Admittedly, I was intrigued by the thread’s subject of ‘In defense of the electric hob.' So felt it proper to engage in respectful, constructive, dialogues as opposed to impassioned pontification of my own views. Electric coils vs Gas too subjective to be be about 'right' and 'wrong.' Perhaps my comments would differ had the thread been called 'Electric Coils: Why They Suck!.'
Interested in hearing more from
@rickbern on his electro coil adventures.
Yeah, I'm a diehard fan of gas ranges, and have been so for decades—but not by choice. Gas ranges came with the apartments I've rented—usually wonky $200 models.
Type of range isn't at the top of my priorities for good cooking—I'll happily cook on anything—gas, electric, induction—bring it! To me, for good cooking, the priorities are tastes/judgements/problem solving; skill/technique; ingredients; knives; cookware; ...followed by type of range somewhere down the list. If having to cook on electric coils—I'll just get on with cooking. Type of range doesn't affect the quality of food I cook—have to adjust my technique to whatever range I use. All have pros/cons.
‘In defense of the electric hob.' On the positive side of electric coils—they're charmingly retro, cheap, iconic, look kinda cool when glowing orange on full blast. It's almost a cliche for cooks to revere their mom's or grandmother's cooking—some of which probably cooked their glorious dishes on electric coils. I was trying to convince an avid cook friend to get gas or induction with her kitchen remodeling—she ultimately went with a glass top electric stove for ease of cleaning; cost; familiarity; and a fear of gas stoves exploding (gotta respect peoples' fears, comfort zone)—I respected and supported her choice, it's her kitchen.
For the most part, I've been limited to cooking on whatever stove comes with the apartment. Cooking on electric coils doesn't phase me since I grew up cooking on them. In the State I was raised, electric much more prevalent than gas; propane tanks not always a possibility. For the amount of money I've spent on gyutos, I could've easily bought a Capital Culinarian Gas Range—but gyutos more of a priority for me.