5 ms·

> people like cooking with gas because it's primal and sensual? Really? Yes, really. I personally love the aesthetics of flames on the stove, and this might l

by comex 5y ago

> people like cooking with gas because it's primal and sensual? Really? Yes, really. I personally love the aesthetics of flames on the stove, and this might lead me to choose a gas stove over the alternatives despite minor downsides like being slower to bring water to a boil. On the other hand, the air quality issue seems like a much more significant downside, though I haven’t researched it much. (I haven’t personally ever had the opportunity to choose the type of stove for a place I’ll be living, so it hasn’t come up. Someday.)

ghostpepper 5y ago
Gas is also universally considered better to cook with than electric (not induction) which is presumably why every restaurant kitchen uses it. My guess is ‘sensuality’ is not even in the top five considerations when equipping a kitchen.
- AussieWog93 5y ago
  When my wife and I were choosing rentals, the only thing I refused to compromise was a gas stove. At least in my case, it's entirely a sensual thing. There's a real joy in lighting the fire, feeling its warmth, making the flame larger and smaller with the knob, and the way it heats up the pan. I know a lot of older Greeks/Italians are the same way with their gas ovens. There's just something magical about it that turns your time in the kitchen from a chore into something you look forward to.
  - nwienert 5y ago
    Sensuals doing some work here though - that flame is sensual, but also gives immediate feedback over temperature/spread. You can lift your pan up and down to control heat over a gradient that radiates above over a larger distance. That lifting and moving of the pan alongside adjusting the flame and seeing it change immediately combines to give you a lot of control. So sensual, yes. A lot more intuitive and powerful, too. Metal slats are also nicer to hit your a pan against than flat glass for a variety of useful/sensual reasons.
- katbyte 5y ago
  By what measure? Induction wins hands down for control, responsiveness, efficiency, and heat output: https://youtu.be/hX2aZUav-54 https://youtu.be/hX2aZUav-54 Doing a super low temp simmer on gas is hard. Double boilers are only something you need with gas. Induction imho and experience is just better all around. What the video for someone putting it far more eloquently then I ever could.
  - coryrc 5y ago
    Try stir-frying with a wok, lift the pan to shake it without losing all heat or not having to be gentle when setting it back down because it's metal-on-metal not metal-on-glass. Or how about my 11" cast iron; the induction only heats the middle 7". Half the pan is useless.
    - traceroute66 5y ago
      > Try stir-frying with a wok, lift the pan to shake it without losing all heat In a home context its irrelevant. You're not doing true wok cooking at home anyway, your piddly little small bore home gas feed won't be providing anywhere near the required intensity.
    - kmbfjr 5y ago
      They have zoneless induction cooktops.
      - coryrc 5y ago
        They're like $5000. The side burner of a $150 grill does a fine job, but can't find a wider-diameter induction.
    - katbyte 5y ago
      For the majority of tasks for the majority of people in NA induction is better. Wok cooking is the only one that it makes tricky (not impossible) and your not doing proper wok cooking on basically any NA home gas cooktops anyway. for that you should be using a proper commercial propane burner. If your not doing that the correct pan (one that will hold and spread the heat) and cooktop will be pretty close to gas, unless you want to bash when putting it down I guess. As for your cast iron maybe use the correctly sized induction element then? It’s cast iron and it doesn’t spread heat well, that’s how it works. You would have the same issue on a resistive element.
- diffeomorphism 5y ago
  > is universally considered... No.
TooKool4This 5y ago
There are definitely a few more benefits than aesthetics. Comparing to electric stoves rather than induction (which are in the same price range) a few benefits I’ve noticed are: 1. Instant heat off/heat on response. In electric stoves the cook top still remains fairly hot and cooking can happen from residual heat after you turn off the heat. Same issue with turning the heat on. While the gas stove has minimum hearing from the thermal mass after you turn it off 2. Psudeo-grilling ability 3. Cost for gas vs. electricity. In an ideal world the heat output per $ would be exactly the same but there are subsidies, pricing structures, different supporting infrastructure etc. As the article implies, at the current price point, gas stoves are competing with electric stoves rather than induction stoves. And there are definitely a few benefits.

by comex 5y ago

ghostpepper 5y ago

Gas is also universally considered better to cook with than electric (not induction) which is presumably why every restaurant kitchen uses it. My guess is ‘sensuality’ is not even in the top five considerations when equipping a kitchen.

AussieWog93 5y ago
When my wife and I were choosing rentals, the only thing I refused to compromise was a gas stove. At least in my case, it's entirely a sensual thing. There's a real joy in lighting the fire, feeling its warmth, making the flame larger and smaller with the knob, and the way it heats up the pan. I know a lot of older Greeks/Italians are the same way with their gas ovens. There's just something magical about it that turns your time in the kitchen from a chore into something you look forward to.
- nwienert 5y ago
  Sensuals doing some work here though - that flame is sensual, but also gives immediate feedback over temperature/spread. You can lift your pan up and down to control heat over a gradient that radiates above over a larger distance. That lifting and moving of the pan alongside adjusting the flame and seeing it change immediately combines to give you a lot of control. So sensual, yes. A lot more intuitive and powerful, too. Metal slats are also nicer to hit your a pan against than flat glass for a variety of useful/sensual reasons.
katbyte 5y ago
By what measure? Induction wins hands down for control, responsiveness, efficiency, and heat output: https://youtu.be/hX2aZUav-54 https://youtu.be/hX2aZUav-54 Doing a super low temp simmer on gas is hard. Double boilers are only something you need with gas. Induction imho and experience is just better all around. What the video for someone putting it far more eloquently then I ever could.
- coryrc 5y ago
  Try stir-frying with a wok, lift the pan to shake it without losing all heat or not having to be gentle when setting it back down because it's metal-on-metal not metal-on-glass. Or how about my 11" cast iron; the induction only heats the middle 7". Half the pan is useless.
  - traceroute66 5y ago
    > Try stir-frying with a wok, lift the pan to shake it without losing all heat In a home context its irrelevant. You're not doing true wok cooking at home anyway, your piddly little small bore home gas feed won't be providing anywhere near the required intensity.
  - kmbfjr 5y ago
    They have zoneless induction cooktops.
    - coryrc 5y ago
      They're like $5000. The side burner of a $150 grill does a fine job, but can't find a wider-diameter induction.
  - katbyte 5y ago
    For the majority of tasks for the majority of people in NA induction is better. Wok cooking is the only one that it makes tricky (not impossible) and your not doing proper wok cooking on basically any NA home gas cooktops anyway. for that you should be using a proper commercial propane burner. If your not doing that the correct pan (one that will hold and spread the heat) and cooktop will be pretty close to gas, unless you want to bash when putting it down I guess. As for your cast iron maybe use the correctly sized induction element then? It’s cast iron and it doesn’t spread heat well, that’s how it works. You would have the same issue on a resistive element.
diffeomorphism 5y ago
> is universally considered... No.

TooKool4This 5y ago

There are definitely a few more benefits than aesthetics. Comparing to electric stoves rather than induction (which are in the same price range) a few benefits I’ve noticed are: 1. Instant heat off/heat on response. In electric stoves the cook top still remains fairly hot and cooking can happen from residual heat after you turn off the heat. Same issue with turning the heat on. While the gas stove has minimum hearing from the thermal mass after you turn it off 2. Psudeo-grilling ability 3. Cost for gas vs. electricity. In an ideal world the heat output per $ would be exactly the same but there are subsidies, pricing structures, different supporting infrastructure etc. As the article implies, at the current price point, gas stoves are competing with electric stoves rather than induction stoves. And there are definitely a few benefits.