electric or gas cooker?

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts · 08-12-2019 8:26pm

Hoboo wrote: »

If you love cooking, then gas hands down. Especially if you use a wok.

A good cook can use any kind of hob.

Gas is my preference but an electic hob has never dissuaded me.

09-12-2019 1:56am

L1011 wrote: »

Why go to the effort of using a wok if you'll get the same result from an easier to handle frying pan?

You get zero of the advantages of a wok unless using gas.

Isn’t a wok just a deep frying pan suitable for cooking larger amounts of food? Frying pans are shallow and you couldn’t cook a stir fry as it would over flow.

That’s what I always saw them as anyway!

L1011 · 09-12-2019 2:00am

Kailee Screeching Glasses wrote: »

Isn’t a wok just a deep frying pan suitable for cooking larger amounts of food? Frying pans are shallow and you couldn’t cook a stir fry as it would over flow.

That’s what I always saw them as anyway!

They can be used to do that but that's not why they were developed.

A larger sautee pan will do what you want without the handling problems a wok has

Woks are for quick, high temperature cooking of not particularly large amounts of food at one time.

antix80 · 09-12-2019 11:04am

Kailee Screeching Glasses wrote: »

Isn’t a wok just a deep frying pan suitable for cooking larger amounts of food? Frying pans are shallow and you couldn’t cook a stir fry as it would over flow.

While veg takes up a lot of space and could overflow a pan.. that's what pots (or deeper pans) are for.

Woks are for small amounts of food. You can only do a portion or two at once. Any more and you won't be able to toss it around, the food at the bottom will burn and the food at the top will stay uncooked - you might end up with sauteed food by stirring everything around and waiting for everything to cook evenly.

With an induction hob you'll need to leave it on a high heat and use a wooden spoon to move food around to ensure it gets cooked evenly.

Luckily I hate veg so wouldn't benefit from wok cooking as I cook veg in butter until it's soft.

tvjunki · 09-12-2019 12:55pm

Gas cooker all the way.
We had a power cut one Christmas we could cook the turkey and the trimmings. Also a saucepan was used to boil water.

Check the thermostat on the boiler you could have the temperature too high or the boiler is old.

You could have an estimated bill based on the previous occupier and they could have had the heating on all the time. This time last year it was really cold so that could effect the estimated bill. Check the actual reading on the gas meter outside and see if the reading matches. If there is a big difference you can submit a new reading.

Put thick insulated curtains(floor to ceiling) to keep the heat in. That will save also.

SozBbz · 09-12-2019 5:16pm

Seamai wrote: »

My apologies, might I suggest you practice a less preachy tone when not moderating, I've been cooking since I was a kid, (I'm now in my 50's) and at the risk of sounding arrogant a pretty pretty accomplish cook, I've never found an electric or hob a hindrance to achieving the desired result for pretty decent asian cooking, if it's authenticity you're after do you use a cleaver for doing all your cutting and chopping when preparing food for your wok? We may not be able to replicate everything that happens in a Chinese kitchen, so what do we do? We improvovise!. Stop being so precious.

Ironic.

SozBbz · 09-12-2019 5:22pm

New kitchen being fitted as I type

Opted for built under double oven (electric) and a gas hob.

Havent had a kitchen for 5 days now and cannot wait to get back to making my own food.

On the wok debate, gas is the only way to go. The control of the heat and the ability to move things around can't be matched by induction or standard electric. My previous property was electric only (standard electric hob) and I didnt trust the wonky old gas hob that was in this property when we moved in so I'm very excited to getting back to cooking on gas properly. Its what I had growing up and there is something satisfying about it.

murfilein · 12-12-2019 2:40am

thanks for all your replies!

we pulled our oven out to check for a gas pipe - this is what we found:

https://i.imgur.com/xd86RiW.jpg

that does look like a gas pipe, does it not? will the professional that's going to hook the cooker up be able to connect a gas hob to it?

Graces7 · 12-12-2019 7:39am

Gas every time.

I once lived in a house that was all electric and never again. Power cuts and bills were a nightmare.

Now, living very remote, I cover all bases! So a basic gas cooker. including gas oven. Bottled gas . As a low income pensioner it means I pay as I need; always have a spare cylinder. No ESB bills that include cooking. No longer even use an electric kettle

About three to four months on one bottle for around E30 .

Gas has an immediacy and a swift control that I missed on electricity. Fast and easily controlled and lower cost.

12-12-2019 9:31am

Gas hobs work out cheaper to buy and run and you can use most types of pan or cookware. Personally I prefer cooking on gas.

However, the induction hobs are brilliant. Much easier to clean, stuff doesn't get baked on the surface and the nearly instant heat is fantastic.

Love cooking on gas but if I was to buy again I would strongly consider induction.

bluelamp · 12-12-2019 3:45pm

ronoc wrote: »

Gas hobs work out cheaper to buy and run and you can use most types of pan or cookware. Personally I prefer cooking on gas.

They also last forever... very little to break.

You see loads of old houses with gas cookers from the 60's and 70's still going strong.

antix80 · 12-12-2019 7:23pm

bluelamp wrote: »

They also last forever... very little to break.

You see loads of old houses with gas cookers from the 60's and 70's still going strong.

Yep.. and i was in a house recently where none of the sparks worked and the dials were all messed up given a poor flames. I had one myself and some hot oil landed on a dial, burning the rubber underneath (i think that's what happened) and caused it to continue sparking unless i switched it off at the wall.

Plenty of cleaning on them too. taking off the rack and the little black things on top, and the steel yolks beneath them... trying to clean around dials and all the bits and pieces... it's something i don't miss.

So, swings and roundabouts. I think it would be just as hard to go from induction to a gas hob when you're used to the induction.

Graces7 · 14-12-2019 6:04am

antix80 wrote: »

Yep.. and i was in a house recently where none of the sparks worked and the dials were all messed up given a poor flames. I had one myself and some hot oil landed on a dial, burning the rubber underneath (i think that's what happened) and caused it to continue sparking unless i switched it off at the wall.

Plenty of cleaning on them too. taking off the rack and the little black things on top, and the steel yolks beneath them... trying to clean around dials and all the bits and pieces... it's something i don't miss.

So, swings and roundabouts. I think it would be just as hard to go from induction to a gas hob when you're used to the induction.

The electric ignition is not mandatory .. due to the delay with ESB ( 5 months) when I was first here, I lit my gas cooker with a lighter or match. Not a problem. The cleaning is easy if you give it a wipe etc every few days. Bad if you let it go for weeks... A very rewarding job!

No idea what an induction hob is anyways; love my basic gas cooker for the speed and friendly flame.

pwurple · 15-12-2019 9:09am

I love gas for instant heat and analogue control.

I also love electric for slow cooking where you can leave something simmer for hours on a very low heat.

Induction hobs, I have used a few and the software / heat controls are infuriating compared to turning a dial. It just irritates me to my back teeth every time. I abhor having to lean on this control area. This nothing, a zone marked with paint and a key or lock... to get the ability to change the temp, and then toggle impatiently, stabbing repeatedly with my finger while it counts up through hideous 70's calculator style red glowy numbers which emit a weak, tinny, robotic tone as feedback. There is a barely perceptible lag on the interface. A few milliseconds of software figuring out how to display the next ugly number that just bothers me in it's wastefullness (both of my time and the crappy PLC they appear to use which will render the thing itself unrepairable as those components age).

I also can't stand the smug paternalistic qualities, where I have to be protected from myself by it always being so safe and touchable. Silly humans, always burning themselves.

Maybe I want to shove a marshmallow in a flame, induction hob designers. Maybe I want the ability to char a crust onto something. To experiment a bit. To have two or three hot rings going and move pans between them.

Maybe in a few years this will improve to a silent swipe bar or a physical tactile dial, or something even slicker. Maybe there are ones already where you can turn off the lock, or the tone. but at the moment it's not for me.

antix80 · 15-12-2019 9:27am

pwurple wrote: »

Maybe in a few years this will improve to a silent swipe bar or a physical tactile dial, or something even slicker, but at the moment it's not for me.

AEGs induction, ceramic and even gas hobs have the controls you describe. I have an induction one and it works very well. I'd never go back to that terrible setup where you tap a button to select a ring and then stab the plus button 10 or 11 times for the max setting.

Here's a pic from Internet but similar to my hob.

I actually had bought a bottom of the range amica hob. It was faulty, the company was a nightmare to deal with and sent an inept repair man who didn't fix the problem and tried blaming ventilation and pot size...
I returned it for a refund and added an extra €100 for the AEG with slider controls.. Money well spent.

electric or gas cooker?

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