Youβre eye-balling it
Youβre right. Iβm not a scientist. Iβm not even a professional chef. What matters to me (and most American homeowners, which is who the article is the granular control available to me. I donβt much care whatβs possible in a lab. Itβs at least part of the reason why, as the article states, many of us are unwilling to give up the control we get with gas.
Gas stoves probably lose half their energy by heating the air all around the pot
Iβve seen that, too. I donβt believe itβs accurate (Iβd like to see an unbiased verification of that 50% number), and it misses another advantage of gas: gas heats pots more evenly by distributing some heat up the sides. Elecric heats only the bottom directly, and sides are heated only through conduction. It also means that less of that heat is wasted: just because it isnβt hitting the bottom of the pot doesnβt mean it isnβt doing useful work. This also only considers pots. Pans usually have greater coverage of tye heating surface, and less heat escapes around the sides. This is relevant especially where high heat matters, such as searing. Finally, there are pots like my wok, which has a base that entirely covers the grill. It has holes, so it breathes, but it captures nearly all of the heat. Woks are particularly bad on conventional ranges, and having an electric range essentially eliminates woks as a viable tool.
As I think more about this, the more disadvantages of electric I see. Sauteing is better on gas. You can manipulate a pan, lift and tilt, and have many more options than simply having or not having applied heat.
I can see having a range with a few induction spots; most dishes donβt need the fine control; boiling water, cooking pasta, and steaming vegetables are all gross operations, but Iβd still want at least one gas surface. Itβs just better for anything that isnβt boiled food.
Iβm not a scientist. Iβm not even a professional chef. Iβm an average American homeowner and when we replace our gas range and oven weβll get an electric oven and an induction range.
Having used gas, electric and induction my experience has been that induction cook tops are the safest and provide the greatest temperature control of them all. The biggest drawback is the requirement of specialized pans but we switched to clad stainless a few years ago to get away from the non-stick chemicals risk.
Iβd say this comes down to cost and familiarity. People are used to gas stoves and are likely wary of change. Combine that with the fact that many homes are setup for gas ovens, with no electrical plugs for a switch and youβve got several costs to change. The new oven itself, getting an appropriate outlet wired in, and for induction, changing pans to something that will work.
The other consideration is that gas continues to work in an electrical outage, however, Iβd imagine many ovens are electronically controlled. I know our gas stove will not work without electricity.
π Our oven is electric. Itβs the only thing I lament - it takes forever to come up to temp.
Iβm in my mid-50βs, and this is our first house thatβs had gas, so for me itβs definitely not a case of familiarity. My whole life Iβve had electric, and having a gas range has been a game-changer for me.
That said, Iβve also never seen, and certaily never lived with, an induction range. I do miss the cleaning conveniance of a glass-top - cleaning a gas range is a PITA! And induction has as good immediate temp reduction response as gas, which is a large factor in control. As I mentioned earlier, Iβd never willingly go back to conventional electric, but I might opt for induction just for the ease of cleaning. I can live with not being able to properly saute, but giving up the wok would be hard. Still, itβs something to consider.
Two other things: except for our ovens (an odd omission), the rest of our house is gas. Water heaters, fireplace, clothes dryer, heat. None of it works without electricity, although in a pinch I can light the stove with a match. The fireplace canβt be lit - thereβs a safety switch that needs current, which could be run with a battery-operated part we donβt have. Itβs the most stupid thing about our house - we canβt get any heat in a power outage, despite all the gas. So, of everything, running the stove in a blackout is funnily enough the least of my concerns.
Does your gas not run in an outage, or can you just not start it? If the gas runs, you should be able to light it with a match. OTOH, you canβt run the ventilation fan, and that might put you off running it anyway.
I mostly meant the oven wouldnβt work in a power outage regardless of gas or electric.
Our gas range works in a power outage but so does our fireplace. The fireplace has a standing pilot so Iβm guessing thatβs why.
You should be able to βproperly sauteβ on a gas, electric or induction range. Stir frying, which I suspect you meant, is a different story.