And another question - what is "Sabbath" mode? That is a term I have never heard in relation to an oven....

Thanks

Alexa

Boy, you are brave opening that can of worms on the Appliance forum! I hung out there while building a house and watched people voice very strong opinions on the subject. I have a Bluestar 36" gas range. I don't notice any difference on the way it cooks vs. bakes. It works fabulously.

Ha Jo!

I just read the Appliance Forum - I am too chicken to post over there, that is why I am asking you. Besides, I got the impression there are some tech heads that are more interested in the capabilities than actually cooking with it LOL!

Alexa

There is supposedly a very slightly more moist heat in a gas oven, because gas combustion releases some moisture. However, I honestly don't thin that most of us will EVER know the difference. For the cooktop, however, I will never go back to electric after cooking with gas.

One of the nicest ranges for the money is the one made by Frigidaire and also sold as a Kenmore model at Sears. Looks good, and everyone who has one loves it. Note: figure out if you have to have a slide-in or a free-standing range, then shop from there. Also size. Frigidaire also makes a free-standing all gas model. And in 40" as well as a 30", which is the most common size.

Here is a link that might be useful: dual fuel range

Alexa, I have the Kenmore Elite Slide(made by Frigidaire) in all electric and I love it.I got a great deal on it so I couldn't pass it up. I can't have gas here, but if I had that option I would get the dual fuel.

There are a few over on the appliance forum with the Kenmore Elite dual fuel and they are very happy with it.

I had the GE profile ordered initially but read a few things that had me concerned so I canceled it.

Tracey

I have owned both gas and electric ovens and in my opinion I notice no difference....it's the cook top where gas rocks!
Linda C

I don't know which is better, I have the Thermador gas 6 burner cooktop, and electric double convection oven. I bake a lot, and like the electric, but that is just my HO. Good luck with your selection!

I cook with electric at home and when I work at camp I cook with gas. I like the electric better but maybe because I'm so used to cooking with electric.

Here's an explanation of the Sabbath mode for the ovens.

Here is a link that might be useful: GE ovens Sabbath mode

My new range..is all gas...I came from electric. I love it!

I have a Maytag 5 burner convection/self clean gas. I was looking at dual fuel when I bought this one, but decided the difference in the price, I could spend else where in the kitchen upgrade.
I love the delay bake, cook and hold options!! USE IT ALL THE TIME!
I very rarely convection bake..I do clean it 2x a year.
I have a vented OTR Micro w/o convectin though. Like I said I don't use it..I used the convection option 2x..and didn't seem to make a difference, but definately pulled more "energy" on the house...
Mine comes with Sabbath mode too..neat option if you have to do a marathon of cooking...

I have a gas stove-oven, I like it and the broiler built into the oven is really HOT. I started a fire because I laid a potholder on the vent while broiling. It is made by Caloric. It cooks good and has a cleaning cycle. I don't clean it enough,but that's my problem. If I had to choose, I prefer gas over electric. When I want boiling water, I just turn the gas burner up high and it makes hot water fast. With my old electric stove,it took forever to heat anything.

I have two gas ovens and one electric oven with convection. One of our kids has pretty evolved taste buds and can always tell which roast turkey, chicken, or duck came from the gas oven and which came from the electric one. He far prefers the one roasted in the gas oven. No one else perceives any difference. I am not the world's most experienced flour-type cake baker, so I'll leave that subject for someone else. However, I do bake a lot of torts, custards, and cheesecakes and I would probably give a mild edge to the electric oven. The bottom line is, however, if you have an oven that is well-insulated and has an accurate and consistent thermostat, then there is probably not that much difference. If your specialty is baking many sheets of cookies at once, I would opt for electric with convection.

"evolved taste buds" :^) We had one child with those too.

Supposedly a gas oven is better for things where you want a crust - breads and roasts - because the moisture produced by the gas combustion is good for that. In the electric oven, we end up spraying water or putting ice cubes in to create the humidity for bread. On the other hand the electric is suppose to be better for cakes where you don't want a crust. However, I think that is a pretty small difference - I get good bread crust and chicken roasted in my oven electric rotisserie comes out as good as from my gas grill.

I think the infrared gas broiler in a gas oven has an edge over the electric broiler. That is what I miss a little about having an electric oven but the broiler is good enough and I can always use the grill outside.

Only some of the gas oven brands have self-cleaning. If that is important to you it is easier to get in electric. And I don't know if any of the gas ones have features like timed bake or roasting until the temperature probe gets to the right point.

We ended up going with a Bluestar rangetop for the stir fry performance of the burners and a Miele oven which provides accurate consistent temperature control, self-cleaning and a rotisserie. I really like how evenly the convection cooks and how most recipes are done in the time the recipe says.

It was the appliance forum that brought the Bluestar to my attention so I'm indebted to them for that.

Hey, I'm thinking you will be thrilled with any new range/oven!! I personally think the cook is the final say so in the end result reguardless of the heat source or price....MHO tonight.

I've cooked/baked/roasted with electic 95% of my life....it's what I'm use to and what I prefer. My Frigidaire smooth top range is just now a year old and I love it. I've canned on it, it bakes and roasts perfectly fine for me.

The instant off(no heat) with the gas cook top is cool but I've never had an issue with it using electric...other than removing the pan from the heat source if I need to. As far as baking/roasting goes.....I'm thinking there is no real huge difference.

Happy shopping and congrats on the new range/stove Alexa!!

David

I, too, need to buy a new kitchen range. Have been very interested in the dual ranges. They are pretty expensive but if they preform efficiently, will spring for the extra expense. I don't bake a lot of cakes but do love to bake my own breads/pizza! Also roasts. I "wobble" back and forth between gas or electric ovens. Am watching this thread with great interest !!!

I have an all gas now, but the oven won't work anymore. There were times when our electricity went off and I was really happy that we had the gas. Am looking at Kenmore and Thermador. Just can't wait to give my junky old "Magic Chef" the O'l heave-ho out the door!

I bake in gas at home and electric at work. Although I use the same recipes I feel the gas baked goods rise better than the electric baked ones. There is a slight difference between the two.
I would never willingly have an electric cooktop. I've had both and I really prefer the control you have with gas.

Thanks Everyone!

That BlueStar is Gorgeous, but I'm afraid it will give DH sticker shock. The ones I looked up wre well into the $5k neighborhood.

I am leaning towards the GE Profile Gas Double Oven right now. If I don't do the convection (not sure I need it anyway) and go with gas instead of dual fuel, it comes in around $1500 - which leaves me a bit more for the OTR micro and maybe an upgrade on something else.

I have a question for any of you who broil in the oven. The old clunker I had never seemed to get hot enough to char the surface of the dish, everything seemed to come out overcooked before there was any nice color on it. I make a lot of broiled fish and if I leave things in long enough to brown the crumbs, the fish is over done. If I pull the dish out just before it is ready (resting time) then the top is still pale. Suggestions?

What I really need is a salamander, but that is just not an option.

Thanks again everyone - your input really helps a lot!

Alexa

I have a GE Profile four burner gas oven that is 12 years old, I still love it. If it went out on me, I would probably go and buy the five burner model they have out. My broiler has two setting high and low, I usually use high and put the rack in the second position for fish. It does tend to brown stuff quite fast. I usually have to take the battery out of my fire alarm in the kitchen when I broil, I should probably clean the oven more often. :-)
Mine in self cleaning. I just have to remember to wipe the bottom with a damp rag every so often (unless something catastrophic happens in the oven!).

Hi Alexa - how nice to be getting new!

I recently got a new range too - a Sears Kenmore Elite 40 inch dual fuel. I needed the width to fill the space, without re-doing my kitchen completely, and needed to finally get back to a gas cooktop. I do like the electric oven, but not sure how much difference it makes. The convection feature, however, I really do like. There's also a small electric oven on the side, which I've only used a couple times - to heat up something frozen for Will. I believe the price is around $2,000. I think they make a narrower version.

there are two high powered burners, a simmer burner and a wok grate for the top.

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Stacy, that's a beautiful stove!

I've had gas and I've had electric and I love the gas cooktop. The gas oven seems to give me a better crust on bread, which is something I bake a LOT of, so that may color my opinion somewhat.

Good luck, Alexa, with whatever you choose. I hope you love it.

Annie

Hi Alexa,

I have a Kitchenaid gas cooktop and Kitchenaid electric/convection ovens. I love them, and I'm ashamed to say I didn't consider gas for my ovens because I've always had an electric oven, I like the convection feature I have now, and was happy with them in the past. I bake a lot (cakes, cookies, etc.) and do not do much roasting (i.e., meats, etc.), and I am very pleased with the performance of the electric oven. I LOVE my gas cooktop, and I do feel it's better than any electric cooktop I've ever had. There's lots of good information to be had here, and of course if you can, go to a reputable dealer and pick the brains of someone trustworthy. Good luck and I hope you are happy and satisfied with your purchase.
DONNA

You need to see if it is even possible to switch from gas to duel fuel or electric. You already have a gas connection, but you might not have enough power there to run an electric oven. Some of the D/F ranges use 110v outlets, but many do not. Even if you choose a D/F range that uses 110v, you may not have enough amperage in the line to run the range. Running a new line either, 110 or 220v, is not that difficult, but it can get very expensive.

BTW, I've had both, electric and gas, and I really dig my all gas Viking.

augie

I have a Wolf All Gas (Propane) range. I just got it with my kitchen remodel 9 months ago. I love the big heavy duty burners because they are so powerful. I can get water boiling in less then 5 minutes. But I haven't been thrilled with my gas oven. It was off by 15 deg. when I got it and it had to be recalibrated. It also makes a loud bang when it is preheating and it takes at least a half hour to preheat.

I had double electric built-in before my remodel. I think an electric oven bakes better. Just my opinion from years (45) of experience. I should have gone with a Wolf gas range top and an electric built in oven. Though I got to admit, like my DH (who picked it) says "It sure looks nice."
Clare

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I have never heard of a gas oven taking 30 minutes to preheat, could it be because it is propane? My natural gas oven preheats to 450 in about ten minutes.

Stacy and Clare - those are beautiful! I looked at the Kenmore Elite yesterday, and though I love the 40" one, I don't have room for it and the 30" one didn't impress me as much. That Wolf is fantastic looking, but I think it is probably out of my price range. I am going to look at them today just to be sure.

The cooktop is definitely going to be gas - I am used to it and really prefer it but the oven is still up in the air. Though I do not have 220v at that site, the kitchen is directly above my laundry room and there is an unused 220v outlet in the laundry from an old electric dryer. An electrician I know said it could be easily run up through the wall rom the current location to the new one, but thanks for pointing that out Augie, if it wasn't easy I would definitely have to reconsider.

I do not do a lot of cake baking and cookies are only before the holidays or for school parties, so for my needs it sounds like gas would be perfectly fine.

Thanks again everyone - I really appreciate the input. DH said this is more complicated tha buying a new car and I tend to agree with him LOL!

Alexa

Have you tried buying a new washer recently? It is practically rocket science! âº

My oven is propane and it certainly doesn't take 30 minutes to heat up. I think aptosca got a dud :-(

Posted by jcrowley99 (My Page) on Fri, Sep 21, 07 at 7:40

Have you tried buying a new washer recently? It is practically rocket science! âº

Ha ha - you think the appliance forum gets heated between electric and gas - don't even go on to the laundry forum and ask about top loader vs. front loader :).

I have an all gas range and an electric wall oven. If I had to choose I would choose the gas oven.

Re: Broiler question: the broiler in my gas oven is very powerful and browns very quickly, if I'm cooking something like fish I actually have to lower the rack a notch so it cooks before it browns/burns.

Lisa

caliloo - Do you have Craigslist in your area? When we first started the remodel I got a JennAir Dual Fuel Slide-In Range (JDS8860BDP). I hated it so I sold it for a lot less then I paid for it on Craigslist.

It was only a few months old but I didn't like the different BTU burners. I wanted them all the same like on the Wolf. And talk about being a rocket scientist, you had to be to use the control panel. It had so many features that I would never use. All I wanted was a simple bake, broil and convection like I have now. I don't need nor want all those other features.

And I had heard bad things, after I got it, about how the computer in the control panel keeps failing and has to be replaced several times costing hundreds of dollars. Maybe they fixed that. Plus ours was built crooked and the door didn't hang right. We didn't notice till it was being installed. It was a disaster. The cabinets had to be removed and reinstalled and extra trim pieces added. And it stuck out into the room 7 inches because of the curved front. Like I said, I hated it!

So do your research and read everything you can about all the ranges out there. Check out both the Kitchen and Appliances forums and use the search box to get more information on any range you are looking at.
Good luck.
Clare

I listed the wrong range. I didn't get Pro-style, actually I wanted to but DH didn't so got this one instead. This is the one I hated. Jenn-Air® Dual Fuel Slide-In Range JDS8850BDS

Sorry about that.
Clare

I stick with all gas, but then I could easily blow a fuse (circuit breaker) if I had an electric oven. I do have an electric toaster oven, however. When I worked as a pastry chef in a restaurant, the ovens were all gas, and I liked the results that I got - also that I could control the heat more easily (or so I thought). My mother's electric oven stays very hot for a very long time even after it is turned out, and that's something I don't like.

Do you ever have power outages? If you lose your electricity, you can still cook with gas. We've had brown-outs in the past, although not in my neighborhood because air conditioning is not used here as much as it is in the rest of the area, since beach weather is generally much cooler in the summer. But after an earthquake, there is no gas as well as no electricity, but I don't think that would be a concern for you.

Lars

After many years of living with a Jenn-Air electric range (cooktop with 2 burners on one side and a grill on the other - and an electric oven) the appliance gods finally came and took it to its final resting place. I was never so happy to have that gone.

I had a 50 gallon propane tank installed in the back garden (the man said "you can paint it any color you want, lady, but don't paint it black") and replaced it with a 4 burner slide-in range with a gas oven (GE Profile). I had wanted a porcelain top on my new range, but the newer models come with the glass tops (pain to clean IMHO).

I did not have space to opt for any of the larger fantastic, to-die-for ranges posted above.

I also live in an area with frequent power outages and having the gas cooktop is a real security blanket. I cannot, however, use the oven when the power is out (THAT IS SO WRONG LOL!)

Good luck to you with your decision. Report back and let us know what you ended up doing.

seagrass

It seems to me, in summary, that there's not a very big difference between electric and gas ovens, in terms of baking/ roasting. Everyone seems to like the convection feature on their electric ovens, and most seem to like their gas ovens. I'm glad to read this, because I thought I'd read a few years ago that electric ovens were better, period! That was probably when the dual fuels came out and I fell for the marketing. But, I'm disappointed to find that the all-gas range would be much cheaper than the dual fuel, and they're not. At least in the GE profile and the Frigidaire, there's only a $100 difference. So how's one to make a decision?!