On cookers do you prefer gas hobs or electric hobs? What are your reasons?
By Andrew
@AndrewFreyne (6281)
United Kingdom
September 13, 2009 8:57am CST
I'm not a very good cook, I have to admit that first and foremost! However, when it comes to cookers and the different kinds of hobs they have on top I tend to favour electric now. I used to have gas hobs but I noticed that it's quite expensive and electric tends to be a whole lot cheaper. One good thing about having gas is, it's far quicker in terms of cooking something. I love eggs and I will use this as one example. When I had a gas cooker with gas hobs I used to boil eggs and it took a maximum of three minutes. However, now that I have electric hobs eggs take around ten minutes from start to finish! This is the only disadvantage I see with electricl hobs. What do you prefer gas or electric? Electric hobs look quite nice as well, quite trendy I think!
Andrew
Andrew10 responses
@kellyjeanne (1576)
• United States
20 Sep 09
Well, that's a complicated answer. Overall, I prefer an electric stove because they are safer and since I have a cat I don't want her to get burned from the open flames that a gas stove has.
Gas stoves have certain advantages though. For instance, you can regulate the fire on a gas stove sooooo much better than on an electric one. I can make a great quiche on a gas stove because I can REALLY regulate the fire. It's really not that possible on an electric one.
You're also right about a gas stove getting a lot hotter faster! We can't have it both ways I guess.
Hey, it seems I've been answering a LOT of your discussions, huh? LOL!
Purrs,
Catwoman=^..^= & Mija
1 person likes this
@kellyjeanne (1576)
• United States
24 Sep 09
When I'm cooking Mija does not get on the counters like she does when I'm not cooking. Also, after I've cooked and the burners are turned off but still hot she seems to know that because they are hot to stay away from them. I've had Mija for nearly 6 years and she has never burned her sweet little black paws! LOL!
Purrs,
Catwoman=^..^= & Mija
@AndrewFreyne (6281)
• United Kingdom
20 Sep 09
I guess we all have our favourite choices in relation to cooking stoves and so forth. There is something I just thought about in relation to electric hobs and that is, if you have a cat I'm wondering if it tends to jump up onto the kitchen counters as cats are prone to do, does your cat do this? If this is the case then it could burn it's paws as electric hobs take quite a while to cool down completely. I still favour the electric hob above all else though. Andrew
@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
13 Sep 09
Hi Andrew, cheap electric! It's so expensive out here now I'm pretty tempted to cook eggs on the car bonnet instead. Anyway as there' no point wishing for what we can't have, which is a gas supply, I will have to say electric for my hobs but would actually choose electric every time for an oven. My electic hob does provide instant heat and is very easy to control but I cannot remember the English name for what those types of hob rings are called with red spirals underneath a flat surface, sorry. The older style thick black raised rings were terrible but did have one advantage, you could carry on cooking during a power cut as they took so long to cool down.
@AndrewFreyne (6281)
• United Kingdom
13 Sep 09
Hi thea, I certainly remember those old thick black raised rings, I don't think they were any good really! I have become so accustomed to cooking on electric hobs now that I don't think I will ever resort to gas again. Electricity does seem to be quite cheap over here now, the prices have certainly started going down. Eggs on a car bonnet could certainly work although I think that the paint could be ruined! Well, here's to cooking the electric hob way! Andrew
@cloudwatcher (6861)
• Australia
14 Sep 09
I have used gas cookers most of my life but since retiring, I have electric.
GAS cooking is much easier. The gas is quickly and easily controlled. The heat can be turned up or down, and it is immediate. Simmering can be obtained with no hassle, whereas electric takes forever to get the setting right.
On the other hand, I now have electric with a ceramic glass top. Great! It is so clean and sparkly. It is a classic piece of furniture in the kitchen. I can put up with the little hassles of adjusting the heat for the beauty of the stove.
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@AndrewFreyne (6281)
• United Kingdom
15 Sep 09
I can certainly relate to trying to find the exact setting with electric! I used to ruin my eggs when I first started but I have learned the ropes now as it were! All the new flats and apartments that are being built nowadays have electric cookers that come with them and I think that this is a great idea! Anyway, electric cookers and hobs look very smart I think! Andrew
@pooh08 (671)
• Vietnam
14 Sep 09
I'm not good at cooking much. But I think every kind has special things are difference even opposite each other. My kitchen has both kind. But my grandmother usually use electric hobs because electric is cheaper than gas. At the time that gas always raise, the best way is use electric.
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@AndrewFreyne (6281)
• United Kingdom
15 Sep 09
Yes, I love electric! Absolutely everything is electric in my flat! I love those electric hob covers too which you can find and it kind of decorates the kitchen a little I think. Andrew
@mobhomeir (7558)
• Philippines
15 Sep 09
Hello Andrew, we prefer gas hobs because electric tends to be more expensive unlike in your country...the only advantage in electric hobs is you have a clean kettle every after you cook...thanks...
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@AndrewFreyne (6281)
• United Kingdom
15 Sep 09
Yes, I've definitely noticed that about my frying pans and saucepans, they are spotless underneath! The prices of electricity seem to be getting lower and lower over here in London, I'm pretty chuffed about this! Andrew
@AndrewFreyne (6281)
• United Kingdom
13 Sep 09
I am focused totally on electric items within my flat! I guess when you become comfortable with something you tend to stick with it and this certainly works for me in relation to electric cookers. The only disadvantage with electric hobs is the fact that they take so long to cool down once you have turned everything off so there's an element of safety there too I think. Andrew
@wolfie34 (26770)
• United Kingdom
13 Sep 09
Hi Andrew, I have always grown up in a household that uses gas, so I am much more au fait with gas cookers than electricity, to me I feel happier to use them. When I used to live with my ex we had an electric one and I hated it! I could never get it to cook food properly and found the settings a nightmare, I gave up, I am not a cook so my ex did all the cooking fortunately. I guess it's what you get used to or what you have grown up with. But if I ever got my own place I would insist on gas every time. I know electric is much cleaner but you always know when gas is on, you can smell it and see it, you can't see electricity and a few times I have burnt myself not realizing the hob was on.
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@AndrewFreyne (6281)
• United Kingdom
13 Sep 09
Hi wolfie, yes each to their own. Gas is so convenient but I have been using electric hobs for such a long time now that it would seem strange to resort back to gas once more. There's a real danger with electric hobs as you say in relation to forgetting to turn them off, thankfully this has not happened to me as yet. You also have this lovely hob covers which you can use to cover them, all kinds of different styles and colours. Andrew
@horsesrule (1957)
• United States
13 Sep 09
I like the gas more. I think you can control the temperature better with it. I mean the electric seems to take a while to cool down when it gets hot, then you turn it down to simmer and it takes a bit of time to do that. I also think gas is safer with the kids touching it because the gas burner goes off and that's that pretty much though the metal can still be hot to touch. The electric takes much longer to cool off. Now I say that because I have had gas in the past but that was a long time ago. Maybe the new electric are better with more features to prevent that, I just don't know the answer to that.
@cloudwatcher (6861)
• Australia
14 Sep 09
The newer electric ones do heat and cool much faster, but it is still more difficult to obtain a steady simmer.
@Wizzywig (7847)
•
13 Sep 09
I think I prefer a gas hob but an electric oven. I can clearly see when a gas hob is going to be hot and, if I see something about to boil over I can turn off the gas hob and it will stop straightaway but the electric hob will stay hot so there is not the same level of control. However, I like the fact that an electric oven seems to take more time to cool down because I can switch it off before the food is cooked, knowing it will carry on in the stored heat... saving fuel.
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@AndrewFreyne (6281)
• United Kingdom
13 Sep 09
Yes, I can definitely relate to the good old electric oven! I have everything electric and I have become so used to this way of cooking now. I have learnt how to time exactly how long different items of food take to cook on the hob. I don't think that I will ever return to gas. Andrew
@Tantrums (945)
• Philippines
13 Sep 09
I think you meant cooks ( and not cookers) heehee, Being the man of the house ( I don't trust my wife with pots and laddles) I prefer using gas hobs, it's like I can see the heat coming out of the flames and I can properly see if it's too hot or not.
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@AndrewFreyne (6281)
• United Kingdom
13 Sep 09
I guess there's nothing really wrong with gas if that's what you want to use. I have been using electric hobs for so long I don't remember when I first started. I do cook myself although I am the type of guy that reads the instructions on the food packs! Otherwise I love cooking pasta and things like that. I have learnt how to boil my eggs properly now with the electric hob system! Andrew
