We're looking to buy an apartment. Quite a few apartments have only
electricity, which means an electric cooktop. I've only ever used gas and
wondered how the electric ones go for things like wok cooking and other
cooking where you need to be able to control the temperature quickly. Any
comments?

In article , Viviane says...

We're looking to buy an apartment. Quite a few apartments have only
electricity, which means an electric cooktop. I've only ever used gas and
wondered how the electric ones go for things like wok cooking and other
cooking where you need to be able to control the temperature quickly. Any
comments?
===
Like gas units, electric ranges/cooktops vary widely in price, power and
features. Be sure to compare wattages of top burners *and* broiler, if
applicable. My Kenmore Elite 5-burner freestanding glass top range is very fast
and powerful but, you will need to remove the pan from the heated burner to cool
it down quickly. This is easy to do with a smooth top. A 3000 watt electric
burner, as with the Kenmore, may/may not wok for you. I have not tried it. You
can find this range he

http://tinyurl.com/ddvfo
===
===

"Viviane" wrote in message
...
We're looking to buy an apartment. Quite a few apartments have only
electricity, which means an electric cooktop. I've only ever used gas and
wondered how the electric ones go for things like wok cooking and other
cooking where you need to be able to control the temperature quickly. Any
comments?


Gas is certainly better for wokkery but you can do a perfectly good job on
electric if you have a flat-bottomed carbon steel wok and set it directly on
the element. Slide on and off for temp control. It may take a little getting
used to in terms of how much food you can add at once but I did it for many
years until I got a gas wok ring.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

"Viviane" wrote in message
...
We're looking to buy an apartment. Quite a few apartments have only
electricity, which means an electric cooktop. I've only ever used gas and
wondered how the electric ones go for things like wok cooking and other
cooking where you need to be able to control the temperature quickly. Any
comments?

I lived in apartments for years that had really bad electric ranges. When I
moved into this house I replaced the existing horrible electric range with
gas. I like the gas range better than the cheap electric ranges I had been
using. A few years ago my mother remodeled her kitchen and got a KitchenAid
smooth top electric cooktop. The unit is surprisingly good. It heats very
quickly and the controls are responsive. One burner is halogen, so it is
"instant on." I know there are some limitations about using cast iron and
very heavy stock pots on ceramic ranges, so you might check the owner's
manual before you make a purchase.

One type of electric cooktop that is seldom mentioned, but probably as good
as gas, is induction. I don't know if they are easily available in the US,
but you might include electric induction cooktops in your search.

I'm in Australia and I've seen quite a few different models with induction
and some with a mixture or induction and "normal" electric - can't remember
the term they used!

Thanks for the responses - now I feel that if we end up picking somewhere
that doesn't have gas, it won't be the end of the world and I can still use
my wok!

"Vox Humana" wrote in message
...

"Viviane" wrote in message
...
We're looking to buy an apartment. Quite a few apartments have only
electricity, which means an electric cooktop. I've only ever used gas
and
wondered how the electric ones go for things like wok cooking and other
cooking where you need to be able to control the temperature quickly.
Any
comments?

I lived in apartments for years that had really bad electric ranges. When
I
moved into this house I replaced the existing horrible electric range with
gas. I like the gas range better than the cheap electric ranges I had
been
using. A few years ago my mother remodeled her kitchen and got a
KitchenAid
smooth top electric cooktop. The unit is surprisingly good. It heats
very
quickly and the controls are responsive. One burner is halogen, so it is
"instant on." I know there are some limitations about using cast iron and
very heavy stock pots on ceramic ranges, so you might check the owner's
manual before you make a purchase.

One type of electric cooktop that is seldom mentioned, but probably as
good
as gas, is induction. I don't know if they are easily available in the
US,
but you might include electric induction cooktops in your search.

"Vox Humana" wrote in message

A butane burner for daily cooking is a bad idea in my
opinion.

Worse than bad. Factor in the cost of buying the butane fuel in those small
canisters will be more than you'd pay for a cheap range with a credit card
at 22% interest.