price, though I can’t speak to reliability for this particular type of appliance. (Tools and sewing machines are the limits of my Kenmore experience.)
Or when you visit the appliance store, ask if they have any dented or floor models. My stainless steel refrigerator was sitting in the back room of the local store in my small town–I got it for a song because it had dings in the door that you can only see if you look at it in exactly the right place. Never could have afforded a stainless steel unit without those dents!
Southern Beale
30″ is the width. Sealed burners supposedly are better for clean-up but are not as powerful. Depending on what you cook it may not matter. Here is some info:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/498715
Are you just getting a range top? Or complete gas/oven combo? Vikings are made in America if you care about that sort of thing.
We bought a 36″ range top, gas, GE Monogram. Was made in America but now made in Mexico. Crap. Found out about the switch *after* we’d bought it. Oh well. Cooking with gas ROCKS. You will be so happy you switched. Completely changed how we eat.
AhabTRuler
@TaMara (BHF): I’ll go with glasstop, too. Fast as gas, control of electric.
Plus, they can be even more awesome for roasting marshmallows than gas stoves. ;-)
Gian
spend a fortune, get a gas cooktop with the sealed burners (they make it easier to clean up spills and protect the insides from getting rusty) and get an electric convection oven, since it’s not my money.
but seriously, the sealed burner gas cooktop is the way to go and if you don’t use the oven much, get a gas “range” which will combine the cooktop and oven. 30 inches wide is standard, and speciality units can be has in a 24 inch width, and a 36 inch width, I used to sell these things some 15 years ago.
since you’re going gas, spring for the sealed cooktop, it’s much better than lifting the thing up to clean under it, and if you scrimp somewhere on things, get a range with sealed cooktop and without the self-cleaning oven if you almost never use it anyway – just put foil on the bottom when you do use it.
(and if you’re made of money they have induction cooktops which heat cookware with iron in it, by – induction – and the cooktop itself doesn’t get hot, or with fancy halogen lights – those are the fancy electric options)
blogbytom
@Teri: Aww, fuck all. What do you have, granite counter tops or some shit? Cole’s said he’s on a budget! I implore you, Cole: Go gas! Through and through! It will change your life!
And all this bullshit about a convection oven: Bah! I don’t even know what the damned things are! So get the shit off my lawn before I smack y’all!
Srsly, tho: Once you broil something in a gas oven, your life will never be the same.
Svensker
We had to buy a new stove last year and our repair guy suggested this one
Hotpoint self-cleaning gas range. It is very low end price but according to the repair guy, built to last and far better than anything until you start talking much bigger money. I got one, as did SIL and MIL — we’ve all been really happy. Has one big burner for cooking stuff real fast, one small burner for simmering and then 2 regular. It cleans easily, oven temp seems reliable, and size is good. Can’t get a cheaper self-cleaning unit, so if you’re looking for budget but reliable and usable, I highly recommend.
arguingwithsignposts
Since it’s an open thread, Lady Smudge is not adjusting well yet to her new apartment. Any suggestions?
slag
@TaMara (BHF): Now that I know what simmer means, I am able to do it on my gas stove…no problem.
And I think I have jeffreyw‘s oven: http://www.jennair.com/flash.cmd?/#/product/JDS9860CDS. All I know about it is that it seems to work well, cleans easily, and one of my cats really likes sitting on the edge of it even though she knows she’s not supposed to. I have no idea how much it costs, but it is shiny.
Corner Stone
Welp, looks like Berkman is going to the Yankees.
We’re now officially the Houston Pirates.
MoZeu
Good move going to gas. I’ve never loved any gas range that I’ve owned, but I’ve also never had a serious problem with one.
If you happen to have a windfall before you purchase, I would get a Blue Star.
Corner Stone
I’ll repost my earlier question here:
Am I the only person poutraged about the crazy high price of fried chicken nowadays?
jeffreyw
@slag: I dug up an old pic of my stove while it was field stripped.
Like I said, 20+ years old now.
arguingwithsignposts
@Corner Stone:
fuckin’ fried chickens, how do they work?
lamh32
Ughh, Charlie Rangel has REALLY got to go. Who in his camp thought this was a good idea? So in an interview with CBS, President Obama said that it may be time for Charlie Rangel to retire with “some dignity”. I completely agree.
Here from Politico:
Rangel “doesn’t give a damn” what Obama thinks
“Frankly, President Obama, Charlie doesn’t give a damn.
From my story on the Obama-Rangel drama:
[A] person close to the Rangel tells POLITICO the embattled Democrat “doesn’t give a damn about what the president thinks about this” and won’t step down.
“[Obama’s] statement comes as no surprise to us,” said a person close to Rangel, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly for the congressman. “We’re not surprised by this, we’ve known the people in the White House have felt this way for awhile, but this doesn’t change anything for us.”
dmsilev
@Svensker: My current apartment has one of those Hotpoint ranges. In the year that I’ve lived here, I haven’t had a moment’s trouble with the thing.
dms
slag
@jeffreyw: OK. Yeah. Mine doesn’t look exactly like that.
Also, I just now found out that we can replace the grill on the left side with extra burners. I did not know that.
demo woman
@Corner Stone: I loved cooking on gas but I think it would be to expensive to run the line where I live. You are so right about the venting system and maybe someday, I can replace my cheapo vent.
chopper
@TaMara (BHF):
i’ve found that with bread and pastries, preheating is necessary. with most everything else it isn’t needed.
mainsailset
Here’s the deal.
Yes 30″ is the width (will actually be more like 29-7/8 so you have room to slide it into the 30″ space)
The sealed burners are more expensive. Instead of having the drip pan around the burner with a hole around the gas outlet the hole disappears. It makes cleanup easier. If you go the regular ones, the top of the stove is made so you can lift it up like the hood of a car to swipe out all your drippings from time to time. Often
Oftentimes you’ll find that the sealed burner ones will offer you one burner that has a high btu which is nice for boiling water for pasta or searing things
You’ll need to know if you’re going LP or natural gas. Some of them convert, others don’t and you have to order it one way or the other.
The gas ovens often come standard clean, not self clean. And the ovens can be smaller than the electric ones. Also, the lower ‘drawer’ that you’re used to with the electrics can in some of the more economical models actually be the broiler so you will lose the storage down there.
Try and get one with a window in the oven.
The more economical ones (without self clean) will be missing a clock. Not all, but most.
There are different models. A freestanding has the controls at the back next to the wall and is about 45″ tall at the back (I’m talking only as it runs up the wall) This is the more economical style and also the back portion will protect the back wall from heat and steam. The second model is a slide in where the whole thing is flat and the controls are at the front lip. It generally has flanges on top which will cover up the gap between range and the counter.
Whatever you do, never get a continuous clean anything. Just trust me on that one.
slag
@arguingwithsignposts: I’ve been told to give cats their own room for a while. Cat box on one side, food on the other, and closed door. Also, there’s Rescue Remedy and catnip for artificial calmness.
farmette
I cooked and baked using gas stoves for most of my live and then we bought an electric stove, Sears brand, 5 years ago. I love it. It bakes true and the stove top burners perform consistently and well once you learn the nuance of the temp dials. We often roast veggies in the oven and they always come out scrumptious. We had service out once because we saw a red light glow under the top ceramic surface. Turns out it was the late summer sun beaming through the window at just the right angle and through the ceramic stove top that is tinted red. Now, each year when the angle of the sun is just so, we see red. We call it Stovehenge.
Corner Stone
Don’t jump on the TexasHateWagon just yet!
Dallas business leaders back the Democrat for Texas governor
Allghghghllghglg…baaaaconnn.
Anoniminous
Just went through this.
Sealed/Open burners: been cooking (amateur) for almost 40 years. Had both, never been able to tell the difference.
Stove measurement is width. The average home cabinet arrangement is for a 30″ stove.
Hot/Cold spots in the oven will be solved by buying a baking stone, ours is about 20″ square; make sure to get one at least 1″ thick. It will take a bit longer to pre-heat but it evens the heat so you’ll get a better Baking Experience© ;-) despite the longer pre-heat time you’ll use about the same amount of gas/electricity as the Baking Stone keeps the heat in the oven so you will have longer time between re-heating cycles. We keep ours on the lower baking rack normally or on the bottom of the oven if doing a turkey or something like that.
If your area is prone to thunderstorms do NOT get anything with computerized controls. The electronics are expensive to replace, if it is even worth it, and they WILL go FUBAR on you. We went through two stoves in eight years before we got that through our thick heads.
Get electric ignition. Pilot lights are a waste of money.
Look around at restaurant supply stores. Sometimes you can get a used Pro model for the same price as a new consumer model. The problem here is the Pro models may not be insulated along the sides and back — be sure your cabinets and wall can take the heat if you go this route.
Arclite
Maybe all you need is a new burner element? They’re $15 each for universal ones.
Otherwise, you might just need the switch replaced? Which is more, but not hundreds of dollars like a new stove.
jeffreyw
@slag: Oh yeah, the extra burners are the real deal. The grill and the griddle are nice and all, but…
demo woman
@Corner Stone: Does the article mention the Wyly brothers?
Corner Stone
@arguingwithsignposts:
You reach your hand into the box, pull out some juicy, crispy chicken, dredge it through some mashed taters covered in spicy grabey, then jam it right into your piehole and nom.
Keith G
@Corner Stone: Arrrg!
Corner Stone
@demo woman:
Gravenstone
If you use cast iron cookware, especially if not porcelain coated, then don’t even think about the glass topped electric stove tops. It’s pretty much a universal no no from all manufacturers of them. I use a porcelain coated cast iron dutch oven on mine without incident, but don’t want to think of what a nicely seasoned naked cast iron pan would do to it.
If you’re not a big baker, then gas range and oven makes perfect sense for you. If you do bake a lot, then a hybrid model (gas range, electric oven) is the better way to go.
If I end up staying out here more than another couple years, I’d almost consider relocating the LP line feeding my fireplace into the kitchen for a new gas stove.
JWL
If you’re a good cook, go with gas. If you’re an indifferent one, electrical stoves are OK.
If and/or when you grow weary of it all, of course, it’s best to have a gas stove.
slag
@jeffreyw: Yeah. I’ve never used them. It seems weird to cook something directly on a surface that sits out all the time. Like soaking veggies directly in the sink rather than in a bowl. The idea gives me the wiggins.
So, now that I know I can replace the grill, I just might. Might as well have something useful there. Learn something new every day.
Although I have no idea what “field stripped” means. I’m afraid to Google it.
thomas Levenson
Hah! Forget McArdle and all that jazz; now we’re into something which I really care about.
Gas. No doubt about it. I seriously love to cook, and had the good fortune and good sense to marry a former pro cook. (I am fatter than I should be, but that I am not more so under the circumstances is a tribute to some kind of self restraint. Or so I tell myself.)
With that background. Both the pro in the household and I prefer a gas cooktop with open, not sealed burners, separate from a single electric convection oven if you don’t entertain a lot, and a double one if you do.
Pro style really is better — Wolf, Viking that kind of thing (though friends of mine have had trouble with Vikings, and I know for a certain fact that one frequent commenter to this blog loves her some Wolf stove action).
If your kitchen arrangement permits, this is much cheaper than buying a pro-style dual fuel range, because, while Wolf stovetops are much nicer than the Kenmore I have now (a Frigidaire or a Bosch under the skin, I think) there isn’t nearly as much difference between one convection electric oven and another as there is in stove tops, and you can get a good GE or something for much less than a fancy branded one.
The joy of a pro cooktop is (a) heavy duty, continuous grates — once you’ve slung especially heavy pots and pans across a continuous surface, you never want to go back. And (b) large powerful, consistent grates with good controls. Good burners will all go from a simmer (300 – 500 btus) to honker maximum values of 15,000 or more. You can really make these stoves do exactly what you want.
A range works just fine too, of course — it’s just more expensive if you buy the top shelf stuff, and it is actually more pleasant to cook if you separate the two functions.
All that said — my wife and I just moved from a house in which we had 14 years to save and build up exactly the kitchen we want — a Russell Range stove top (no longer made, alas) and a Jenn-air electric convection oven in an island.
We moved into a wonderful wreck of a house, and ran out of money fixing fundamental safety and structural matters long before we could do the kitchen up to yuppie heaven. So we went to Sears on one of their periodic 20% off sales and for $900 picked up a Kenmore branded range that has what they call a “true” convection oven — gas — (which just means it has two fans rather than one, but which is in fact a much better system than the single fan ones) and a five burner cook top with a 17,400 BTU front burner, a 12,500 rear one, then two smaller ones and an oval alleged griddle burner in the middle…all for $900 bucks on sale. That compares with $2,500 – 3,000 for a Wolf or Viking top, and 5k + for ranges
It isn’t nearly as nice, or precise or simply as solid as the Russell, or the Wolf I’ve envied in my fellow commenter’s home. But it works fine, and is a perfectly good stop gap for the next decade or so as my wife and I save our pennies for the big dog.
Only one caveat — don’t bother with the five burner set up. Four is fine; the oval burner is essentially useless unless you can get one with a lot more than the 9,500 BTUs this one brings, as it can’t get a heavy griddle hot enough to make good pancakes.
goblue72
Much prefer gas. Yes, as mentioned, it can be a pain to finagle gas to get the flame to “just barely lit enough to simmer but not so low it blows out” and you still have to babysit it. Absent that one thing though, the whole “Flame On!” of gas just kicks electric’s butt. You get so much more control in being able to go from full blast to low in an instant that you don’t get with an electric.
Plus, you can fire-roast peppers and the like directly on the gas flame. Try that on an electric!
Also, too. I wouldn’t bother getting some stainless steel overpriced Viking type range. I haven’t been all that impressed with home versions of professional lines. Even if you get a model that shoots out the high BTUs, WTF do you need that for? Its not like you need to be running 6 burners continuously for 5 hours of dinner service.
Corner Stone
@Keith G: Considering Hunter Pence is leading our club in both HR’s and RBI’s I don’t know what the hell to think anymore.
Plus, J-Mike has half the HR’s of Carlos Lee and Puma and only 1/3rd the AB’s.
Stan of the Sawgrass
Hey, today one of my clients just bought a brand new “DE-duction” stovetop— it can figure out what you’ve put in the pan and how to cook it!!! But it only works in solid platinum cookware.
Now I’m going OT– anyone/everyone see this:
Racist “TParty Comix”
via TPM/Maddow
I’m figuring it’s a misguided lefty, but there’s a heap a’ postmodern navel gazin’ sleuthin’ to be done here. Stupid, incredibly stupid, failed attempt at meta-satire, this could be a wank-fest for the ages!!
BTW– sort of ironic that the first POTUS comic collector (Batman, if the stories are true) should suffer such a visually incoherent broadside. Give us Chick Publications version of Rev.Wright , at the very least.
psychobroad
I went to Consumer Reports at the library when I needed a new stove–I knew I wanted gas, which is the only way to go. I bought their #2 rated stove, a GE Profile, which has been great. The #1 may have been the Jenn-Aire–it was some high dollar model which cost twice as much as my GE. (The GE cost over $700.00–not exactly cheap, but it’s been worth it. And I bought it about 8 years ago)
Mnemosyne
@arguingwithsignposts:
Not adjusting well how? Is she hiding? Wandering around meowing?
WereBear has a couple of articles on her blog:
Dear Pammy, How can I lower my cat’s stress from moving?
Helping the overwhelmed cat
Corner Stone
@JWL:
That’s a quitters way out.
Why would he take the easy road when he has pets to walk on icy sidewalks, showers to clean with slippery surfaces, or rooftop gutters to empty with a BROKEN SHOULDER?
Nope, Cole’s going to go out just like he’s lived his life. Hard, stubborn and dense.
SiubhanDuinne
@arguing with signposts: How is Smudge manifesting her unhappiness and siscomfort? And when the heck did you move, anyhow?
Keith G
@Corner Stone: Bill White is a GOP nightmare.
A moderate democrat who is a family man with what seems like a squeaky clean life, a successful marriage and great family (two really cool kids).
A very successful business man who has golden contacts in the corporate community. A habit of getting things done. If he seals the deal on Texas governor, he will be 62 in 2016 which is a little old these days, but….
arguingwithsignposts
@SiubhanDuinne:
@Mnemosyne:
She’s meowing and crouched in a corner. I’m in the process of moving atm. she particularly seemed frightened by the ceiling fans (constant clicking noise), although I wish she’d stay off the stove (speaking of gas).
pablo
Turbo Bunsen Burner Annihilator.
Six Degree Burners From HELL!
jl
I’m a basic he man sort of dude. I say make a fire pit outside. Use big rocks and put them in circle. You can grill your garden veggies, and have roast hot dogs and smores every day (both of which are he man food).
Mnemosyne
@arguingwithsignposts:
If you are actually moving stuff out of the house right now, you need to put her in a separate room (like the bathroom) and CLOSE THE DOOR. I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve heard from people whose cats sneaked out the door while they were moving and were never seen again. It will also lessen her anxiety since she won’t see you taking her personal stuff away from her right in front of her eyes.
debit
@jl: Um. Cole worries about his wilting pansies. I think he’s out of he man territory.
Cole, I am sure you are very manly. Just not he manly.
taterstick
I haven’t seen this mentioned, so I will toss this out there: when comparing gas ranges, be sure to compare the BTU ratings on the burners. You want the higher BTU #’s on as many of the burners as you can. It sucks to get one that is slower than hell to heat stuff.
Amanda in the South Bay
Ok, open thread time.
Sullivan is currently entertaining comments from his readers that Mel Gibson’s wife (gf?) was making up getting beaten. Naturally Sully is all concerned and thought provoking.
Can we please stop linking to and reading that odious piece of shit’s blog? Yay woman beating?
Corner Stone
@jl: Are s’mores really “he man food”?
Yayyy!!
arguingwithsignposts
@Mnemosyne: fortunately, I moved her stuff first thing, and the new apt. has a screen door downstairs that prevents her from leaving. She seems to love the stove, sink, and bathtub so far.
aimai
I expect to see this thread go to 800 comments. Gas vs. Electric is the great dividing line in society these days. I love my Bluestar 48, one and a half ovens, tomato red “muscle stove” and I’d never, ever, cook on electric. Not if you paid me. However professional cooks who I know love their induction ranges and swear that you can wok cook on them faster than on my 22 thousand BTU burners. Much as I love my stove I think if I’d renovated a few years down the line I might have switched to induction. What I really wanted I couldn’t afford: a French Lacange (hm, is that the name?) range with electric *and* gas ovens below, and gas burners above.
aimai
Comrade Mary
Lady Smudge!
OK, 2 of my 3 cats were freaked out for a day or so after the move. Somewhere I have a picture of Fergus and Pooka burrowed under a bunch of dirty shirts in the master bedroom closet. When they weren’t huddling, they were slinking and clinging to the walls. But they came around soon enough. Cuddling them in bed helped.
Maggie had been through one move before, but still, she YOWLED downstairs for several nights. YOWLED. Again, the only cure was to take her to bed for some cuddling, and she settled down.
For now, can you offer her a cosy lair that smells like home, like a heap of your dirty laundry?
Anne Laurie
I’ll take the contrarian hit here — any recommendations for an electric stove with a glass top?
We are not switching to gas. The Spousal Unit & I are both ADD, we have cats who can’t be trusted to stay away from lit burners, and installing any kind of venting system just wouldn’t be cost-effective. Our current electric model was “older” when we bought the house 18 years ago, and it would be nice to have four working burners. But we’re not dedicated cooks (to phrase it nicely) so I just want a nice flat low-maintenance cooktop for boiling pasta and sauteing vegetables, plus an oven big enough to heat frozen pizzas and slow-roast tomatoes.
Mnemosyne
@arguingwithsignposts:
Just be careful. Those little monsters are speedy, and we’d all be worried about Lady Smudge if she did sneak out.
Probably the best thing to do right now is the WereBear thing of just sitting with her and talking about how great this new place is and how much fun you’re going to have. Maybe pull out a few toys to demonstrate. When you do have to actively move stuff in or around, put her into another room and then let her back out to sniff things once you’re done — it will be less stressful for both of you.
jl
@debit: Cole said he would ‘give anything’ to be back in tough basic training shape. So, I was just trying to help. But looks like he was not being completely straightforward. Whew boy. Looks like time for another blogger ethics panel.
Seriously, I prefer gas stoves. I believe some one could learn to cook however they want to with electric, but it must take a lot of practice. I do not know anything all this continuous something or other and hi tech bunsen burner, free standing controls, and whatnot,
For me, the simpler the better. All that counts for me is whether I can adjust the flame quickly or not. So, my recommendation is get some cheap sturdy and safe standard gas stove and start cooking.
Edit, when in Alaska I did cook on a wood stove, with lots of instruction and supervision for real Alaskans. I think wood stove are best for baking and roasting meat. But that is probably a little too close to fire pit territory in WV.
planetjanet
I love my new Frigidaire slide-in gas stove. It has sealed burners and a convection oven. It has the look of a drop-in, but fits in the existing space for my old freestanding stove. The sealed burners are so much easier to clean. The Frigidaire was fairly lower priced that other gas stoves and looks sleak and well designed. I even bought the dishwasher that matched it.
Tim
Anyone else having problems with the Energizer ad covering up the post below?
Mnemosyne
@Comrade Mary:
That’s a good idea. You want something to reassure her that you’re still around to protect her if Bad Things happen in the new place, and some nice smelly t-shirts to nest in would do the trick.
Keith G
ok dear gonna get ready fer
Comrade Mary
Stoves!
If I could afford induction, I’d try it, but for me and my budget, it’s gas.
Let me address what’s near and dear to your heart, John: how easy is it to clean a gas range and oven?
I have a Maytag with a self-cleaning oven. It’s brilliant. It’s a no-brainer. As an oven that cooks things, it’s just fine. Broiler unit in the top, and a bottom drawer for my cast iron griddle for pancakes.
The range has sealed burners. Compared to my old electric range, where I had to cry and scrub and valiantly line the metal burner trays with foil — I just CLEAN the ceramic (the stove surface and the burner caps) with some elbow grease, and occasionally a toothbrush and a ceramic safe cleanser.
One thing I recommend avoiding like the plague: burner grates that stretch across two burners. They are as awkward as hell to clean in the sink versus a set of 4 little grates, one per burner. My model also has swoopy sharp points on the racks, which snag the dishcloth. AVOID.
Black hides dirt well, stainless steel is a pain in the ass for yuppies with more money than sense, and white is fine if you keep up with it. I would recommend getting black grates instead of grey. You may find that the high BTU burners may crisp up parts of your grates (again, I’ve found this only on the swoopy pointy Maytag bits), and black hides the crispy effect more than grey.
Mary + 0.75 but can’t hold her beer after a month of heavy cycling and general exhaustion
Anne Laurie
@arguingwithsignposts: Does Lady Smudge have her own carrier? If so, bundle her back into it, with one of your dirty tshirts, and leave it in the bathroom until you’ve finished moving. Or, yeah, just make her a nice “nest” of dirty laundry in one corner of the bathtub, and keep the bathroom door closed. Cats hate hate HATE having their environment changed, and too many of them try to cope with a move by (a) escaping to try & get back to “their” place or (b) finding a safe place to hide from potential enemies in the new place. That ‘safe place’ may turn out to be inside the walls, or in a closet or cabinet where she’ll accidentally get shut in. (Check very very carefully to make sure your new bathroom doesn’t have a ‘plumbers access’ or similar wall opening, keeping in mind that a determined cat can get through any opening it can fit its head into, i.e., an opening smaller than your fist. Vanity sink cabinets, in particular, may have openings into the structure that will be a lot more obvious to Lady Smudge than to you.)
Once you’re moved in, or at least made your last trip of the evening, give her a very special dinner (canned tuna or baby-food chicken) and maybe a catnip apertif, plus all the cuddling she’ll permit. She WILL adjust, she just needs to be sure that you’re not going to disappear on her, and that she will still be Queen of the New
ApartmentUniverse.MikeJ
Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren’t lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live.
(on edit: Dorothy Parker, to save a google for those of you who know it but couldn’t place the author.)
gypsy howell
Just follow Thomas Levenson’s advice @85. Go gas, go pro-cooktop with continuous grates, go sealed burners (sooooo much easier to clean up) Pay attention to the BTU range — you want at least one burner that goes way down so you can simmer, and at least one that is very high to get big pots to a boil quickly.
I prefer dual fuel, because I think an electric oven heats a little more evenly than gas, but if I had to choose a single fuel stove, I’d go gas, for the cooktop alone. But either way, get a convection oven with it.
John, you clearly like to cook, and a top-quality stove or range will make your life in the kitchen a joy. It’s worth the money if you can do it.
A brand I haven’t seen anyone mention is Dacor — I had one in my last house, and liked it a lot. (Now I have a Wolf with an Electrolux double wall oven, which I love, but it sounds like that might be more than you want to spend.) Otherwise, I’d look at GE, and then see how Kenmore stacks up.
DickSpudCouchPotatoDetective
If you really like to cook, use gas. Much more control, more more responsive. Pinpoint and instant control of your heat.
With stoves, you pretty much get what you pay for. Don’t go cheap. For a little more, you get larger burners so that you can handle larger cooking jobs, you get better grates, you get grates across the top of the stove so that you can position your pots and pans where you want them. You get self cleaning ovens. You get the waist-high broiler in the oven … just a great accessory.
30″ is a standard stove width. Measure your space.
Make sure you install the tip preventer on the rear foot. Major safety feature, cheap and easy.
For $600 or so you can get a good quality gas range with all the aforementioned features and get it delivered and installed if you shop around. Don’t self install a gas range unless you know what you are doing. Most installs require a new flexible gas connection which you will buy with the range.
@Comrade Mary:
I just put a new Maytag range in a rental house last week, and it is a really great appliance. It has all the aforementioned desirable features, looks great, and did not cost a lot of money. Absolutely a bargain.
Comrade Mary
@DickSpudCouchPotatoDetective: I can’t tell clearly from that image, but if it’s a set of 2 grates instead of 4, it really is a pain in the ass to clean. (At least for this ADD person, it is.)
But otherwise, I really like my Maytag.
arguingwithsignposts
@Anne Laurie:
she doesn’t have a carrier, other than me (heh). laundry suggestion noted.
She’s already went to the closet option, although I closed that off pretty quick. A lot of heavy lifting tomorrow, sadly.
AhabTRuler
@Corner Stone: Plus, it’s harder to do with propane or natural gas than with coal gas, which is what Sylvia Plath had at her disposal. Carbon monoxide is preferentially absorbed by hemoglobin, which makes it deadlier than the hydrocarbon fuels.
ISTR an article on the BBC that said that the number of successful suicides in Britain decreased when they switched from coal gas to North Sea gas.
WereBear
@arguingwithsignposts: I gots articles about that.
Click here for lowering a cat’s stress from moving.
And while I appreciate it’s too late now; if you “grounded” Lady Smudge before the move, you can “ground” her again in the new place with scent and familiar objects.
Didn’t you move to get hardwood floors and ceiling fans? Dude! Worth it.
Lady Smudge will think so too, once she groks the change in her territory. Remember; YOU are the most important part of the territory. Act like it.
Stan of the Sawgrass
Sorry if this hurts anyone’s feelings— but gas is way, way, better than ‘lectric. For cooking, anyway.
Gas lets you vary the heat in seconds, vs. the minutes you have to wait for electric burners to heat up/cool down. I started learning how to use a wok on an electric; when I switched to a gas stove, I was amazed at how much more I was able to do with it.
Also, though you all aren’t going to care about this much– when Hurricane Wilma knocked out the power in the neighborhood, I was still makin’ flapjacks for the neighbors who had electric ranges. Of course, we still had to do something about all the food defrosting in our freezers.
But that’s a story about Barbecue.
Also: goblue72 (#86)– what you said.
PS– you still should check this out:
http://www.ep.tc/intro-archive064.html
Offensive, but intriguing. Why would a teatard do something like this? How many teatards are Zap Comix-aware enough to get the joke?
Sorry if this is too OT, it’s just bugging the hell out of me, and it’s the kind of thing you all could weigh in on.
Ignore the comix, but dammit– gas is absolutely the way to go.
sfinny
I bought a GE stove about 2 years ago and absolutely love it. Gas range with two ovens (regular size plus small drawer at the bottom). Griddle that fits in the center of the range. Big oven has convection or regular heat. One burner has power boil which heats a pot of water in about 90 seconds.
Compared to my old range (probably 20+ old) with clogged gas lines and pathetic igniters, the new one is heaven.
Think it was around $2K but definately worth it. Just trying to figure out how to take it with me if I move.
suzanne
Gas isn’t an option for us, since our neighborhood doesn’t have the lines, but I love my flat-top electric range for kitteh-related reasons. They never go near the burners. Also, my husband’s cat has been known to piss on stove burners when angered, which, when we lived in our apartment that had the coil burners, didn’t smell too nice (understatement) when we turned the burners on. (HOLY SHIT EW EW EW.) With the glass top, the cat pee has nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. And is easy-peasy to clean off.
Frank
Gas is much easier to cook with. Gas stoves also have less to break. A gas burner never burns out and never has to be replaced.
Four burners and a broiler/oven are all you need. The clocks and timers never outlast the warranty for either gas or electric.
cbeck
I bought a single induction burner, and it’s treated me better than any gas or traditional electric burner I’ve had.
Ikea is releasing a line of pretty reasonably priced induction cooktops tomorrow, and I aim to get one in the next few months.
Mnemosyne
@arguingwithsignposts:
Keep in mind that she’s a small animal, so she’ll actually prefer to hide out in a small space while all of the moving is going on rather than being out in the open where the Scary Moving Men could eat her. Just make sure it isn’t a space where she could get trapped or escape from.
Comrade Mary
Ooh! Ooh! I think I love Titli!
Here, she tells you how to boil an egg just like a celebrity chef would. (via Ezra)
WereBear
Amen, brother.
It never looks terribly dirty, but as God is my witness, it never looks clean, either. And you can’t clean it, either.
The horror.
stove fool
You can get electric burner replacements, simple plug-ins, from the appliance store for not much money. Take the old one out by unplugging it under the stove, show it to the parts store and get a new one. Sorry for the redundancy if someone mentioned this above, but a cursory reading of the comments indicates that nobody knows anything about how to fix a stove, yet is happy to blow off about all the things they don’t know.
In short, buy the parts, it ain’t no biggie.
Crusty Dem
As mentioned above, with cast iron, gas is a great choice (the cookware has an impact on the ideal cooktop), with something that heavy, BTU’s are key. In our old house we purchased a Maytag Gemini gas (gas stove, gas double oven), and we loved it. Good burner power, can cook small things in the smaller top over, big things in the bottom (very rarely do you need two large ovens, even with a family), ideal for thanksgivings/potlucks/larger gatherings, without being a super-expensive, oversized hunk of junk. There may be better choices depending on your needs/price range, but I doubt you’ll be disappointed..
Expect a bit of a learning curve with gas, it’s faster and hotter than electric, and simmering takes practice. Of course, with cast iron, just set the oven for 250 and skip the stove-top simmering all together (works much better, especially for stews/chili)…
arguingwithsignposts
@WereBear:
And no rowdy neighbors, and – recent revelation – central air! It’s weird being in between, though. And this afternoon had a little rain, so that was not good.
thanks for the link!
Woodrow L. Goode, IV
Here are a few tips:
1. Spend minute or two looking at your kitchen layout, what you cook and thinking about whether you want a “stove”– a single unit with burners on top and an oven directly beneath it.
A stove is a kitchen equivalent of the old console TV with built-in stereo. Thanks to the home renovation boom and the growth of yuppies, you can buy separates, which let you get maximum bang for your buck.
If (like me) you do lots of elaborate stuff up top and use your over for nothing but baking cakes and roasting a christmas turkey, you could buy a deluxe stovetop with grills, burners, griddles et al… and get a really cheap oven (or even keep the one you have, if the oven still works and space permits).
Buy a stove with all the trimmings and you’ll get a deluxe oven with features you might never use and pay out the wazoo.
2. If your unit is 30 years old and it’s built-in, measure all the dimensions. You might discover that one or more of them is non-standard, and that models in that size are no longer being made– or only a few are..
My home came with vintage appliances– all of which were thinner, lower or narrower than modern units. As each one died, I had to either refurbish it, remodel to get space to put a stock unit in or buy a special-purpose model. To my knowledge, the only thing that hasn’t substantially changed size since 1970 is a dishwasher.
3. If you’re in a Craig’s List area check the Appliances page every day, Twice a week, you’ll find a nearly new unit being sold for peanuts by some yuppie who bought a house with a recently remodeled kitchen– who wants to redo it.
4. Find a local “appliance repair” company run by some guy who’s 55, and has been doing this for 30 years, pay him a visit and offer to pay for advice about what to buy. Often, your local Thermador service center is this breed of cat.
My local shop has five guys– youngest being the founder’s 35-year-old son– who’ve collectively seen everything and will talk your ear off.
5. I’d suggest open-burner for three reasons. First, budget-priced sealed-burner units always seem to have ‘hot spots’, so they cook unevenly. Second, open-burner units (because they have to be cleaned if you spill food into them) are out of fashion with the hoi polloi, so you can often get a bargain on them.
Also, I’m guessing you’re a klutz who spills food and lets stuff boil over. Open-burners can’t just be wiped off– but if you get a massive spill, you can just take everything out and soak it. Can’t do that with sealed.
kommrade reproductive vigor
@MoZeu: That’s not a stove that’s a fucking work of art.
M. Bouffant
Central air & ceiling fans? Damn.
Teri
@blogbytom: nah no granite in my house….but I invest in tools that will last. I have to feed hordes of teenagers daily and my LG fridge and range are under siege constantly. Convection oven is great for dehydrating and baking.
dmilligan
We just bought a new stove because our Kitchenaid was turning into a fuel-air bomb. We bought an LG gas range at Best Buy for about $1200 and are very happy with it.
The 30″ number is the width, which is pretty standard. I can’t tell you about sealed or unsealed burners – I think ours are the sealed type, I’m not sure.
arguingwithsignposts
@M. Bouffant:
Retrofitted Central air, no less. Weird. I know.
Mr Furious needs a new identity to comment
@John Cole:
Then you definitely do NOT want a glass top electric—can’t use cast iron on them.
We are regretably leaving behind a fantastic Jenn-Air range in the house we just sold, and the house we are buying has a glass top electric range, but gas service…
Guess what the first thing we are buying is…
—
At a cottage this summer I was making a gazillion pancakes and nothing was more frustrating than trying to get the heat right on the electric top you’re unfamiliar with… waiting for a burner to cool down sucks.
Grrrr
WereBear
@suzanne: Just an FYI.
Cats are territory oriented.
So when they are distressed, upset, or PO’d; they need to impose territory.
Which sometimes involves whizzing on things they shouldn’t be whizzing on; but there ain’t no question about who owns it now, is there?
Mr Furious needs a new identity to comment
Just go to the library and read the Consumer Reports ratings…
Jenn-Air’s been getting a lot of love upthread, and we were very happy with ours, but we only had it for two years… Plus, they are expensive. And the more expensive ranges get, seemingly, the worse the repair record…
Mr Furious needs a new identity to comment
Just go to the library and read the Consumer Reports ratings…
Jenn-Air’s been getting a lot of love upthread, and we were very happy with ours, but we only had it for two years… Plus, they are expensive. And the more expensive ranges get, seemingly, the worse the repair record…
BethanyAnne
I found myself wondering the other day why stovetop control dials aren’t marked with temperatures. That should be possible now. It really should, dammit.
All I got :)
jeffreyw
Little pizza-the old Jenn-Air still can crank 500.
Paul
@psychobroad:
Re: Consumer Reports, their current “best buy” for a gas stove is the Hotpoint RGB745DEP for around $550, but they also recommend several Kenmore ranges (7744[9] & 7138[9]) and the Frigidaire Gallery GLGF386D[S] which go for $600 to $800.
That is, if you can trust the commies at Consumer Reports.
BethanyAnne
@Comrade Mary: omg, that egg boiling episode is too awesome for words. spifftacular!
Martin
Sealed burners are generally better – they’ll help keep the stove from getting fucked if you spill something. I’ve never spilled anything so badly however, so it’s not exactly critical.
If you can, at least investigate a combo gas/electric. Gas is great for the cooktop, but electric is more accurate for the oven. These used to be pricey, but I haven’t shopped for one in over 5 years, so maybe they’ve come down in price. It’s unusual to have a house wired for both, so I’ve never even been able to entertain buying one.
If you have to go with all gas or all electric, go with gas. The difference in the oven is less pronounced than the difference in the cooktop. Electric cooktops are AWFUL.
WereBear
Another Public Service Announcement:
Okay, so you have to have a fridge and stove in the house when you sell it. But that doesn’t mean you have to give the new buyers (who don’t appreciate the dang house!Y!IUY$IY!!#@IUY$) the ones YOU have.
You get them cheap ones, and they’re happy to get new ones, and you take your goodies with you.
burnspbesq
@MikeTheZ:
The D is appropriate. It just doesn’t stand for what you think it stands for.
Mr Furious needs a new identity to comment
Martin’s right, if you’re going to be serious a dual-fuel range is best. Sears had a couple gas top/electric oven models we strongly considered a couple years ago before we chose the Jenn-Air.
The deciding factor for us was the double ovens.
Mrs F is a big baker, and that was the motivation there, but let me vouche for the fact that the small top oven was more than enough for 80% of our baking and heated up in a fraction of the time of a full size oven.
Can’t recommend this phenomenal range enough…
Crusty Dem
One additional note on sealed vs open burners, open burners generally can produce more heat, so if you’re not completely spill crazy, you’ll be happier with open (especially w/cast iron, and I don’t find the cleaning to be a huge deal, YMMV).
And craigslist is a good place to find ridiculous deal on appliances. Make sure you thank the stupid yuppie giving you a quality, barely used stove for 15 cents on the dollar…
Corner Stone
Oooo…ouch. This is going to leave a mark:
Black lawmakers irate over Emanuel’s $1.5 billion promise to Sen. Lincoln
DickSpudCouchPotatoDetective
@Comrade Mary:
That 2-grate design is peculiar to the convection model AFAIK. The non convection version, with waist-high broiler, has 3 grates, very easy to handle. Otherwise it’s the same range.
I love the oven on the thing, it heats up quickly and reports its temperature while doing so, so that you know exactly how long your preheat will take.
suzanne
@WereBear: Yes, I know who owns it. Believe me, I never want to own *anything* that smells like burning cat piss. Oh God, THE SMELL. But the glass-top range outfoxed the little bastard. Sometimes it’s good to have opposable thumbs and critical thinking abilities.
wes g
i dont think this well help in your need of a stove, but i love http://www.slickdeals.com ! it’s basically a deals aggregator for everything.
Corner Stone
Raaaaahhhhmmmmm!!
burnspbesq
@lamh32:
No shit. I’d actually like to see him get indicted.
jeff
I guess I’m not an elite rich fancy pantsy dick like you assholes. I just wad up some old cloth and whatever wood I can find, dump a little gasoline and torch it. But I guess that’s too good for you Hollywood types. (Pro-tip: normal folks like me may not have a “stove” or “food”, but did you know that boiling rich soil makes a strong and nutritious broth?)
Corner Stone
@jeff: You can’t use a stick to knock down a dove or pigeon roosting?
Pro-tip: Find your nearest downtown park and have some squab over the open fire.
I don’t know where you are but in Southeast TX you can dig just about anywhere and get some clay. Mold the clay around the pigeon/dove and set it into the coals of your open fire.
Let it harden, then take it out to cool a bit. Crack it open with a rock and it should peel most of the feathers off with it.
burnspbesq
@Amanda in the South Bay:
Say what? Did you miss the part that says, “a reader writes?”
Andrew sometimes takes it for granted that when he posts odious shit that other people write, we are smart enough to be able to figure out for ourselves that (a) it’s odious and (b) he’s not endorsing it by printing it. Or do you need him to caption it “Malkin Award Nominee” just to be certain?
There is no reason on earth to think that he advocates violence against women. None at all. Unless you can find something in some archive somewhere that I’m unaware of.
burnspbesq
Brad DeLong wins the intertoobz for today. This takedown of Mickey Kaus’ obsession with Ezra Klein is too awesome for words.
http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2010/07/sock-puppet-watch.html
MikeJ
@burnspbesq: If I were Ezra I’d be putting “ubiquitous and central” on my résumé. Or at least the tagline of my blog.
WereBear
@jeff: What? You had WOOD?
WE had spit, and it takes a lot of flint smacking to spark that off, boyo!
MikeJ
@WereBear: Luxury, pure luxury. We would have killed for spit. We had to gather the soot from somebody else’s fireplace, all the while singing like Dick van Dyke, which left us open to being attacked by sane people, and then reverse the combustion to produce fuel for a fire we had to start by rubbing our legs together.
mattt
I am late and don’t have time to read previous comments, but having bought a couple of ranges in recent years (we’ve been moving around lately) here are some thoughts:
– if you like to cook the gas upgrade is worth it, even with a value-priced stove.
– Too many models to advise on, but be sure to get a black top. White or stainless tops get crusted with hard-to-clean carbon almost immediately.
– Try to get plain cast iron grills. Enamelled cast iron looks better when new but chips easily and is expensive to replace. If ranges with cast iron grills are too pricey I would rather have enamelled steel that is cheaper to replace, than enamelled iron grills.
– Look for a range where the burners are spaced out asymmetrically. Or at least widely spaced. On some cheaper ranges the burners are so close together that a big sauce pot will block 3 or even all 4 burners, not to mention a wok. A couple of inches here make a big difference.
– A good high-powered burner is nice for stir frying or boiling pasta water quickly. But don’t bother if the burner ring is very large diameter….the flames will reach around the sides of a pot so all those btus just go to waste, and the pot handles get rocket hot.
– In the oven – all convection systems are not created equal. Some “convection” ovens just have a fan to stir the air in the oven; these don’t cook much differently than regular ovens. The better models have an extra burner in the fan unit so the air is heated as its circulated….at least one brand calls this “true convection.” I’ve found I don’t use convection much, but if you care about it there’s a big difference in performance.
– A broiler with more burners (or “passes” if electric) really does cook a lot better than one with big gaps between the burners/passes. 5-6 is a good number of passes for an electric broiler.
– If you have both gas and 220v electric conveniently located consider a “dual fuel” range: gas cooktop and electric oven/broiler. Best of both worlds.
Many of these lessons learned by the mistake we made, buying a fairly expensive ($1200) Bosch. With hindsight there are some Kitchenaids and GEs in the $6-700 range that probably cook better and are easier to maintain.
Hope that helps….good luck shopping!
Corner Stone
@WereBear:
Ummm…no. Nevermind.
WereBear
@MikeJ: Not to mention the danger to one’s scrotums.
If one had them.
MTiffany
BTU for BTU, natural gas is less than half the price of electricity. Average residential rates run about $12.75 per thousand cubic feet NG (which is right around 1,000,000 BTUs). Nationally, the current average residential rate for electricty is $0.1175 per kWh. Since 1,000,000 BTUs is equivalent to 293 kWh, the same thermal energy you could get from natural gas for $12.75 would cost you (293 * $0.1175 =) $34.40 if you got it from electricity.
Gas is less expensive.
Also too, you get better response from a gas flame than you do a heating element == better results on the plate.
Also too as well, gas is immune to power outages.
kommrade reproductive vigor
Since we’re discussing cooking appliances in an open thread, does anyone have experience with this camp oven (or something like it)?
We camp a lot (car camping) and for some reason the idea of baking outdoors blows my mind.
OK, and it is a new gadget. But still.
Jules
Gas.
Magic Chef that is 15 years old and we have had no problems with it.
I cook a lot but only seem to use the 2 front burners.
If I had to replace my stove I would probably buy a used one…..unless I could afford one of there:
http://www.elmirastoveworks.com/northstar.aspx
I wants one of those something bad.
Martin
@Mr Furious needs a new identity to comment: Looks pretty nice. The burners seem rather cramped, however, to accommodate the controls. I find I routinely have 3-4 burners going and if one is a stock pot or large skillet, I think I’d be swearing…
Corner Stone
Man. There have been some really weird, yet lengthy, lawyer threads going on round here lately.
Kind of gives me the heebie jeebies.
jeff
Speaking seriously: I really do prefer gas. When I had electric coils, I burned things, or I couldn’t ever get water to boil. With gas, everything works!
tkogrumpy
On sealed/unsealed burners, My previous Gas stove had sealed burners, purchased by me for all the reasons other commenters have pointed out. BUT… this stove developed a problem with one burner which could not be fixed because the sealed burners cannot be replaced because they’re sealed. This meant I had to replace a stove which looked brand new and was fine in every other way simply because it could not be repaired. After consulting with friends in the appliance business,( I am a retired home builder) I purchased a G.E. gas stove in which all of the parts can be replaced. On my stove there is a 1/2″ raised lip around each burner, which means you would have to spill more than a gallon of liquid to get any into the stove. All of the other stove top parts are easily removed for cleaning and repair if needed. This stove cost me about four hundred dollars, new, about three years ago.
Jennifer
JC – I just hate electric stoves, so I think you’d be happy with gas.
That having been said – check the want ads. You can usually pick up a used stove in good condition for $150 or less.
I’m a big believer in used appliances – so many people get rid of them because of the color or a remodel, etc. It can save you a bundle if you don’t demand unlimited choices and can be happy with “works, looks fine, and costs 1/3 as much.”
M. Bouffant
Just check the adverts at the bottom of the page. Something good’s bound to come up.
lawnorder
Gas stove ? Buy one without a pilot flame, those things are dangerous. A small leak won’t harm you but might harm the pets :(
Plus they are a nightmare to clean
Or go for a new Ceramic-Glass Cooktop, with radiant heat. They are safe and oh soo easy to clean!
Frigidaire has some decently priced Ceramic-Glass Cooktop stuff. Will go twice the price for gas stoves, but worth it for the peace of mind IMHO
Steeplejack
@TaMara (BHF):
I’m very late to the thread, and I have just begun to read the comments, but I agree with TaMara. I used to prefer gas ranges, but in my current apartment I have an electric stove with a glass cooktop, and I love it. Gets hot very quickly, holds temp really well, and I feel I have as good or better control of the heat as I did with a gas range. I think that in the never-to-be-realized Steep dream house I would specify a glass cooktop.
The oven part is not such a big deal to me. If it accurately gets to the temperature you want and holds it, meh, what more do you want? The stove in my place (Amana, at least five years old) is very accurate, and I like it a lot.
Steeplejack
@arguingwithsignposts:
Tell her to sack up and deal with it. And maybe give her a special treat now and then, like some tuna. Most cats are a little wiggy when they first move into a new place. And make sure she has a good place or two to hide out.
Steeplejack
@Corner Stone:
Haven’t purchased any lately, although now you’ve got me jonesin’ for some. Are you KFC or Popeye’s?
Steeplejack
@farmette:
LOL! That is awesome.
burnspbesq
@Steeplejack:
Popeye’s is better than KFC, but neither is as good as Bojangles.
Alas, the nearest Bojangles is 1,700 miles away.
idioteraser
@AhabTRuler:
http://www.cracked.com/article_18648_the-9-most-statistically-terrifying-days-calendar_p2.html has more on that plus a few other things that cut the suicide rate in half in certain areas. Now if they can only deter the suicidal from going into the Forest of Death in Japan they will not find a few hundred dead people when the authorities do sweeps of it every decade.
Steeplejack
@arguingwithsignposts:
Dude, position a good-sized empty cardboard box in a secluded, low-traffic location and put a towel or blankie in it with water and food bowls nearby. Let her go into seclusion until this nightmare is over.
djESNO
my wife says that when she’s referring to size she’s talking about the GIRTH. maybe she’s just trying to make me feel better.
notjenna
I’m lucky I guess. Had the occasion some 10 years ago to purchase a Thermador Professional from the floor of a dealer when they were updating their show room. I’m a working class schmuck (carpenter) that’s cooked all my long life. It’s a passion. So instead of saving to buy the big pickup or other he-manly accoutremont, it’d always been my desire to have a stove worthy of my (at least as I perceived it) talent.
I’d done the research and settled on a Dacor gas range because of two things, design and performance. Wait, performance then design. As it happened. someone else in the business let me know that a local (to the trades) dealer was re-furbing their showroom. I was able to steal some time, ran down there, and scored a Thermador Professional range, single fuel.
Not what I’d been looking for but, as it turned out, just what I’d been looking for. 15,000 BTU burners x 4 but with two Extra Low Heat™ (ELH) burners and a good price for this working stiff. I didn’t get it hooked up ’til ten years later, but now that I have, it’s a real joy. Took a while to get used to all that heat. At first I’d walk away with a pot on the stove “simmering” only to find that not so long later, that simmer was, well, not. Scrub, scrub, compost. Finally realized that that the lowest setting on ELH, or just a bump above, was quite enough to get some cooking/ simmering (soup, for example) done.
What I especially like is this range has no automatic or digital stuff. Just a control for each burner, the oven, and a couple of switches, one for an oven light and one for a fan. I spoke to Thermador customer service, they told me (after talking to their specialists) it was a convection feature, but it doesn’t act that way. So, no, it’s not.
As much as I’ve cooked, I haven’t baked much. Now that I am I find that the gas oven is at least adequate (the Dacor I had my eye on was duel fuel).
In short (heh!) I’m a gas guy for all the reasons mentioned upthread. If you’re serious about cooking, gas is the way to go.
Oh, BTW, what the fuck is up with Ben Nelson? Is he being contrarian just to be contrarian? Why do we have to put up with these faux Democrats? Isn’t there a Nebraska cornfield in need of a body?
I’m just askin’.
Yutsano
@burnspbesq: I had Popeye’s for the first time on my way to Arizona from California. I forget the name of the town on the border, but it was there. Spicy needed more kick, fortunately they had hot sauce. And there ain’t no fried chicken like what can come from the stove of a Southern woman.
hamletta
Bojangle’s, Popeye’s…. Y’all just wish you lived in Nashville, where hot chicken is a way of life.
Yutsano
Okay did we all pass out?
Steeplejack
@burnspbesq:
Ooh, forgot about that. Bojangles is teh awesome.
Steeplejack
@Yutsano:
No, I was here earlier, doing my thread-killing thing–four or five consecutive comments, no replies–and then I wandered off to work on the DVR backlog. Just came back to bank the fires on the PC and hit the sack. Manaña. Will be dreaming of good Southern fried chicken.
bemused
@suzanne:
Wow. I’ve known cats who would pee in their owners shoes when angry with them but I’ve never heard of a cat peeing on a stove. That’s not just pissed off, that’s diabolical.
HeartlandLiberal
You can stay with electric if you are willing to stick with the old fashioned circular exposed coils that sit on top of inserts into the stove top to catch any debris or drippings, in order to get got heating.
This older style stove, if you have good flat-bottomed pans, will heat quickly and furiously. We had to replace our stove about a year and half ago, and that is what we went with.
We tried one of the new-fangled, modern design stoves with the flat cast-iron solid eyes, and it could never heat as well.
And we just would not even touch the popular flat surface electrics, where the eyes are indicated by drawings on the surface. Steer clear of them. A perfect case where design trumped function, and the majority of consumers, being the sheeple they can be, bought the lousy design.
Make sure you order the correct model, is it stand alone that slides in, or is it a drop in that sits on ledges formed by the counter tops. Ours is the latter, but my son and I managed to install it ourselves, replacing the old and trimming some on the counter to get a snug fit for the new one. Took the opportunity to replace the hardwired cable that dropped to lower level through the wall with a code-compliant wiring setup and plug behind the stove. Original owner failed to mention that jewel of bad building when we bought the house.
I have to admit that underlying this is our desire to not have gas in the house at all,, just for safety sake and to not support it as a source of energy. We are over 3,100 sq ft all electric.
And I will use this as an opportunity to push geo-thermal.
Any of you out there looking at building a house, or renovating the heating and cooling in a house, if you can in any way swing it, be willing to spend the additional upfront cost for a geo-thermal water furnace with a loop well into the ground by your house to support it.
We are talking thousands of dollars additional upfront cost. But we are talking the cleanest, most efficient heating and cooling combined into one unit available. And the environment will love you for it. Two years ago we replaced the original 15 year old unit with the latest top end Water Furnace, and it has performed superbly, keeping the whole house at 71-72 F degrees during the day, even when it was in the low to mid-90’s outside, and the humidity was also in the 90’s.
Of course, good thing global warming doesn’t exist, I am sure there is some other reason to explain the hottest July in America on record, and a July in Indiana that was nothing but 31 almost intolerably hot and humid heatstroke threatening days in a row.
Despite frequent rainstorms and moisture, between the heat and insects, about half of my vegetable garden was devastated. You really just can’t ignore the squash borers. I should have grabbed the Sevin / Rhotenone, and blasted the roots, but I didn’t pay attention, and paid the price. You can think organic all you want, and you can also let the plants die before your eyes, along with the pumpkins, in a matter of 4-5 days. And the cabbage moth caterpillars will gobble all your kale, collards, and Brussels sprouts, too. At least I have managed to keep them barely under control with the Sevin powder, and we are on the verge of a bumper crop of sprouts.
At least my new strawberry patch, protected by a new water scarecrow, has survived any additional deer attacks, and we are eating lots of fresh strawberries.
Sam Jackson
Replaced our old electric a couple of years back with one of these: Blue Star residential cooking series.
Absolutely thrilled with it. Open burners…so deliver a lot of heat…but have a nice drip through design for easier clean up (not quite lift and wipe…but clean up is easy).
The oven is gas…and I have been told that electrics are better…but given what we use it for baking cookies and muffins and the occasional tofurky it works fine :)
Not sure if the convection electrics are that much better than the gas to pay extra for the dual-fuels.
The bluestar is not cheap…but we think it is great value for money.
kommrade reproductive vigor
For the record, modern gas stoves are electric ignition. Personally I don’t like this because it means no oven during a blackout, but safety first as the Emperor would say.
I never had a problem with pilot stoves, never had a pilot just go out for no reason and the smell lets you know what’s up pdq.
If you want to worry about an appliance that can Kill You, worry about gas water heaters. Those fuckers lurk in the basement getting up to who knows what.
HRA
An electric stove is what I grew up with in my parents home. On my own I have had both electric and gas. All the cooking and baking that I have been through in my past and present did not show me any difference in the final product of my labors. I have settled on electric with a ceramic top for several years now. It’s cleaner in that I don’t have to scrub around and into the burners till my arms fall off. It’s also cleaner for the everything in the house.
I am off to the cottage on the lake. You all have a good week.
gypsy howell
@kommrade reproductive vigor:
Electric ignition when the power’s out? Piece of cake — you light it with a match.
We did this just last week when our power went out. Another reason to have a gas stove.
(Ours is propane — no gas lines out here in ex-exurbia. A good option for anyone who wants gas but doesn’t have gas from the street. )
Edit: I see you said OVEN. Yeah, that won’t light with a match as far as I know. But at least with gas, you’d have an operational stove.
gelfling545
Just make sure your gas stove in energy star rated (meaning the oven insulation is good and the fuel burns efficiently) and then go with the cheapest one that appeals to you.
vaux-rien
My mom has an old Magic Chef from about 1950 and it’s awesome. I don’t think there’s ever been a real problem with it, perhaps the thermostat’s been replaced. The nicest feature is the separate broiler which is alongside the oven and is about the same size; really nice and convenient.
Even with a 60 year-old stove the pilot light is connected to a valve that automatically turns off the gas when the flame goes out, that’s not really a concern.
http://home.howstuffworks.com/pilot-light.htm
I’ve had electric ignition stoves too and I’ve been able to light the oven either with a match through one of the holes at the bottom or sometimes lighting the burners on the top will somehow light the stove. Not sure how that works but sometimes, with some stoves, it will.
p.a.
I have both, and if you can afford it, i recommend gas burners (instantaneous control of temp changes) and an electric oven (gas burns ‘wet’ so electric does a better job in the oven). Of course, replacing bad stovetop coils is just slightly harder than changing a lightbulb. Old models use 2-4 screws and ceramic insulators, newer models plug in. The old screw-type coils may require an online search to find. If the controls are the problem with the coils working, then a new stove is the way to go. Any work, don’t forget to shut off the breaker.
Corner Stone
@Steeplejack:
Popeye’s all the way, can’t stand KFC.
And you’d better hunt for a coupon before you go.
PurpleGirl
My dream arrangement would be a gas cook-top and a wall oven/broiler. The friends who lived in Peekskill had bought a custom built house that had cook-top and wall oven. I really liked the wall oven — didn’t have bend over to put things in and pull out from the oven or broiler. Now that I have back problems, I’d really like being able to that again.
ETA: I read most of the thread but I have to run some errands now and the thread is keeping from that. I should have read and participated in the thread last night, I guess.
Kirk Spencer
Wow. Late to this party and I regret it.
The reality is that for the vast majority of cooking, the question of gas vs electric just doesn’t matter. I’ve had great and crappy stoves and ranges of both types.
If you’re not buying top line, electric is a little easier when you need to hit the low temps – simmers, sweats, etc. If you’re not buying top line, gas is better for things like stir frying where you need very high temps.
As for safety, provided you exercise reasonable care and maintenance both types are quite safe. I twitch against gas because I had an igniter fail once upon a time. That meant a burner could be on, just a bit, and the gas not get lit. However, I’ve seen an electric burner catch fire as well so I know both have risks.
Last point is the bit about no cast iron on glasstop stoves. I know the story, I know the reasoning, and I want to note that I’ve been doing it for about ten years now without cracking or scratching the glass. ymmv.
Corner Stone
@Corner Stone: And to be clear, I much prefer home made fried chicken but it is way too much of a hassle for me to fry bone in chicken just for me.
My son doesn’t eat meat and so I usually just batter and then oven fry chicken breast I’ve cut into strips and flattened a little.
I used to get the 14 piece family meal deal at Popeye’s for $12.99 with a coupon. Over the last 18 months that has gone to now $20.99 with coupon.
This must be a result of that inflation stuff El Cid is always warning us about.
Mnemosyne
@kommrade reproductive vigor:
The Mythbusters know.
CynDee
@debit: Not true. I boot up my Mac and turn on the stove and put the bacon in a cast iron pan on the top and the biscuits in a cast iron pan in the oven, and everything just works.
In fact, the iron pans work so well you don’t even really have to have the Mac ON.
@Corner Stone: Fast-food chicken is the worst for factory farm animals. Just sayin’. You can get a whole free-range chicken for or $9, and a piece of breast for $3 or $4.
Maybe the factory farm chickens and meat make your child sick and that’s why he won’t eat them. We had quit eating chicken, then found free-range didn’t make us sick. Those poor factory farm animals are not only full of growth hormones and additives, but also stress hormones from the awful way they are treated. Sorry if I spoil your appetite; just sayin’, and now I’ll be quiet.
Ethan's Mom
John,
The August 2010 issue of Consumer Reports reviewed ranges. Here’s the list of their recommended gas ranges:
Kenmore 7138[9] (C3) $750
Hotpoint RGB745DEP[WH] (C5) $550
Kenmore 7744[9] (C6) $600
Frigidaire Gallery GLGF386D[S] (C20) $800
BB
We remodeled a couple of years ago and went with induction. Best decision I have ever made. Have used both gas and regular electric through the years but this is the best by far. The best thing is it does not heat up the kitchen and is a snap to clean up.
Info @
http://theinductionsite.com/
Jay S
There have been a couple of comments about glass tops with cast iron cookware being a bad idea.
I do it infrequently, but it works fine. The manufacturers recommend against it. I believe that is because of the greater potential to crack the stove top if you drop the pan. You do want flat bottom pans with no warping for glass tops.
caune
Hmm. I thought John has made up his mind he wanted gas and was asking about models or brands of stove….
If you are my advice, Jenn Air is over priced for what you get and I’ve had issues with Jenn Air appliances that became very pricey.
GE profile are great looking and if you can’t afford GE Kenmore is good quality for the price. I bought the GE Profile series electric range about 4 years ago and I love it, works great and looks great when I’m not using it.
Corner Stone
@CynDee: It’s worth considering. Maybe his palette hasn’t yet been corrupted by all the salt, hot sauce and hormones like mine has.
MoZeu
@Sam Jackson: I am SOOOO jealous!!!!!!
Jay C
Another vote for gas: at least for the cooktop: electric ovens, in my experience, work better; but if you don’t do a lot of baking, a new gas-oven should work fine.
Also: if, as you say, you use heavy cast-iron or aluminum* cookware, controlling the heat will be a LOT easier with a gas flame.
*you have Calphalon pans and don’t use them??? What a waste: if you want a “heavy” feel, cook with a wrist-weight on: Calphalon is the best….. (except for boiling water, as for pasta: cheap and thin is MUCH better)
Cheryl from Maryland
First, based on the pictures, I’d buy what JeffreyW tells you to.
For me, gas is the way to go, especially if you stir fry rather than bake or braise (fast hot heat rather than low constant heat). I have a 12 year old Jenn Air (like Jefferyw’s but electric no gas in my neighborhood). The wok cartridge, the grill and the griddle are the best — nothing like grilled kebabs in January.
My understanding is that Jenn Air had issues in the mid 2000’s after corporate problems with Maytag, but is now solid.
As for cookware, try Demeyre (from Belgium). Dishwasher safe — stainless steel with aluminum core bottoms. Actually, for any cookware or knives, go to knifemerchant.com. I haven’t purchased any cookware from a different source in over 10 years.