Gas/Electric Coil/Electric Flat/Induction

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

Need a new stove, and there are so many variations my head hurts.

We don't do much baking or broiling, but plenty of frying, boiling, simmering, roasting.

Without trying to start a religious war, are there advantages of one general type vs another?

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Gas stove and electric/convection ovens is the ideal.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. I have always found cooking with gas to be best.

I like it mainly because it's responsive and quick.

I don't think it matters what you use in an oven. I have electric ovens and they work fine.

But my cooktop is gas and I wouldn't have it any other way. I bought a 6 burner cooktop, all gas, and I'm very happy with it. The burners are sealed so cleaning is easy.

I bought a Viking.

Good luck, and have fun!

[Freddie]

3. Just got a new electric flat top

Upgraded from coils. I love it, burners get hot very fast and easy to clean. Your pans have to have perfectly flat bottoms; mine did not so I had to get new ones.
We got a mid-range Kenmore (=~$600). Sales guy talked us into getting one with the oven heat element covered (a newer feature) so you don't have spillovers going directly on the heat element.

[northoftheborder]

4. Induction cook top for me.

Building a new house, researched everything. started wanting gas, but no gas distribution here, have to have a tank. Love the new glass tops, and induction is preferable to electric heating in my mind. It is safe, nothing gets hot except the pan and it's contents. Acts instantly, no wasted energy. You do have to have steel or iron pans, but most of mine are. Can't wait to use it.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

7. Does induction work with any old steel pan?

Would an old cast-iron skillet work on it?

What about pans with a copper or aluminum base? Are these immune from induction?

Many years ago, I used magnetic induction (high-power, high-frequency) to melt pig iron to make steel, in a small research foundry. It was amazing how fast a couple hundred pounds of iron could turn into glowing orange soup.

[northoftheborder]

10. Iron skillets should work, as long as they have a real flat bottom.

Some of mine do, but others have a kind of ridge around the outside of bottom, so don't know if they will have enough contact to work. I hope so, I hate to give up my iron skillets. But I'll have to be careful not to scratch the glass with them.

No, copper or aluminum will not work, even if it is just a layer inside. Take a little magnet and try it on your pans, it it sticks they will work with the induction. I went to a place where they demonstrated how they work, and I was sold on them. You can cook with a napkin under the pan, and it will not burn, but the magnetic field will pass right through to the pan. Also, there are various sized cooking areas with larger or smaller power for very slow simmering or very rapid boiling.

[elleng]

5. Gas,

gives one control.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

6. So far, great answers, and no help at all ...

... except to assure me that there is no "wrong" choice, that all are good options.

Well, nobody has mentioned "coil" electric. It's what I have now, and sometimes it's hard to balance a flat pan with a heavy handle. So I probably won't get coils in the next stove.

[The empressof all]

15. Do they even make coils anymore?

If you get electric, get the flat top. The coils are ugly and they really don't give you better performance.

[Jenoch]

16. Of course they do.

Tgey are the cheapest option when buying a range.

[Staph]

8. Take a look at Consumer Reports online

at http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/kitchen-ranges/buying-guide.htm

The buying guide gives you the pros and cons of the different types, as well as a look at the available features and their advantages and disadvantages. All of this information is accessible without a subscription, but if you want to see the ratings of the various brands and models, you will need to subscribe.

(FYI -- I don't have any connection to Consumer Reports, other than my own online subscription. It's worth every penny of the $30 a year.)

[jtuck004]

9. Very few people I know who have cooked on a gas stove want to cook on anything else.

And that includes me

I also have a little electric oven and a microwave. But for cooking things in a pan, from stir-fry to whatever, gas is almost always easier to control and quicker to heat.

[littlewolf]

11. currently have gas stove. next one will be gas cook top

and electric oven.

[Spaldeen]

12. gas

My vote is for gas. I've used three out of the four you have mentioned.

[laundry_queen]

13. i've never had gas so I can't say

the 5 year old in me just had to write that so I could have a giggle.

Anyway, I've had multiple stoves over the years (probably over a dozen) and all were either electric flat top or electric coil. The whole electric flat top is SO dependent on each individual brand. I've had some that were okay, and some that were HORRIBLE and took FOREVER to heat up. Seriously, my last rental had an electric flat top and it took me over 20 min to get water boiling. When I moved into my new house with electric coil, I couldn't believe how fast water boiled, LOL. 5 min tops - even in a huge pot.

So, advantages of electric flat are: looks nice, variety of burner sizes (some stoves I've had have adjustable sizes on each circle), no pans under the burner to clean
Disadvantages are if anything boils over, you will have a monumental mess, you WILL have to scrape the glass and it could stain. Stained cooktops, IMO, look terrible. I find flat tops insanely difficult to maintain and clean. Lots of extra work and cleaners.

Advantages of electric coil - heats up very quickly, less heat loss (imo, doesn't have to go through the glass), if your pot boils over, you just empty the pan underneath (and it doesn't smoke up the house)
Disadvantages - only 2 sizes of coils, can't use it as counter space like with a flat top (I know you shouldn't but I always did with my flat tops), every so often you have to scrub the pans (but then I put foil liners, so it's not too bad)

Oh - and one thing - don't get a 'concealed element' in the oven. Anytime you bake anything that may leak over the edge, your entire house will instantly fill with smoke - in a manner that is 1000 times worse than regular, cheap exposed elements. I HATE concealed elements in my ovens. HATEHATEHATE, lol.

Hope that helps!

[The empressof all]

14. I have liked both my gas and my glass flat top

The glass flat top is far far easier to keep clean. I liked that I was able to ensure an even heat for slow simmers and braises. You do need to be careful not to slam pots down on it as it can break. If I wasn't concerned about resale of this house I would seriously consider getting another one or an induction range only for the cleaning ease. I never had issues with food crusting on it. I wiped it down after each use and if something got a little hard I used a plastic scraper on it. Barkeepers friend does a great job too.

However, I just did a remodel and got gas. I grew up with gas and the mantra of "serious" cooks is to get gas so it does have a higher perceived value. Personally, I think they are a bit over rated other than in the broiling department. I do think you get a better char on your broiled food with the gas. But, again they are more of a PITA to clean. My stove has heavy grates that are hard for me to lift. Plus you need to wait for them to cool to lift them off safely. This allows time for any spills to get crusted on the range surface. I do like my griddle in the middle. I use it mostly for warming flatbreads but it's convenient

[Jenoch]

17. I have lived in houses with gas, electric coil, and electric ceramic top.

If I had to rank what I would like to have would be:

1. induction
2. gas
3. electric flat top
4. electric coil

if you get an electric flat top, make sure the two front burners have the ability to switch from small to large pans. We have a flat top ceramic range with one dual burner front right, small burners front left and back right, and a medium burner back left which will not accomodate a kettle because the control panel juts out into the cooking surface. It is obvious that the person who designed this arrangement never cooked a day in their life.

The last range we bought was a cordless gas unit.

[Kali]

18. I have only used gas, electric coil and flat top electric

If I was going to do exactly what I wanted I would have an electric oven about chest high and a gas stove at normal stove top level.

Or wood.

but for normal non-high end ranges I would get pilotless gas over electric. Broiler on top is available and preferable.

[cbayer]

19. I totally prefer an open flame that I can control by sight.

I use propane but would be equally happy with natural gas.

Having worked with other types, I feel that they require way too much guesswork, at least for the stove top.

[sir pball]

20. Used all four...induction, hands-down.

It's as responsive as gas, since it only heats the pan, as well as more precise and repeatable; at the low end it's so superior to anything else I've ever used I almost can't describe it...absolutely even, gentle warmth with no hotspots, burning, scorching. I make red sauce by melting canned San Marzanos over low power for twelve, sixteen hours - I only stir it every four hours when the burner resets, and the bottom of the pot is perfectly clean when it comes out. High heat may be better than gas too, at worst it's the equivalent.

Plus, it's the most efficient, i.e. environmentally friendly and cheapest, way to cook.