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Victoria [Australia] bans gas rebates and incentives for homes as shift to all-electric gathers pace
(reneweconomy.com.au)
this post was submitted on 18 Apr 2024
127 points (100.0% liked)
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Its for the best but fuck am i gonna miss cooking with gas man
Try one of the newer induction stoves, and you won't look back.
I'm looking to replace my freestanding gas stove/oven right now, and my options seem to be $800 for coil electric and $3000 for induction.
I'm probably going to end up with the induction anyway but damn.
I want to switch to induction. And so first I wanted to see how it cooks. I bought a single induction hob, a DrinkPod 1300W, which worked passably well. About $60. So I decided to up the ante, and spend $120 on a double, a Nutrichef 1800W each, but it turned defective. Boiling water on the 140F setting, wtf? And turning itself off when it pleased, as well. So I returned that. Check the reviews, but also test out the unit you get, thoroughly while you can still return it. I also learned that they have cooling fans, which make a fair amount of noise, alas. The full on induction stove/ convection oven sounds great, but yeah, that price tag.
I will never, ever understand the cooking with gas meme after using a modern electric oven. Meaning NOT coils.
I generally cook 2 hot meals a day, every day. Occasionally more. I cook a lot, and it's almost entirely on the range in pans.
For cleaning, there's no question. A glass-top range is better, which means electric. Not even debatable. And for MOST home cooks, the time they spend cleaning alone justifies not using gas. Gas ranges are basically always filthy, or else you have to clean them constantly, obsessively, and aggressively with harsh oven cleaner chemicals. A glass top just takes a quick wipe with some surface cleaner. Maybe an occasional scrub with a brush/sponge and barkeeper's friend. Never a huge chore to keep it clean.
For cooking in the oven, electric is also better. This is also not really debated. They're more consistent and controllable, they keep the heat inside the oven where you want it, they preheat faster and more efficiently since they aren't constantly venting some portion of their heat. The really high-end kitchens have long been a gas range with a separate electric oven because it was essentially common knowledge that electric is better for baking.
But even for the range, electric is better. Even a fairly modern ceramic electric is better -- they almost all have "quick boil" or similar 5000W hobs. Those get your pans hot and do it crazy fast. Faster than gas. They also tend to always get you the same heat for the same settings. You're never constantly fiddling with them like you have to with the variability of gas, aside from when learning.
The only, only, only downside of a gas range is you can't char something directly on the flame. Buy a handheld torch or use the broiler, it's really not a big deal. You probably should be doing it under the broiler for consistency anyway.
And induction takes all those electric advantages and just amplifies them.
While I agree with the simplicity of cleaning and quick heating the induction cooktops I've used have had drawbacks.
One had a touch panel control that would switch the whole range off and lock itself it it got wet. I've also yet to see one that does very low temperatures well, they seem to just click on and off thermostat style which isnt what I like for slow cooking.
And at the end of the day it's just a personal thing, I like seeing the flame. The simplicity of it. I like the analogue the controls. I just find it satisfying.
Progress is progress and induction cooking with solar power may be the way of the future, but I don't think its accurate to say there are no drawbacks to making the switch.
Get a stove that has knobs if you can. Knobs are definitely better. It's only the REALLY cheap ones that are all touch panel all the time. I agree with you -- I hate the modern trend of cheapening out on components by putting everything on a touch panel. They're unreliable and obnoxious. Gas ranges can't cut this corner because there are valves to operate -- but you know they would if they could, and gas ovens have the same exact terrible panels pretty routinely these days.
The heat cycling is still a thing with resistive ranges sometimes. Induction doesn't really do that. Since I cook almost entirely on cast iron, I never noticed it either way, so you may be right that it's an annoyance if you have a different style.
Pretty standard for induction ranges to also have a (ceramic) warmer hob these days for when you need really low heat, though I don't find it very useful. My induction hobs, on low, get the pan barely warm to the touch. On high, they get it blindingly hot in seconds.
Genuinely good info, I've never come across a unit with knobs and a good ceramic hob would go a long way to helping my slow cooking gripes.
Maybe the induction I've used have just been crappy. One turned itself off after 10 hours because who could possibly want to cook something for longer than that?
Will definitely keep your words in mind next time I look at induction equipment!
Get an immersion slow cooker if that's your thing, that can keep the temp at a preset level, which is way better than gas, because as a stew reduces you need to adjust the temperature, as volume gets smaller
Are you suggesting some kind of sous vide setup or do you just stick the immersion element right in whatever you're cooking?
I hate cooking on coil, but I cooked some times on good induction. Wish I had access to induction (other than power cuts) on daily basis. Temp control is not as cleat at first, but it's much better once you get it, and can deliver very strong heat but also very weak without fearing that the flame will go out. Oh, and cleaning! Just wipe with wet cloth and its good as new. Other bonus include timers and spill detection.
I currently have a coil stove 😔 but my girlfriend has a glass covered induction stove that i do quite enjoy. Im gonna miss having instantaneous control over the heat but I'll live lol. The cleaning is a huge plus tho
I'm also pro-electric for the betterment of shifting to renewables, etc., but I also understand that people who have been using gas for a long time will need to adjust. Goodonya for being willing to adjust at least! And as someone else here said (kind of) - not all electric units are made equally so you might have to do some research/experimentation to see what works best for ya