Gas! Hands down. Instant heat and instant off.

Well, Patches...you zeroed onto one of my peeves this morning. LOL
I have cooked on gas stoves all my married life, Even had a gas line ran into a rented house at our expense, so I could use my good gas stove. Now we live in an APT building and all the APTs have are electric stoves. I hate, hate, hate it. There really isn't much joy in cooking any more. I have a long list of things I would have......"If I won the lottery" and having my own home with a GAS cooking stove, is high on the list.

Gas!

Gas - but I haven't cooked on an electric induction cooktop yet.

!!!!!!!!!!!!Gas!!!!!!!!!!!! lol

This is a regular ongoing controversy. That question gets people going, as easy as which way the toilet paper should be hanging, which everyone knows, is the roll UNDER!

I'd love a gas, just to see what it is like.

But many people who've cooked on gas all their lives are switching to induction. Easy to clean and extremely instant on/off, and safer.

Gas!

I did notice though that when BF got a new (used) electric range that I could tolerate it a lot better than his old one that had the plug in coil burners. I don't really know what sort his new one is but it heats up a 'lot' faster than the old one. With the old one, I felt I had to preheat the burner to save cooking time because it took so long to heat up. It was avocado green so that gives you an idea of about how old it was before he updated.

WE have a gas stove for 7 months and an electric for 5. I much prefer the gas.

Definitely GAS, and TP roll UNDER!!

GAS

We have just purchased a convection stove with glass top. It can convert to regular baking as well. I like gas because of the instant on/off (while living in Scotland). With prices going up we are hoping the energy efficiency of this new stove will help. We'll see. Our old 1954 Moffat stove finally kicked the bucket before we moved - I used my toaster oven a lot because of the old energy hog.

Another vote for gas.

I've always had a gas range, BUT as a home ec teacher, have used a lot of electric ranges over the years. Now, the 'new' house we bought has an electric cooktop and a small electric oven. Once we've sold our 'old' house, and moved completely to the new one, I plan to remove the cooktop and cabinet beneath it, and have a gas range installed (we do have gas in the house, so it won't be too costly a job). I'll keep the small oven as a second oven to use when I only need a small space. But there's no way, I'm living the rest of my life with just an electric cooktop. I may put it in the basement--I have a room I'd like to make into a summer kitchen.

In my case, I could never go with one of those glass topped ranges--I do too much jellying/canning.

Gas cook top, Electric oven. Gas it the worst to bake w/ it can not maintain constant temperature like electric does. That is why there are mixed ranges in the mid to high end prices. if you are not a fanatic pro baker then gas will suffice lol ~ liz

Ditto Country Bumpkin LOL

Don't believe anyone who says electric. :-)

That's a loaded question. There's a lot of variables that enter into it. I've cooked on both, and I can cook on both. I laugh when people scream that GAS is so much better without thinking it through. No question in my mind I'd much prefer cooking on my electric stove in the house than on my gas campstove. Perhaps the others would prefer the campstove and certainly they're cheap enough so they're an option but I'll lay odds few will run out and buy one. And yes, I'd rather cook on the gas stove with which I grew up using than cooking on a hotplate.

I've cooked on low-quality gas stoves and good quality electric and between them, I far prefer the better electric. I've cooked on low-quality electric and good gas and between them prefer the gas. If I had my druthers I'd have a dual fuel, good quality gas cooktop with a good electric oven. Few bakeries use gas ovens. But gas ovens have improved too. I've cooked on campfires, solar cookers, microwaves and a variety of other methods. I do however prefer natural gas over propane for the higher BTU output but I'm not so hung up on the source - I'm more interested in the results.

I have not cooked on induction yet but the faster response than gas and the better consistency that people report is certainly interesting. And yes, many gas users are converting to induction.

I recently replaced my stove. I grew up with a gas stove and since moving out on my own had electric in apartments of course, and the house came with a very spendy electric dual oven unit that I couldn't justify replacing until recently. I despised the corningware top on that stove but really liked the ovens. I didn't find gas compelling enough to spend the money to run a gas line for it and pay more for a gas stove on top of it. There's other variables that I won't go into for obvious reasons. This controversy is much like the war of front load vs top load washers.

I sooooo miss my gas range, but to have one installed here would have been over $1000. So I went with a glass top. The only good thing about it is that it is easier to clean.

I have never cooked with gas, always had electric, but I'm moving to a city that has mostly gas so I guess I'll find out if it truly is better. I remember we had a gas stove when I was very young, and the pilot lights were always going out, because my mom was always letting things boil over.

I can say I don't like electric cooktop stoves. I don't know why. The one I had was just horrible. Since I've cooked on coil burner stoves all my life, I'm more comfortable with them, and have learned to cook very well with them.

Another vote for gas, only had electric in one apartment we lived in years ago, I never got used to it.

I like gas, but where we live and did live in CA natural gas was not an option. Propane yes, but I did not want that in my house. RV yes, house no. So I have had electric forever, but am looking for a better and faster cooktop

I like my electric coils. When I'm almost done cooking, I turn it off and the residual heat dos the rest.

Years ago when ex-dh and I were dating, he had a gas stove for a little while. I couldn't get that thing down to a simmer, it cooked at too high a temperature. That turned me off gas so much that when we got married, even though we could have, I didn't put a gas stove in. We had a gas furnace, gas water-heater, gas dryer and natural gasline to the barbecue, so it was certainly an option!

I hope they've improved now, that the darned things can at least simmer.

Also, I rented an apt once that had the Solid cast-iron burners. Never, ever get those!!! Took forEVER to heat up! It kept the heat, but I want speed in the beginning, not long-term heat at the end.

Gas, it's completely safe. And you can control the heat with an infinite range of positions. Whereas electric only has off-low-med-high. I've had both. If my current stove breaks, I'll get another gas. Plus natural gas is a less expensive fuel than electricity. My sister has an all-electric house and her bills are sky high. Like in the thousands.

I can't really say I prefer one over the other. At home we have electric but when we had the camper we used gas. So I had six months a year for each. It always took me a while to acclimate to one or the other. As long as the food's good, I don't care what I cook it on. It's what's in the pot that matters, not what the pot sits on.

I doubt any high end restaurants use electric cooktops. They use gas, but with some pretty hefty BTU burners!

Electric is considered better for baking.

I'm no cook, so the glasstop electric cooktop is fine for me -- had a Corning 30 years ago and have similar today. If I must replace, it will be an induction cooktop. That was provided in a place we rented just outside London about 15 years ago -- long before I heard of it here in the US.

Gas! All the way.

Sadly, I still have an electric flat top stove. Looks great, cooks terribly. But I am thankful I'm not cooking over buffalo chips in the back yard.

Someday...

I've had both, and I prefer electric. I've always worried about gas. Maybe it's an unfounded fear, but I also don't like the gunk that collects of shelves and walls because that seems to happen more with gas than electric.

Electric!

Dirty gardener--there are no pilot lights these days, so what you describe (pilot lights going out because of boil-overs) is no longer a problem. Gas ranges have electronic ignition now--when you turn the burner on, there's a little electric spark that lights it. Cheaper since you don't have a pilot light running constantly, and safer since there's no chance of the pilot light going out and your family being poisoned with the unburned natural gas.

Another Gas here...with the exception that electric is cleaner. I hate the grease that I find on everything in the kitchen from the gas.

But I also hate all the black meals we had when we had an electric stove. They didn't taste very well either...8)

I have had both as well, prefer gas, but have used electric for the last 20 years. Nanny

I've got a duel fuel; gas burners and an electric oven. LOVE it!!

Home has electric range; travel trailer has gas.
I can use either, makes NO difference to me.

Pattico, can you elaborate?
Are there "fumes" that blacken the walls and cupboards over time?
I HAVE heard that gas is much hotter to be around.
In other words, the heat generated from the gas makes it hot for the cook.

I prefer my smooth top electric range. I grew up with gas but can tell no difference in cooking ability. For easier cleaning the smooth top wins. But to tell you the truth....gas scares me to pieces! I have total electric for that reason and I'm completely happy with my electric range.

Deb

Jasdip, I don't know if Pattico was talking about the same thing I hate about gas. Every surface just gets sticky/tacky over time. Yes, it can be cleaned, but just soap and water don't seem to take it off the walls. I had to use something with ammonia, which my asthma does not like.

Gas, hands down! I grew up with electric and had electric in the whole house in our first house. Had electric here until about 4 years ago. I LOVE my gas stove! I used gas in the campers, and DH grew up with gas. Loved it.

Tami

I use to be a Gas fan all the way, but have had and like my electric stove for quite some time. The one thing that was great about gas was that when the power when out, I still could cook!!! Once I was making a big pot of spaghetti sauce and the power went out in a storm. I lit a candle, drank some wine and continued stirring the sauce!!! Turned out great!!

I prefer gas. I can't wait to get rid of the beautiful smooth cook top that came with my house and get a gas range.

...electric only has off-low-med-high...
ROFL Where on EARTH did you get THAT idea???? Holy mackerel!!

Nobody has addressed the efficiency. Although I reaffirm everything I said before and incorporate herein by reference, it should be pointed out that electric comes in contact with the pan. Gas shoots up the sides of a small pan and goes in the air. To efficiently use the heat, you need a pan where the flames hit the pan, not shoot up the side. It's very obvious to see people with gas stoves since the sides of their pans are usually burned! LOL

A good friend, now dead, couldn't have gas because of her emphysema. I didn't want to go into this stuff but with the silliness of some of the comments, I guess everything needs to be mentioned.

This is what's so amusing about this topic. It's the same thing over and over. How someone can actually fall in love with a gas is entertaining!

Fer cryin out loud, it's a Ford/Chevy debate.

GASI have electric now and detest it. NO fine heat control with electric.
It's horrible.
I do, however like the electric oven.

I like gas over electric, but induction over gas. We've had an induction cooktop for 6 years now and it's amazing. It heats up faster than gas, turns down/off instantly, and shuts off instantly if there is any spill over. It also shuts off the 'burner' if a pot is going to boil dry and if there is no pot on the burner that was turned on. Only the 'burner' turned on is hot, the rest of the cooktop stays cool.

Although the surface where you just removed a pot of boiling water is hot enough to make you pull your hand away if you touch it, it isn't quite hot enough to burn you because once the pot is removed, it instantly starts losing heat there.

Gas, gas, gas. I've cooked on gas, electric and induction (a friend's) and I choose gas. While induction is amazing as far as response, I wouldn't switch even if I could. There's also the aesthetic appeal of a gas stove (at least to me). Something about the way an electric or induction stove looks just leaves me cold.

Gas, forever. Had electric in my early twenties. Never again. I enjoy gas for other reasons than cooking. Living in the country it's nice to know we will have fire even if the electricity goes out, great for a kettle of hot water. (can't use to much water tho, electric pump in well!) It's a quick sorce of energy when we light a candle, match, etc. Intant off, intant on. Easy to clean Maytag range. Kids learned to cook quite easily with it.

I have gas but like electric.Im scared to death of gas,when we were kids we heard a large explosion,we looked down the street only to see someones roof laying in middle of the street,roof just blew totally off landed in middle of the street.GAS..

We have had electric and gas, last 30 years has been electric so electric it is and have no problems with it. It is bad when the electric goes out when we have ice storms. No natural gas out here in the boonies and propane is very expensive.

Odd man out here I guess... I have cooked on electric for so long that I don't like anything else at all....I cooked on Gas for a short time and burned just about everything I tried to cook...I can conrol the temp so much better with electric... but I think it is just what I am so used to..

I've cooked on an electric stove all my life so that is what I am used to and will continue to purchase. Most chefs use gas but I have to say the times I have used a gas stove I burned what I was cooking because I had a hard time finding the right temp. My Grandparents always had a gas stove but it scared me when I was a kid. I was always afraid the house would blow up if the pilot light went out. Was great in the winter when the power went out though. Electric for me.

Cynic, I won't argue with you about efficiency, because I simply don't know. But I *do* know that if you're cooking correctly with gas, the flames do not shoot up the sides of the pan. As I'm sure you know, you have to match the pan to the size of the burner, and turn it down if flames are shooting up.

*MY* pans don't have that burned stuff on the sides.:)