Monday, December 13, 2010

Range Wonderings: Gas or Electric?

As I've mentioned here zillions of times before, I am kind of obsessive about researching and worrying about things we might buy.

The new thing I am obsessing about lately is what range to get.

First off, I have kind of wanted a slide in, white range with a ceramic top because I have this idea that it's easy to clean.  Kind of like this:  (Bear with me, I am trying this amazon link thing for the first time.)



Anyway, now I am starting to freak out for a few reasons:

  1. Does a slide in need to have some kind of notch taken out on the countertop?  Do I need to have the range before I get the countertop?  Cause I was planning on just using my old gas one for a while and then replacing it later.  
  2. I am moving from gas to electric.  I have never cooked on an electric stove, but I also detest cleaning my gas stove.  I have never had a gas stove that I felt came completely, spotlessly clean.  That may be commentary on my skill as a housekeeper (yeah, I'm no good in that department), but I also don't want to spend a thousand bucks on something that I ultimately don't like
For the record, my brother and sister in law have a smooth electric stove, and were nice enough to let me come over and cook on it once, to see if I liked it.  I made coquille st jacques, and it was fine.  Fab, even.  If people care, I can post the recipe later.  And really, how much fancy gas-range cooking do I need?

In any case, we are having a gas and an electric line run to that spot, so I can dither and change my mind later.  Aieee!  


7 comments:

Connie said...

Thanks to everyone who added bits of wisdom in the giveaway post, btw!

I am still completely unsure what the countertop/slide in range thing will entail. The internet: It is not helping me!

Becky (My Fabric Obsession) said...

I'm switching from gas to electric because we are moving. I'm not looking forward to it. Hope your transition goes smoothly.

Monica said...

My husband and I travel a lot for his job. We are always living in rented spaces with a variety of kitchen appliances. I much prefer gas ranges to electric. The first reason is that the eyes never get wonky and unlevel so your pans always sit nice and flat on the eye. To me, gas heats up quicker and is consistent over the entire eye. I do not like flat tops because I can never get them clean. I have used the special cleaners for them, there always seems to be streaks left on it. The time I spent taking the gas top racks off to clean them wasn't anymore time than I spent scrubbing and scratching off the spills on the smooth top. I am a messy cook so I always have a mess to clean. Just my take on it, gas all the way!

Connie said...

Hm. I am super messy in the kitchen, and my main motivation for electric is "clean looking". Also, I don't clean the house so much, so maybe i should stick with gas.

Thanks folks!

Morgan said...

I've cooked on both gas and electric flat tops at various homes we've lived in. I much prefer gas. It does indeed heat up and cool down faster. (The newer gas burners are much easier to clean than the old ones, btw.) And the problem with electric flat tops is that they don't really get clean! Yes, I can wipe them down quickly, but they still have trouble spots. BUT, I have some relatives who really love them. Good luck with your tough decision :)

Sheila said...

Gas. GAS!!! Seriously, they may be more work to clean, but I HATE cooking on my electric stove. As soon as I'm not a renter, I'm going back to gas. That said, I've heard good things about the new induction ranges...kinda the best of both worlds "they" say...

L said...

I wonder if your difficulties with cleaning your gas stove don't have something to do with the specific unit you have? We've had comething very like this unit in several rentals, and I've found it very easy to clean. http://www.homedepot.com/Appliances-Kitchen-Appliances-Ranges-Gas-Ranges/GE/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xg9Zbv5rZlo/R-100641710/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

Sure, cooked on food is a little hard to remove, but I imagine you'll have that problem with an electric flattop as well. This gas stove we had, and I think all the new ones, have all enamel parts, and are much easier to clean than the old ones with metal parts. If you haven't looked closely at a new model, you might want to go browse them!

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