What type of range do you have or prefer at home?

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Elf,
Thanks for the link. The math section kinda set me on my ear though :LOL:
I'm thinking the convection option might be worthwhile.
I can't afford to spring for the Jenn Aire or Viking type ovens though.
Thinking about Maytag, Kenmore or GE right now.
John.
 
We have been in rental houses for years with all the moving around we've done. All of them have had electric stovetop/ovens. If they are working good then baked things come out great. It does take a few minutes sometimes to get the burner heated up and then to cool down takes it's time also. My in-laws have gas and I really liked cooking on that, don't know that I have a preference yet though. :)
 
I have an eletric stove. I hate it. I have to stick a metal knife under the pan /pot to make in even to fry or cook. I would LOVE a gas stove or even a glass top would be good
 
Claire said:
I hate it when this happens. I find a line and there are so many answers I can't figure out if I've already put my two cents' worth in. First of all, Allen, I had that stove in military housing 20 years ago, and it was old then, and I loved it!!!!!

When I moved here I had the choice of gas or electric, and I'm sorry if I'm repeating, but I chose a smooth-top electric range. 99% of the reason was ease of cleaning. I cook a lot, not just for fun, and I get to do 100% of the stove cleaning. Being able to wipe that stove top off so easily is a huge factor. I, too, own a very old house, and having that flat surface in an odd location is helpful (can easily pour a glass of juice, put the fridge items on it to load into the fridge after a grocery trip, etc, is very nice), and most importantly that many who absolutely say gas only either ignore or deny, gas burners are much, much hotter than electric, and if you do not have A/C (I don't), in the summer it can be unbearable. That heat may seem like an advantage, but electric heat pretty much goes straight from burner into the pot, whereas gas heats the entire kitchen. Great in winter. Not so good in summer. Most folk have central A/C and don't even notice it. Oh, yes, the bottoms of the pots and pans are a little cleaner over the years with electric.

Don't get me wrong, there are times (when I'm stir frying, for example) when I wish I had that extra control and heat. But I'd buy the same stove again tomorrow if I had to make the choice again. I use it so much, I'm wearing the color off of some of the burners, and am very happy with it.

When we remodeled the kitchen, we got a Frigidaire glasstop w/ 2 small burners, 1 full large burner and one 2 way large/small burner and a warming zone. It has a single large oven with a "Speedbake" feature, and a drawer for storage in the bottom. I have to say that I love it. It might be a tad to slower to boil water, but I don't generally cook in a hurry anyway. What I do love about it is that it does what it says it is doing. I have a Swiss steak recipe which is slow simmered in French dressing, and I can set it on simmer, cover and leave for 2 hours and when I return, it's still simmering, not burned, not soaking, but cooking perfectly. With our old GE range you had to constantly monitor the process. I've never have had the option of cooking with gas, but the other electrics I've used were all terrible as far as heat control is concerned. And the cleanup is the clincher... :chef:

After cooking a couple of meals on ours, my mother went out and bought the same one, and she has cooked with gas before.
 
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my range

I have a Kitchen Aid gas range with gas oven and electric convection. it is great.
 
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I've looked at a KitchenAid electric with the convection feature, and I would like to have one of those. Unfortunately, I live in an apartment and tend to move too frequently. So I have to pretty much put up with what's there.

MrCoffee
 
Like Michael, I prefer gas for the instant response and easy control.

I've been using an old O'Keeffe & Merritt stove for the past 24 years. It was probably new when this house was built in 1950. I love it, but I'm ready for something new. Been eyeing a Five Star range.

Allen, the interior shot of your oven reminds me of mine ... except mine is nowhere near that clean! :LOL: I keep a stone and thermometer in there too.

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I have a new GE Profile glass top gas oven that's also a convection-the convection is alright but the fan for it reduces the size inside the oven and my favorite cookie pans don't fit well.I use the cookie sheets anyway just on an angle and the cookies turn out fine.They do bake better in the convection oven versus the gas.
 
If I lived in the cold north I would spring for a kitchen redo and get an aga. The whole concept of heat storage, radiating chambers (ovens) etc is fascinating. I would also take up bread baking to use the thang! (So far only Martha, Tyler, and Jamie have used them on FoodTV, mainly on visists to UK. RR has something from the 40s or 50s, and Paula has a French range.) But as I live in the humid mid atlantic, one day I may get a six burner two oven gas something. I hope.
 
I've always used an electric stove top & oven...at the moment I have a glass top version, which is so easy to keep clean (I always wipe my stove top down each time I cook, along with the counters). We did have a gas stove in the Casita we rented for vacation though, but I have to say I found it a bit harder to use....there were no numbers on the dials to say if you were at low/medium/high heat - you had to bend down and squint at the flame, and the dials were so sensitive that just a fraction of an inch turn and you'd turned the thing off instead of down and have to re-light it again. It took forever to boil water and was a real pain to clean as you had to remove the metal burner thingies to get at the enamel underneath. It was probably a really cheap model, so I am trying not to tar all gas stoves with the same brush - certainly it would be something I would like to try out in a future kitchen, as most people much prefer gas to electric - it's probably just something I have to spend time getting used to!

Paint.
 
MY optimum cook top was my thermadore 6 burner, now in stoarage.

Right now I have a smooth top glass but I want to get back to a gas cook top so I am looking at the jennair dual fuel with the two electric ovens and gass cook top
 
OMG AllenOK! I have "almost" the same range! This was in the house when I moved in 14 years ago. I was going to get a new one, but, never couldn't justify when this one just kept working! Mine is a Frigidaire Custom Imperial. The pot and pan storage is in the bottom drawer. It works great (although I always wished for a gas range). I'm rebuiling our home and will finally get my dream "gas" kitchen. Any idea what this old one is worth? Is it from the '60's?
 
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Coming in late, but I think I've got to go with a propane range and oven. My parents have one, and I find it so much easier to use for the reasons others have posted (easier to control). One of my pet peeves about electric is that I can not get the stuff to cook evenly as noted above. It drives me crazy how uneven everything is.

It has been interesting hearing all this information on how the different ovens function. Reading the posts on the Aga ovens, for some reason it seems to me like they should be able to come up with some kind of new metal alloy or something that could function the same as the cast iron, maybe incorporate some way to allow the user to cool the oven down when they want? Just thoughts from a newbie that probably doesn't know any better! lol
 
So as I said in July 05, I'd get a 6 burner two oven thing. Well I got a Wolf dual fuel 36" which has 6 burners and 1 big oven (dual convection) but I also have a wall oven. So I didn't lie. I love it. I feel I have no limitations as to what I can do. I have also found that a really fine appliance takes care of your food. Food doesn't go limp in the fridge, doesn't burn in the oven. So even tho I'l be paying for it for quite some time, I think it is a great investment.
 
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