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I have recently moved house and one of the downsides is that I'm now stuck with an electric stove instead of a gas stove which was in the previous house.

I'm not liking it one bit:

  • It takes too long to heat up (I have to pre-heat it like an oven)
  • You can't do any funky stuff with the open flame, like charring the skins off capsicums so you can peel them

Okay, I see some advantages:

  • Easier to keep clean
  • Flatter stovetop means less chance of a pot falling over

But seriously - I don't think any professional or keen amateur chef would be able to argue that an electric stovetop is better than gas.

I'd like to replace it with a gas stove in the near future. In the meantime, can anyone convince me that electric is better?

JustRightMenus
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LeopardSkinPillBoxHat
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10 Answers10

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Can I convince you that electric is better? No, I can't, because I don't think it is. The issue I have is related to how long it takes to warm up (and cool down). Electric cook tops just don't respond quickly. Little too hot? Too bad, nothing you can do about it (in time to save a dish that's starting to burn anyway). Not hot enough? Check back in 2 or 3 minutes. I find this particularly irritating when a recipe requires varying heats while cooking. Sorry I don't have better news for you.

yossarian
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    Too hot? Lift the pan up, or move it. If you're good at flipping stuff in a pan, do that, as it'll help cool the food off even faster. – Joe Aug 30 '10 at 20:22
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    @Joe, yeah, but the ring still doesn't cool down for a while. Real pain in the butt when you're cooking at your mother in laws and already using the other burners. – yossarian Aug 30 '10 at 21:00
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    You know you can always take the pan to somewhere that's not the stove, right? If you're not on a glass-top unit, and you're not dealing with liquids, you can even tip the pan so it's not making good contact w/ the burner (which helps the burner cool off faster) – Joe Aug 30 '10 at 22:36
  • ... and I fail to see how any of these are 'benefits of electric stoves versus gas stoves' Besides, the heat issues you have w/ cast iron, too. Unless you're cooking with really thin pans, they're going to take some time to cool off or heat up. – Joe Aug 30 '10 at 22:51
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    As I already pointed out, the broad statement "Electric cook tops just don't respond quickly" needs to be qualified. This isn't true of induction. In that case, experience proves that electricity is better than gas. – Mike Scott Aug 31 '10 at 14:05
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    @Mike, maybe this is just a semantic thing, but I think of electric cook tops as the ones with coils that heat up and induction cook tops as a completely different thing. So I'm sticking with my answer, especially given the question that was initially asked. – yossarian Aug 31 '10 at 14:17
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    yossarian, inductive is electric too - regardless of whether you think they're not ;-) If you want to be specific, I suggest using the term "resistive electric". If you use the term electric to mean resistive electric, then people who know that inductive is electric (which is the majority - I mean, does anyone think inductive cookers are powered by gas? ;-) ) will misunderstand you. So my comment stands - you need to qualify your term "electric" ;-) – Mike Scott Sep 03 '10 at 11:15
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    @Mike Scott, for normal people, "electric cooktop" always and only means "traditional resistor-based electric cooktop". If we want to talk about induction cooktops, we say... wait for it... "induction cooktop". – Marti Dec 30 '10 at 04:22
  • @Marti, if we want to talk about resistive cooktops, we say... wait for it... "resistive cooktop". – Mike Scott Jan 04 '11 at 14:29
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    @Mike, I don't know why this was revived, but you are dead wrong. While your explanation is technically correct, no one calls it a resistive cooktop. They call it electric. And no one says electric inductive, they say induction. The fact that you want to nitpick what's technically correct is completely irrelevant to the way people actually talk. – yossarian Jan 04 '11 at 18:05
  • @yossarian, the questioner was considering whether to switch from electric to gas. My suggestion that he could use an induction cooktop (possibly a quick drop-in replacement) instead of going to the trouble of plumbing in a gas cooktop, is hardly nitpicking. It's highly relevant to the question. It's you who started the nitpicking. And besides, the term "electric cooktop" is clearly ambiguous since induction cooktops are electric. In a question of electric vs gas, it's important to consider *all* electric options. – Mike Scott Jan 05 '11 at 18:44
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What the others say is true, but ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE for an electric induction cooker!!

I used to think gas was better until I also moved into a flat with no gas. I was soon sick of it but I discovered induction and changed the basic electric cooker for an induction one.

Now I know that an induction cooker is even better than gas because:

  1. It responds instantly like gas.
  2. It puts out more energy than gas and thus boils quicker.
  3. It's more controllable than gas. My hob has 19 digital settings, so once you know to set it at 5.5 for boiling pasta, you always set it at that and it's the same every time.
  4. It doesn't heat up your kitchen like gas (or other electric stoves) because the induction effect causes the pan itself to heat and not the hob, so less waste heat.
  5. It's MUCH easier to clean than gas, since it's a flat glass plate and as it doesn't heat up, any spills don't burn on.
  6. It's much safer than gas. No chance of an explosion and no gas smells. Also, the hob only gets hot from the heat from the pans, so much less chance of burning yourself if you touch it.

Downside is that you need pans that work with an induction cooker. Almost all modern pans do. Just check a pan with a fridge magnet - if the magnet sticks, it should work with induction.

Also, induction is not cheap. However, you can buy small single or double ring worktop models that just plug in to a socket to augment your existing cooker if you don't want to go the whole way and completely replace it.

Mike Scott
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  • Induction is a different game from resistive heat: I've only use one for a sort time, but found it much better. Likewise, the glasstop has some advantage over coils and open flame. – dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten Aug 30 '10 at 15:08
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    Good answer, but unfortunately, I think the OP is trying to get someone to convince them that their current electric stove is ok and doesn't need to be replaced. You've just suggested that he replace it with something even more expensive than the OP was planning! :o) – yossarian Aug 30 '10 at 16:43
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    yossarian, he's planning to replace it: "...I'd like to replace it with a gas stove in the near future..." I was suggesting he might like to investigate induction as an alternative to gas. – Mike Scott Aug 31 '10 at 14:01
  • additionally, I added "However, you can buy small single or double ring worktop models that just plug in to a socket to augment your existing cooker if you don't want to go the whole way and completely replace it." – Mike Scott Aug 31 '10 at 14:02
  • I have to say that this fails to answer the question that was asked. In normal English usage, "electric stove" always refers to the traditional resistor-coil technology, **not** to induction/magnet-based technology. To refer to the latter, the proper term is "induction stove". – Marti Dec 30 '10 at 04:30
  • @Marti, I don't agree. It's true that "induction stove" is more specific, but it's still an electric stove. The more specific term for what you mean is "electric resistive stove". Halogen stoves are electric stoves too. Now, the questioner asked "...can anyone convince me that electric is better?" He was considering changing his stove to gas. My answer was completely relevant - he wanted to move away from a resistive stove and wanted to know if there was any reason to stay with electric instead of gas. – Mike Scott Jan 04 '11 at 14:25
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Well, with an electric you get

  • Modestly less fire hazard
  • No gas leak hazard

but I'd generally take gas.

dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten
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  • One could add no soot accumulation over the years, but that's still not enough to tip the balance. – papin Aug 30 '10 at 19:31
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    Moderately less fire hazard? I'd argue significantly less, even though I have set an electric stove on fire. Although, luckily, 1970's fashion with large open sleaves are gone. – Joe Aug 30 '10 at 20:38
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    @Joe: I don't really have any way to quantify it, and I didn't want to over state the case. – dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten Aug 30 '10 at 20:41
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I found it is much easier to keep the heat quite low with an electric stove. As for a quick response when the pot is too hot, just slide it off the burner. This is particularly easy with the flat tops.

kajaco
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Besides what @dmckee mentioned :

  • No pilot light, so you're only using fuel when you need it. (except for the clock, if you have one)
  • No failed electric starter, and having to go find matches for those that don't have a pilot.
  • No chance of explosion from when you tried setting the gas so low the burner blows out.

update :

  • doesn't use hydrocarbons, could be made 'green' by using electricity from replenish-able sources (hydro, wind, solar) or nuclear. (unfortunately, you then have the issue of conversion and transmission loss, so if you're in an coal or gas power plant area, it's less green)

update 2:

  • you don’t come downstairs to a kitchen smelling like gas because your nephew pushed against the stove while reaching the microwave above the stove (happened to a friend of mine; autistic nephew didn’t grow up with gas and ignored the weird smell; I also did it once when visiting, and it was on so low I didn’t smell it for a while)

  • more flexibility in placement, as they don’t require venting to avoid the air quality issues from indoor combustion. (And newer homes are less drafty, so combustion gasses linger longer if not vented; some people think this may be the reason for increased asthma, and are starting to set laws against new gas appliance installs)

Joe
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  • The pilot light thing is true, but I haven't had a gas cooktop with a pilot light in 30 years; they're all electric start now. (And the electric start always fails, but now you can get little battery-powered electric spark lighters.) – Pointy Jan 16 '23 at 17:06
  • You can also get lighters where pushing down the button generates the electricity for the spark so there’s no battery required – Joe Jan 16 '23 at 17:13
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    wow thanks for the response, I missed the date on this answer :) My little battery things are USB-charged so I don't mind them; I've tried the "clicky" ones that work like those sparkly toy things, and they're OK but the USB sparky things are easier. – Pointy Jan 16 '23 at 17:54
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Good electric stoves often put out the same or more power (BTUs/hr) than gas stoves, and they are more efficient at transmitting the heat, as it is via conduction not radiation. This means that on a good electric stove, water will boil faster, heavy pans will heat up faster, etc. By a "good electric stove" I mean one that does not have a glass pane over the element, as these are horrible at conducting heat and take forever to heat up.

Additionally, as was pointed out above, electric stoves have the ability to maintain a lower temperature than gas stoves. So electric has a better range of heat (cooler to hotter), while gas is quicker to adjust. Still, for the home chef, switching to another burner shouldn't be a problem if you need quick adjustments in temperature.

See also this comparison.

kevins
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    "as it is via conduction not radiation" Citation needed. Both gas and electric transfer by both conduction and radiation. [Glass-ceramic cooktops](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass-ceramic#Cooktops) work entirely by radiation. – endolith Dec 28 '11 at 15:50
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If I had my perfect stove, it would have an electric oven for more precise temperatures with less variance and gas burners for faster, hotter (and I think more efficient) heating.

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    You're in luck -- these not only exist, they're actually quite common at the high-end. – Pinko Sep 04 '10 at 04:49
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Safety

Electric ranges do not rely on gas flames, which could potentially trigger a fire. Also, if a pilot light goes out on a gas range, the room can fill up with toxic and noxious gases, which are unsafe to inhale. Many electric stoves come with a light that indicates when one of the burners is on and hot, warning those around the stove not to touch the surface.

chrisjlee
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brttyking
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    Posting promotional links is not allowed. Links should either be citations or provide additional context for an answer. – Aaronut Feb 15 '12 at 16:59
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The only advantage of an electric stove is that you can use it in a place where there is no gas. There are far fewer places that have gas but no electricity.

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    You can easily convert natural gas stoves to propane, and have it delivered just about anywhere. Its fairly common in the more rural parts of the southwest. – KeithB Aug 30 '10 at 13:40
  • And the midwest, and the south... – kajaco Aug 30 '10 at 13:59
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    The flip side of this is cooking on a gas stove while the power is out (which was the case for me for two days after a hurricane once). Later I had a five day outage with an electric, but I was able to make do with my camp stove. – dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten Aug 30 '10 at 18:57
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Cooking rice. Depends on the type of stove, but this type is great for cooking rice: Add rice, salt, and right amount of water to a pot; bring to the boil; switch off once boiling and you have perfect rice 20 minutes later.

Unfortunately this, and the before-mentioned ability to keep low temperatures, are the only advantages I can think of.

user2215
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