Gas vs. electric

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

Maybe some of you can help me out here....our new place has a gas stove. Now I love cooking on gas, there is just one thing that annoys me about gas though. It always left black char on the bottom of my pots and pans I used to have Revere Ware and it literally destroyed the looks!
Cathy

[KYHeirloomer]

Sounds to me as though the regulator and/or venturii valves weren't adjusted properly.

Gas is absolutely clean burning when the oven is regulated properly, and should not produce any soot.

You can tell if it needs adjusting. A sooty flame will burn yellow, instead of the clear blue it's supposed to be.

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the oven you had was adjusted for LPG and you were burning natural gas.

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

Thanks KYH,

I remember we had a propane tank in the back yard, and that old stove was the dirtiest burning thing, I bet there was never an adjustment made period! I may have had gas some more times since then (maybe in base housing) but my memory does not recall exactly.-they say the first thing to go is our memory LOL.

This is for sure natural gas, as they installed the meter today. I was not there so I am hopeful the Service Technician was on the ball and made sure all was well after he got the gas going to the stove! It will take some getting used to cooking on gas again after all these years on electric I actually feel intimidated! I am sure after I fire that puppy up and cook one splendid meal on it I will be just fine! It's like pre-wedding jitters HA

Thanks Again, Cathy

[KYHeirloomer]

Hmmmmmmm? Just what is it you're doing on that range?

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

KYH If tomorrow I were to become a klutz and I were... well ya' know at the stove and I accidently engaged the burner Yooo-o-ouch!!!

[sankum]

cathy, I feel that gas is more comfortable as it heats faster than electric stoves. Though it is difficult to clean a gas stove, the taste does differ.

[Recipes Cookbook Writer]

KYHeirloomer - thank you for the info! I do wonder about the difference in taste that sankum mentioned. I think if you are used to gas and switch to an electric stove, you have to modify all of your recipes to make adjustments for the new heating method.

[KYHeirloomer]

Not just taste, RCW. Frankly, I don't understand much of that post.

Presumably, by "heats faster" Sankum is referring to the fact there is no wait for a burner to heat up. At any particular setting, a pot will heat the same whether it sits on a gas burner or an electric one.

And I would really like to understand how it's easier to clean an electric stove than a gas stove?

Regarding the reference to different tastes. Only time that should happen is if you're cooking on an open fire, because the fuel (wood, charcoal, etc.) itself imparts flavors to the food.

But cooking on a gas/electric stove should have no affect on taste unless you cook the food differently. That is, maybe you cooked it medium or well done on the electric stove, and are now cooking rare or medium rare on the gas.

It isn't the fuel source that's doing that though.

The major benefit to gas is its responsiveness. If you turn it up or down the btu output changes immediately. With electricity there is always a wait period for the burner, itself, to cool down or heat up. This has a distinct affect on how you cook.

Julia Child is the only one I know who actually preferred electricity. But she worked with a minimum of 9 burners, so had room to move her pots and pans around without waiting on the burner's reaction speed.

Related to responsiveness is the degree to which you can adjust heat settings. Gas has a continuous range, from barely more than pilot light to full blast. With electricity you're stuck on the pre-installed settings.

[The Ironic Chef]

Cathy, I wouldn't rely on the guy that hooked up your gas meter and turned on the valves at your appliances to make sure that those appliances are working properly. Mentioned above was the information about a unit using different amounts of oxygen for different gasses. Your stove's regulator may need to be adjusted. That adjustment if you want to attempt it yourself may be listed in your owners manual for the stove or can be looked up online. Being natural gas though and if you don't feel comfortable messing with adjustments, call an appliance repair person. There is no way you should be getting soot on your pots and pans. I'm glad it's not seeping through the bottoms and flavoring your food, lol.