In defense of the electric hob

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TBH, for me next range, it'll be a toss up between gas and induction—the latter said to be more fuel efficient than gas or electric.
 
I cook my ass off on an electric coil stove and have for close to two decades. I had gas for a few years and it was nice for the lack of hot spots, but otherwise, just different.

When I grew up everyone cooked on wood (yes iron wood stoves but also outdoors) or electric coil. Next to no one had gas in my circle. It was just normal and you learned how to cook on it.

There are absolutely faaaar better cooks on here than I am but I make some pretty good food that my family has always loved and I don't feel at all hamstrung by my stove. Yeah, it has hot spots, and I don't like that but otherwise, it's just a heat source that you learn to use. I'm far more concerned about my other tools than my heat source.
 
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I cook my ass off on an electric coil stove and have for close to two decades. I had gas for a few years and it was nice for the lack of hot spots, but otherwise, just different.

When I grew up everyone cooked on wood (yes iron wood stoves but also outdoors) or electric coil. Next to no one had gas in my circle. It was just normal and you learned how to cook on it.

There are absolutely faaaar better cooks on here than I am but I make some pretty good food that my family has always loved and I don't feel at all hamstrung by my stove. Yeah, it has hot spots, and I don't like that but otherwise, it's just a heat source that you learn to use. I'm far more concerned about my other tools than my heat source.

I agree with you. Although I prefer gas—I'll just adapt and can cook with either gas, electric, induction, whatever—electric ranges far more common than gas in the State I grew up in. Also don't need a wok to do a good stir fry; or a yanagi or suji to slice wonderful sashimi for that matter.
 
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I'll deal with them if its temporary. But
If I'm ever stuck with electric coils, I'll just go get a portable butane and induction burner and put them right on the range with a full size sheet pan.
 
I'll deal with them if its temporary. But
If I'm ever stuck with electric coils, I'll just go get a portable butane and induction burner and put them right on the range with a full size sheet pan.

same. 1-2 portable inductions and the existing cooktop as a backburner if/when needed.
 
I'll deal with them if its temporary. But
If I'm ever stuck with electric coils, I'll just go get a portable butane and induction burner and put them right on the range with a full size sheet pan.

I have both; portable butane and portable induction, as well as a portable coil unit. The pot/pan support bars on the butane units, are basically all the same, a 90* cross. This is an accident waiting to happen. If you place a pot off-center, and you're using taller pots with smaller diameter bases, it could easily tip over. With a wide-base pan, they're fine. With induction portables, you run a similar risk, but less so. The added height though, requires a bit more care than a regular cook-top, and they're noisy. Single-burner electric-coil portables have the same height issues, but are the quietest.

I've cooked on coils for close to 60 years, and I have no complaints. I had gas in my restaurant/snack-bar, but those were completely different classes of stove.(commercial grill/griddles and deep-fryer.) I'm presently shopping for induction for home-use, but won't take the plunge without a rock-solid guarantee of service and reliability, and, it has to be relatively noise-free.

My current stove is a 30 year old Jenn-Air downdraft w/electric coils module on one side, and a full-length grill module on the other. The modules lift out and I can swap my deep-fry module in either side in seconds. If Jenn-Air made a drop-in induction "module" for that stove,,, I'd be a very happy camper.
 
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I cooked on my coil stove for 14 years. I got to where it was automatic for me to turn the stove on high to heat faster, then turn it down once it got hot. I now have a problem when I do that on my Viking gas range without thinking I can get myself into trouble. I now have some pans that react fast enough with even heating that I can get myself out of trouble. I should develop a habit to start on medium and go from there, but I am an old dog which has a hard time learning new tricks.
 
I have both; portable butane and portable induction, as well as a portable coil unit. The pot/pan support bars on the butane units, are basically all the same, a 90* cross. This is an accident waiting to happen. If you place a pot off-center, and you're using taller pots with smaller diameter bases, it could easily tip over. With a wide-base pan, they're fine. With induction portables, you run a similar risk, but less so. The added height though, requires a bit more care than a regular cook-top, and they're noisy. Single-burner electric-coil portables have the same height issues, but are the quietest.

I've cooked on coils for close to 60 years, and I have no complaints. I had gas in my restaurant/snack-bar, but those were completely different classes of stove.(commercial grill/griddles and deep-fryer.) I'm presently shopping for induction, but won't take the plunge without a rock-solid guarantee of service and reliability, and, it has to be relatively noise-free.

My current stove is a 30 year old Jenn-Air downdraft w/electric coils module on one side, and a full-length grill module on the other. The modules lift out and I can swap my deep-fry module in either side in seconds. If Jenn-Air made a drop-in induction "module" for that stove,,, I'd be a very happy camper.


Interesting, thank you for the insight. In practice my Jerry rig vision will probably need some adjustments. If I find myself in this situation Id probably be single in an apartment, cooking small meals for myself. Im thinking Id use the butane burner with frying pans/sauting and what not, induction for liquids/pots. Noise shouldnt bother me too much.
 
...but please clean it first
That cuts me out!

Seriously, great things sometimes happen if you step out of your comfort zone in your kitchen. I bought the Barbara Kafka roasting book thirty odd years ago and I’ve always been a high temperature roaster, at least in the context of an unventilated apartment kitchen. Last night I made chicken and ribs in the oven. Had a little time so I experimented with lowering the temperature, 325f. Gotta say, came out great, picture perfect, juicy and delicious. Not trying to derail my own thread but I am proposing to some of you anti-coilists to try to break up your routine and maybe question the odd assumption or two.
 
Interesting, thank you for the insight. In practice my Jerry rig vision will probably need some adjustments. If I find myself in this situation Id probably be single in an apartment, cooking small meals for myself. Im thinking Id use the butane burner with frying pans/sauting and what not, induction for liquids/pots. Noise shouldnt bother me too much.

The noise level is roughly the same as a small microwave oven.
 
Not trying to derail my own thread but I am proposing to some of you anti-coilists to try to break up your routine and maybe question the odd assumption or two.
I cooked on them for years; that's exactly why I hate them so much. Sure, I agree, you can cook on them and you do get used to them to some extent. But even the cheapest gas stoves always felt like a massive upgrade to me.
 
Not trying to derail my own thread but I am proposing to some of you anti-coilists to try to break up your routine and maybe question the odd assumption or two.

Is 'anti-coilism' a thing? Coils, gas or induction—embrace whatever you got—shouldn't make a difference with cooking.

To me, a big element of cooking is problem solving, adapting, just dealing with whatever limitations there are to cook good food. Ultimately, I'm more into cooking than equipment. When I stay with family, I'll never ever consider complaining about the electric range in their kitchen—I'll just be grateful to have a kitchen to cook in—too petty and snobbish, and irrelevant to the joy of cooking IMO.

I'm a die hard gas range fan, but simply view electric ranges as just different, not better or worse.
 
I heard you can’t use induction stoves if your vaccinated.🤣
Induction stoves are the spawn of the devil. They were invented by the Illuminati in order to exercise mind control of the populace. They have numerous serious health effects, studies of which have been suppressed by Big Appliance. The risks include loss of appetite, reduced fertility, heart palpitations, mind palpitations, and brain rot. So there! 😈
 
Induction stoves are the spawn of the devil. They were invented by the Illuminati in order to exercise mind control of the populace. They have numerous serious health effects, studies of which have been suppressed by Big Appliance. The risks include loss of appetite, reduced fertility, heart palpitations, mind palpitations, and brain rot. So there! 😈

Ah, c'mon now Michi buddy. That's just called getting old.

😁
 
People who think the heat source doesn't matter are kidding themselves. I don't think anyone seriously prefers electric resistance stoves (except for James Beard, who was wrong).
 
People who think the heat source doesn't matter are kidding themselves. I don't think anyone seriously prefers electric resistance stoves (except for James Beard, who was wrong).
That's like saying no one should prefer stainless over carbon steel. But what if it's Nakagawa's honyaki VG10 vs a Kanefusa FKH?

I've had good gas ranges that I prefer for most* cooking in past apartments. But for whatever reason my wife's current gas stove is underpowered, and I'd rather use my current electric one. Sure, her gas stove is more responsive, but so is a scooter compared to a car. As in all things, theoretically 'better' technology can be thwarted by poor design or installation.

*never had a gas stove that beats electric for boiling water though
 
I heard you can’t use induction stoves if your vaccinated.🤣

this is a blatant lie. in fact, i've had the opposite experience.

did you know??
COVID-19 stands for “Certificate of Vaccination Identification by Artificial Intelligence,” with the number “19” representing the letters “AI.”

i have a brand new Miele induction range, and this is what happens when i entertain:

miele-induction-COVID-system.jpg


extremely frustrating.
 
As in all things, theoretically 'better' technology can be thwarted by poor design or installation.

yes, there's overlap. resitive element cooktops can be better than gas. it depends on the specific device models.
 
That's like saying no one should prefer stainless over carbon steel. But what if it's Nakagawa's honyaki VG10 vs a Kanefusa FKH?

I've had good gas ranges that I prefer for most* cooking in past apartments. But for whatever reason my wife's current gas stove is underpowered, and I'd rather use my current electric one. Sure, her gas stove is more responsive, but so is a scooter compared to a car. As in all things, theoretically 'better' technology can be thwarted by poor design or installation.

*never had a gas stove that beats electric for boiling water though

I was saying that nobody seriously has a general preference for electric resistance cooktops versus gas or induction (and if they do, then their preferences are bad). I wasn't saying that nobody has ever preferred a particular electric cooktop over a particularly crappy gas one. If we all had had unlimited funds and energy of all types was free, I doubt that any chef or cooking enthusiast would choose to have an electric resistance cooktop installed in their kitchen.
 
And he was wrong, peace be upon him. Thankfully, once he died, real cooks tore out his ****** electric range and installed a gas one.

The only thing I can find about his reasons for this preference are that he didn't like the smell of gas. That's a terrible reason. Maybe he had other reasons. If so, I'd like to know.
 
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That's like saying no one should prefer stainless over carbon steel. But what if it's Nakagawa's honyaki VG10 vs a Kanefusa FKH?

Stainless steel and VG10 all have their pros. Electric coils do not.
 
Stainless steel and VG10 all have their pros. Electric coils do not.
I get how ignorant monomaniacal zeal can feel more emotionally satisfying than engaging in basic reasoning and critical thinking, but you're off topic.
 
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