Gas Range

Have you ever seen a professional kitchen outfitted with an electric stove? A 'real' chef would never stand for it. In almost every way, cooking with gas is superior to cooking with electric burners. Heat turns on and off instantly, and can be adjusted quickly and accurately. Although a gas range may be more expensive to buy, it will pay for itself in no time. Your energy costs will be about half what it would be if you were using an electric range. Most of the newer models of gas ranges use an electronic ignition as opposed to a pilot light, which saves a further 30 percent.Gas burners deliver even heat, even if the bottom of the pot is dented or warped. Standard gas cooktops have four burners, but many models can be adapted to a griddle, rotisserie, wok or grill. Sealed burners are easier to clean, but slightly less responsive to temperature adjustments. Ovens are either self-cleaning or continuous cleaning. The self-cleaning ovens have a cycle that uses very high heat and reduces oven deposits to ash. Continuous cleaning ovens have a special finish that allows deposits to be oxidized at normal cooking temperatures. These don't clean quite as efficiently, but they are lower in cost. Some gas ovens now come with convection heating. A small fan blows the hot air around the oven so that foods cook more quickly. Convection ovens are more expensive than traditional ovens, but again, there is a significant saving in energy costs.