I hate electric ranges

sf said:

I love electric and distrust gas too. The only thing I think gas is
good for is great percolated coffee.
--

I've used electric ranges most of my life except for a stay in an apartment
when we were first married.
For safety, gas smells (from additives)! Up until the last three years,
I've always used electric ranges with conventional burners but must admit
I'd like to ditch my smoothtop, even though it's easy to clean. I find it
harder to regulate the heat than with any other electric range I've had. (so
there - here starts a whole new thread on smoothtop ranges.)

Dora

"limey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message >

Quoted message said:

I've used electric ranges most of my life except for a stay in an
apartment when we were first married.
For safety, gas smells (from additives)! Up until the last three years,
I've always used electric ranges with conventional burners but must admit
I'd like to ditch my smoothtop, even though it's easy to clean. I find
it harder to regulate the heat than with any other electric range I've
had. (so there - here starts a whole new thread on smoothtop ranges.)

I forgot to mention - we live beyond city gas lines so people are condemned
to large LPG tanks in the yard.

Dora

On Sun, 01 Jan 2006 22:57:52 -0500, Stan Horwitz <[email hidden]>
wrote:
<snip>

Quoted message said:

I got back to Jan and Rob's a few minutes later and Jan showed me that I
must have not turned off the burner, as I thought I had. It was still
on, but not on the high setting. I had no idea because the red color of
the burner element went off, so I thought it was reasonably cool. If it
was gas, I could have easily seen that the burner was not off.
Fortunately, I did not make that mistake with the pot of mac & cheese,
so it came out fine and it was a big hit at the party.

My sister consoled me and she said it took her a while to get used to
her electric range.

That's very true. I have had both over the years in apartments. With
the first electric I had, I also learned the hard way to watch very
carefully when turning burners on/off. A roommate had left a frying
pan with grease on the stove and I put a pot of tea on, but picked the
wrong dial. The pan with grease heated up and caught on fire.
Fortunately I was close by and smothered it with the lid.

I learned two lessons that day: 1. always wait to check the burner
to make sure that the one you want is on/off, and 2. always keep the
lid handy when frying even if you're not using it.

Both types of fuel are do-able; a lot depends on the situation. If
you live in a drafty castle with wind howling through the kitchen and
blowing out the flame ;> then an electric stove would be better.

Although I prefer gas, I had no problem adapting to electric in
various apartments. I think some of the issues people have with
either type are with cheap/old units or when switching from one fuel
to the other.

When I chose a new range for myself, I looked for and bought a gas
cooktop/gas oven. I was so happy the house had gas service so I
wasn't compelled to buy an electric range (or clothes dryer).

Sorry about the meatballs. I did get a chuckle out of the idea of
your sister washing them 🙂

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

"biig" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Peter Huebner wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Yeah, with professional grade equipment. Alas, I've two friends in whose
kitchen I HATE to cook, because they have gas tops. If there's the
slightest
breeze outside you have to close the windows, because you can no longer
get the
water to boil on their stove. At another friend's place the crossdraft
blows
the gas flame out alltogether.

The only gas / propane stove I have ever used has been in our rv's
we've had over the years. Breezes are definitely a problem. I have
electric at home and always have. ....Sharon

I can't imagine this ... all the years I've had gas stoves, only had
an electric stove once and that was in my ex's apartment ... I
have *never* had the gas flame blow out. Wouldn't even cross
my mind it could happen.

Wonder why that is?

nancy

Melba's Jammin said:

The lowest setting on my
burners will still burn a thick mixture if I don't stir and I set a
timer when I'm in the house to remind myself to stir.

Same here, I hate my electric cooker.

I have just bought a metal griddle thing though, which fits over the two
front electric hotplates... for cooking drop scones, pancakes or to use as a
griddle for eggs, bacon etc....

Now I wonder.... if I left that on there all the time, and put pans on
top.... might it dissipate the heat on the lowest setting.... enough not to
burn stuff?

I'll let you know.

--
Sue in Portsmouth,
"Old" Hampshire,
"Old" England, UK

On Sun, 01 Jan 2006 22:57:52 -0500, Stan Horwitz <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

About a year ago, my sister and her boyfriend (now husband) moved into a
home with an electric range in their kitchen. So, last night (New Years
Eve), I was up until around 1:30am making food for my dad's birthday
party, which my sister and I made at her house tonight.

I cook with gas appliances; always have. So, the meatballs turned out
great. I tried a few for breakfast. Delicious! This afternoon, I loaded
the pot of meatballs into my car along with numerous other food items
and drove to Jan and Rob's house. I got there right on time.

I proceeded to put the pot of meatballs on my sister's range to warm
them up. I cranked up her electric range to about 75% of maximum. A few
minutes later, meatballs are bubbling away, so I turned off the heat. I
realized I was late picking up a friend from a nearby train station, so
I asked my sister to check on the meatballs, then I drove over to pick
up my friend. I also did the same thing with the pot of homemade mac &
cheese I made this morning.

My sister calls me on my cell phone just as I arrived at the train
station. Jan told me the meatballs are incinerated! I asked Jan to taste
one. She does. Disgusting. While I was looking for my friend at the
train station, Jan and Rob tried to wash off the meatballs, thinking it
was the sauce that was burnt. No go. Fortunately, the train station is
adjacent to a nice supermarket. My friend Jen and I went into the
supermarket and I picked up three of those roasted chickens, and a roll
of paper towels (that my sister requested).

I got back to Jan and Rob's a few minutes later and Jan showed me that I
must have not turned off the burner, as I thought I had. It was still
on, but not on the high setting. I had no idea because the red color of
the burner element went off, so I thought it was reasonably cool. If it
was gas, I could have easily seen that the burner was not off.
Fortunately, I did not make that mistake with the pot of mac & cheese,
so it came out fine and it was a big hit at the party.

My sister consoled me and she said it took her a while to get used to
her electric range. Rob, the philosophy teacher (literally), also tried
to console me, by explaining that the outcome was the same either way,
in that we all got to enjoy some great food and nice company and we all
had a nice time. But I would have much preferred not to have to spend an
extra $20 on dinner (which my sister thanked me for), and I would have
preferred those meatballs go into the guests' tummies rather than a
garbage disposal. I will deal with the burnt pot tomorrow!

Did I mention, I hate electric ranges? Whomever thought up the idea of
an electric range out to be slaughtered and forced to eat my burned
meatballs!

can somebody tell me what it is about this stove that makes all the
rich people want to have one in their kitchen?
http://www.vikingrange.com/

I wonder what it does to make it cost four times as much a regular
stoves?

Bill

Nancy Young said:

"biig" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Peter Huebner wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Yeah, with professional grade equipment. Alas, I've two friends in whose
kitchen I HATE to cook, because they have gas tops. If there's the
slightest
breeze outside you have to close the windows, because you can no longer
get the
water to boil on their stove. At another friend's place the crossdraft
blows
the gas flame out alltogether.

The only gas / propane stove I have ever used has been in our rv's
we've had over the years. Breezes are definitely a problem. I have
electric at home and always have. ....Sharon

I can't imagine this ... all the years I've had gas stoves, only had
an electric stove once and that was in my ex's apartment ... I
have *never* had the gas flame blow out. Wouldn't even cross
my mind it could happen.

Wonder why that is?

Can happen with the older style gas stoves that have pilot lights and
don't have sealed burners... especially when these old style stoves are
installed contrary to instructions and municipal code. When idiots
decide to install gas stanchions themselves and don't read the rules,
they place the gas supply so that the stove will be installed in front
of a window and/or next to exterior doorways. I had a neighbor whose
gas burners kept blowing out, when I moved the stove to check there was
a hole in the floor where the gas line came up from the basement large
enough for a cat to crawl through... any gas stove Users manual will
explain how there must be caulking around where the gas line enters.
It shouldn't take any exceptionally high IQ to realize that open flames
can be blown out. But it's been quite a few years now since gas stoves
have been manufactured that have pilot lights and more and more have
sealed burners, and with the newer burner designs it's near impossible
to blow out the flame.

On Mon, 2 Jan 2006 11:06:50 -0500, "Nancy Young" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

"biig" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Peter Huebner wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Yeah, with professional grade equipment. Alas, I've two friends in whose
kitchen I HATE to cook, because they have gas tops. If there's the
slightest
breeze outside you have to close the windows, because you can no longer
get the
water to boil on their stove. At another friend's place the crossdraft
blows
the gas flame out alltogether.

The only gas / propane stove I have ever used has been in our rv's
we've had over the years. Breezes are definitely a problem. I have
electric at home and always have. ....Sharon

I can't imagine this ... all the years I've had gas stoves, only had
an electric stove once and that was in my ex's apartment ... I
have *never* had the gas flame blow out. Wouldn't even cross
my mind it could happen.

Wonder why that is?

Because they are in an RV. Plus, they are cooking with an RV stove.

I've never had problems with gas flames blowing out either. But I've
never had a kitchen with that kind of breeze. Hopefully they are not
talking about such a draft in the winter, but instead open windows in
mild weather. It would have to be a particular configuration, where a
strong air current blows across the stove or in a small area where the
breezes create significant turbulence. I don't have openable windows
in my kitchen, but if I did, if the breeze was so strong as to blow
out the flame, I'd close the windows while cooking anyway because it
would blow other stuff (flour, herbs) around. My kitchen door is on
the same wall as the stove so breezes do not blow across the stove.

Plus, there are stoves and there are stoves. Just like old electric
coils heat unevenly with hot spots, a gas stove without good
maintenance, eg. out of adjustment (poor air/gas mix), conceivably
could have problems in various situations. If you've ever used a
bunsen burner, you know that you can have a strong pointed flame or a
weak wavy flame (that will go out when someone walks by) depending on
how you adjust it.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

Wayne Boatwright said:

On Sun 01 Jan 2006 10:34:18p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it ?

Quoted message said:

On Sun, 01 Jan 2006 22:57:52 -0500, Stan Horwitz <[email hidden]>
wrote:

You never see an electric cooktop in a restaurant kitchen. They are
always gas.

I'm not cooking in a restaurant kitchen.

go Wayne...you tell em!

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

These chefs know what's best - so there's no argument.

What is arguable is whether what is best in a restaurant kitchen is also best
for a home kitchen.

ah...keep going Wayne...you know come to think of it....every
restaurant kitchen I have ever been in had a gas range...there's got
to be a logical reason for this?

Bill

EastneyEnder said:

Melba's Jammin said:

The lowest setting on my
burners will still burn a thick mixture if I don't stir and I set a
timer when I'm in the house to remind myself to stir.

Same here, I hate my electric cooker.

I have just bought a metal griddle thing though, which fits over the two
front electric hotplates... for cooking drop scones, pancakes or to use as a
griddle for eggs, bacon etc....

Now I wonder.... if I left that on there all the time, and put pans on
top.... might it dissipate the heat on the lowest setting.... enough not to
burn stuff?

I'll let you know.

When I had an electric stove I bought a couple of metal plates that
clipped onto the electric coils to soften and diffuse the heat. It
worked very well.

I also have "flame spreaders" that do the same for gas burners.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

On Sun, 01 Jan 2006 22:57:52 -0500, Stan Horwitz <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I got back to Jan and Rob's a few minutes later and Jan showed me that I
must have not turned off the burner, as I thought I had. It was still
on, but not on the high setting. I had no idea because the red color of
the burner element went off, so I thought it was reasonably cool.

If the burner was red while you were re-heating your meatballs,
then it was too high to begin with. You should only see red when
boiling something.

[Assuming these are the external coil element burners]

-sw

Bill said:

On Sun, 01 Jan 2006 22:57:52 -0500, Stan Horwitz <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

About a year ago, my sister and her boyfriend (now husband) moved into a
home with an electric range in their kitchen. So, last night (New Years
Eve), I was up until around 1:30am making food for my dad's birthday
party, which my sister and I made at her house tonight.

I cook with gas appliances; always have. So, the meatballs turned out
great. I tried a few for breakfast. Delicious! This afternoon, I loaded
the pot of meatballs into my car along with numerous other food items
and drove to Jan and Rob's house. I got there right on time.

I proceeded to put the pot of meatballs on my sister's range to warm
them up. I cranked up her electric range to about 75% of maximum. A few
minutes later, meatballs are bubbling away, so I turned off the heat. I
realized I was late picking up a friend from a nearby train station, so
I asked my sister to check on the meatballs, then I drove over to pick
up my friend. I also did the same thing with the pot of homemade mac &
cheese I made this morning.

My sister calls me on my cell phone just as I arrived at the train
station. Jan told me the meatballs are incinerated! I asked Jan to taste
one. She does. Disgusting. While I was looking for my friend at the
train station, Jan and Rob tried to wash off the meatballs, thinking it
was the sauce that was burnt. No go. Fortunately, the train station is
adjacent to a nice supermarket. My friend Jen and I went into the
supermarket and I picked up three of those roasted chickens, and a roll
of paper towels (that my sister requested).

I got back to Jan and Rob's a few minutes later and Jan showed me that I
must have not turned off the burner, as I thought I had. It was still
on, but not on the high setting. I had no idea because the red color of
the burner element went off, so I thought it was reasonably cool. If it
was gas, I could have easily seen that the burner was not off.
Fortunately, I did not make that mistake with the pot of mac & cheese,
so it came out fine and it was a big hit at the party.

My sister consoled me and she said it took her a while to get used to
her electric range. Rob, the philosophy teacher (literally), also tried
to console me, by explaining that the outcome was the same either way,
in that we all got to enjoy some great food and nice company and we all
had a nice time. But I would have much preferred not to have to spend an
extra $20 on dinner (which my sister thanked me for), and I would have
preferred those meatballs go into the guests' tummies rather than a
garbage disposal. I will deal with the burnt pot tomorrow!

Did I mention, I hate electric ranges? Whomever thought up the idea of
an electric range out to be slaughtered and forced to eat my burned
meatballs!

can somebody tell me what it is about this stove that makes all the
rich people want to have one in their kitchen?
http://www.vikingrange.com/

I wonder what it does to make it cost four times as much a regular
stoves?

Actually nothing... but folks with many more dollars than they know
what to do with typically puchase all sorts of over hyped things. And
sometimes there is just no anwer to a question... like my father could
never fathom why my mother needed a hundred pairs of shoes, most of
which she never wore.

On Mon, 02 Jan 2006 11:49:36 -0500, Bill <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

can somebody tell me what it is about this stove that makes all the
rich people want to have one in their kitchen?
http://www.vikingrange.com/

I wonder what it does to make it cost four times as much a regular
stoves?

I have to say they are attractive.

Other than that, my guess is that rich people start looking at the top
end and don't worry about value. They never make it down to our price
range. They probably buy cars and watches the same way. 🙂

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

"Curly Sue" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

On Mon, 2 Jan 2006 11:06:50 -0500, "Nancy Young" <[email hidden]>
wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

"biig" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Peter Huebner wrote:

Quoted message said:

> Yeah, with professional grade equipment. Alas, I've two friends in
> whose
> kitchen I HATE to cook, because they have gas tops. If there's the
> slightest
> breeze outside you have to close the windows, because you can no longer
> get the
> water to boil on their stove. At another friend's place the crossdraft
> blows
> the gas flame out alltogether.

The only gas / propane stove I have ever used has been in our rv's
we've had over the years. Breezes are definitely a problem. I have
electric at home and always have. ....Sharon

I can't imagine this ... all the years I've had gas stoves, only had
an electric stove once and that was in my ex's apartment ... I
have *never* had the gas flame blow out. Wouldn't even cross
my mind it could happen.

Wonder why that is?

Because they are in an RV. Plus, they are cooking with an RV stove.

It doesn't sound as if Peter's friend's are RV kitchens.

Quoted message said:

I've never had problems with gas flames blowing out either. But I've
never had a kitchen with that kind of breeze. Hopefully they are not
talking about such a draft in the winter, but instead open windows in
mild weather. It would have to be a particular configuration, where a
strong air current blows across the stove or in a small area where the
breezes create significant turbulence.

I guess that must be it. I've never had a kitchen where it was
really breezy by the stove. Perhaps that would be a good
argument against stoves on an island?

Quoted message said:

I don't have openable windows
in my kitchen, but if I did, if the breeze was so strong as to blow
out the flame, I'd close the windows while cooking anyway because it
would blow other stuff (flour, herbs) around.

Very good point.

Quoted message said:

could have problems in various situations. If you've ever used a
bunsen burner, you know that you can have a strong pointed flame or a
weak wavy flame (that will go out when someone walks by) depending on
how you adjust it.

Yeah, I can see that, also I could see if the flame was so low as to
almost be invisible. That could go out easily.

On a related note, I saw this kitchen remodel on foodtv today,
the layout was *horrible* ... could not believe the people went to
all this trouble, supposedly professionals, and allow this situation.

The stove and the refrigerator were next to each other, right next
to each other, unavoidable sometimes but not ideal. These two
were, as far as I'm concerned, in the dining room of the place.
On the other side of the stove, nothing. It just butted out into
air. You could stand on two sides of this stove and cook.

It was just wrong, and there was another place they could have
put the stove. Even if that seems okay to someone, think about
this. Say you have a plate of food you want to put into a pan
that's on the stove. Hope you weren't planning on putting the plate
down while you did that ... no place to put anything down!

Just made me shake my head. Did I mention you had to go
between the stove/oven and a counter on the other side to get
into the kitchen? Just what I like, squeezing past a lit stove.

nancy

"Sheldon" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Nancy Young wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I can't imagine this ... all the years I've had gas stoves, only had
an electric stove once and that was in my ex's apartment ... I
have *never* had the gas flame blow out. Wouldn't even cross
my mind it could happen.

Wonder why that is?

Can happen with the older style gas stoves that have pilot lights and
don't have sealed burners... especially when these old style stoves are
installed contrary to instructions and municipal code. When idiots
decide to install gas stanchions themselves and don't read the rules,
they place the gas supply so that the stove will be installed in front
of a window and/or next to exterior doorways.

That's what I was thinking, Sheldon. Perhaps the stove is in the
wrong place. I've seen layouts that made me think ... has the town
inspector seen this getup?

Quoted message said:

It shouldn't take any exceptionally high IQ to realize that open flames
can be blown out.j

Of course, I just never ran into a situation where it did on a
stove.

Quoted message said:

But it's been quite a few years now since gas stoves
have been manufactured that have pilot lights and more and more have
sealed burners, and with the newer burner designs it's near impossible
to blow out the flame.

Yeah, those are definitely improvements in design, much better
than they used to be.

nancy

Stan Horwitz said:

Did I mention, I hate electric ranges? Whomever thought up the idea of
an electric range out to be slaughtered and forced to eat my burned
meatballs!

Ya' gotta be smarter than the tool.

nb

In article <[email hidden]>,

EastneyEnder said:

Now I wonder.... if I left that on there all the time, and put pans on
top.... might it dissipate the heat on the lowest setting.... enough not to
burn stuff?

I'll let you know.

Probably would.
--
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com, updated 1-1-2006, Sam I Am! and Hello!

On Mon 02 Jan 2006 10:02:17a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Bill?

Quoted message said:

Wayne Boatwright said:

On Sun 01 Jan 2006 10:34:18p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it ?

Quoted message said:

On Sun, 01 Jan 2006 22:57:52 -0500, Stan Horwitz <[email hidden]>
wrote:

You never see an electric cooktop in a restaurant kitchen. They are
always gas.

I'm not cooking in a restaurant kitchen.

go Wayne...you tell em!

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

These chefs know what's best - so there's no argument.

What is arguable is whether what is best in a restaurant kitchen is also
best for a home kitchen.

ah...keep going Wayne...you know come to think of it....every
restaurant kitchen I have ever been in had a gas range...there's got
to be a logical reason for this?

One of the reasons is economy, as gas is much cheaper to use commercially.
If I'm not mistaken, ocean liners use electricity primarily for safety
reasons, and they easily turn out huge volumes of generally excellent food.

All the years I lived at home my parents had gas ranges. I never really
liked cooking on them, and especially didn't like baking in the gas oven.
I didn't fully realize how much I disliked it until I had my first
apartment and had an electric cooktop and wall oven. When my mom helped me
cook a holiday meal in my apartment, the following week she bought an
electric range. Neither of us ever went back to gas.

Choice of one over the other is a very personal thing. As I said in an
earlier post, each has its devotees and detractors, for whatever reason.

Ignorance is a big issue when folks have cooking failures when cooking on
something unfamiliar. What gets me is that they blame the equipment rather
than their ignorance of how to use it. I can effectively cook on either
gas or electric and occasionally cook on friends' gas ranges without a
problem. I simply don't like to cook with gas and would consistently
refuse to have it in my home.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
__________________________________________________________________
And if we enter a room full of manure, may we believe in the pony.

In article <[email hidden]>, bigc300
@carolina.rr.com says...

Quoted message said:

On Sun, 01 Jan 2006 22:57:52 -0500, Stan Horwitz <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

About a year ago, my sister and her boyfriend (now husband) moved into a
home with an electric range in their kitchen. So, last night (New Years
Eve), I was up until around 1:30am making food for my dad's birthday
party, which my sister and I made at her house tonight.

I cook with gas appliances; always have. So, the meatballs turned out
great. I tried a few for breakfast. Delicious! This afternoon, I loaded
the pot of meatballs into my car along with numerous other food items
and drove to Jan and Rob's house. I got there right on time.

I proceeded to put the pot of meatballs on my sister's range to warm
them up. I cranked up her electric range to about 75% of maximum. A few
minutes later, meatballs are bubbling away, so I turned off the heat. I
realized I was late picking up a friend from a nearby train station, so
I asked my sister to check on the meatballs, then I drove over to pick
up my friend. I also did the same thing with the pot of homemade mac &
cheese I made this morning.

My sister calls me on my cell phone just as I arrived at the train
station. Jan told me the meatballs are incinerated! I asked Jan to taste
one. She does. Disgusting. While I was looking for my friend at the
train station, Jan and Rob tried to wash off the meatballs, thinking it
was the sauce that was burnt. No go. Fortunately, the train station is
adjacent to a nice supermarket. My friend Jen and I went into the
supermarket and I picked up three of those roasted chickens, and a roll
of paper towels (that my sister requested).

I got back to Jan and Rob's a few minutes later and Jan showed me that I
must have not turned off the burner, as I thought I had. It was still
on, but not on the high setting. I had no idea because the red color of
the burner element went off, so I thought it was reasonably cool. If it
was gas, I could have easily seen that the burner was not off.
Fortunately, I did not make that mistake with the pot of mac & cheese,
so it came out fine and it was a big hit at the party.

My sister consoled me and she said it took her a while to get used to
her electric range. Rob, the philosophy teacher (literally), also tried
to console me, by explaining that the outcome was the same either way,
in that we all got to enjoy some great food and nice company and we all
had a nice time. But I would have much preferred not to have to spend an
extra $20 on dinner (which my sister thanked me for), and I would have
preferred those meatballs go into the guests' tummies rather than a
garbage disposal. I will deal with the burnt pot tomorrow!

Did I mention, I hate electric ranges? Whomever thought up the idea of
an electric range out to be slaughtered and forced to eat my burned
meatballs!

can somebody tell me what it is about this stove that makes all the
rich people want to have one in their kitchen?
http://www.vikingrange.com/

I wonder what it does to make it cost four times as much a regular
stoves?

I've had the oppportunity to use a Viking as compared to the crappy
apartment stove we have now.

I loved it. Constant and even heat, didn't suffer from anemia, and was a
full 36" model.

Total cost: $800 - which is solidly in the infield of my ballpark. It's
just that I don't want to haul it when we move.

Wayne Boatwright said:

On Mon 02 Jan 2006 10:02:17a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Bill?

Quoted message said:

Wayne Boatwright said:

On Sun 01 Jan 2006 10:34:18p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it ?

> On Sun, 01 Jan 2006 22:57:52 -0500, Stan Horwitz <[email hidden]>
> wrote:
>
> You never see an electric cooktop in a restaurant kitchen. They are
> always gas.

I'm not cooking in a restaurant kitchen.

go Wayne...you tell em!

Quoted message said:

> These chefs know what's best - so there's no argument.

What is arguable is whether what is best in a restaurant kitchen is also
best for a home kitchen.

ah...keep going Wayne...you know come to think of it....every
restaurant kitchen I have ever been in had a gas range...there's got
to be a logical reason for this?

One of the reasons is economy, as gas is much cheaper to use commercially.
If I'm not mistaken, ocean liners use electricity primarily for safety
reasons, and they easily turn out huge volumes of generally excellent food.

Large ships don't use ranges, don't even have any on board, no pots n'
pans either... quantities are way too large for pots n' pans.... they
do all that kind of cooking in steam jacketed kettles. They do have
ovens, banks and banks of commercial electric ovens, and banks and
banks of large commercial griddles, and banks and banks of large
commercial deep fat fryers... but no stove top cooking of any kind.
Large ships don't concern themselves with utility costs, steam and
electric generation is merely a by-product of running those massive
turbines, either use it or lose it.