"Stan Horwitz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[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!
I imagine how you view an appliance depends to a great extent upon the
appliances and cookware you used when you learned to cook. I find no
difference in gas and electric and wood when using most of my pans (no thin
aluminum anywhere). Gas takes as long to heat my heavy commercial skillets
and cast iron as does electric.
However, I learned to cook with heavy cast iron and heavy top-grade
commercial pans - I suppose I then learned to control the heat actually
going into the food by using something other than a knob.
---------
Gas has its advantages, but IMHE only occasionally in the actual cooking
itself and never if you are using heavy pans: it has an advantage in net
cost of installation, especially in large BTU commercial kitchens; it has
the advantage in commercial operations in rapid control of multiple dishes,
e.g., where ten dishes using ten gas burners allow ten adjustments separated
without the attention to heat in each as is required of ten pans on a slow
reacting slab; and we- found gas tops easier to clean/more forgiving of
small spills in commercial kitchens. Electric has fewer clothing fires and
grease flares - and no combustible gases.
--------
I cook with heavy pans on gas, electric (all three kinds), wood stove, and
open fire without any noticeable problem switching.
It also seems that my friends who use gas at home also seem to prefer
thin aluminum pans.
They can't cook water using an wood fire or wood stove without burning
the pan. They have no clue about heat control when around an electric stove
or when camping, and they are forever sticking pans and hands into the
flames instead of using coals-and-logs, and poking sticks to change the
flame.
They have lost their knob, and with it went their cooking skills.
--------
Technically, when you turn the burner to 1200 BTU, the gas meter and the
electric meter spin as soon as you turn the knob.
A 1200 BTU gas burner and a 1200 BTU electric burner put the same amount
of heat into the food and the pan.
It takes the same amount of time to heat the pan and its contents
completely when you use the same BTU source .
In modern electric appliances, there is a few seconds lag while the element
cover heats. In wood stoves, there is a significant lag in the damper
adjustment
What IS missing from electric heat sources is the visual feedback - turn
up the electric, and you have to trust. Turn up the gas, and you instantly
see more flame.
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It also seems that people who can cook with gas and not with electric
become very frustrated when the pan doesn't sizzle immediately after they
turn the knob -
Do they realize that the burner heat takes time to get to the middle of
the food, and all they are seeing is the outside getting hot?
I also swear that cooks who use gas stir food a lot more. I don't know
if its because they have to, or if its their nature.
fwiw
