I wouldn't call myself a real cook but I don't cook all my meals, boxed
as they may be. I recently moved into an apartment for the school year
and it has an electric stove + oven. I've always had a gas stove
growing up so is there something I should change to my cooking?
Sometimes I do use the ovenfor meatloaf or cassarole but mainly the
stove so are they any tips or things to keep in mind while cooking with
electric.

sorry I should proof read a little better

I DO cook all my meals

First major checkpoint: is it a fan-forced oven?
Find the manual! .... and read the thing from cover to cover.
Fan forced ovens take about 1/2 to 2/3rds of normal cooking time - it's
very easy to over cook in a fan forced model, if you've never used one
before. (Must say, I miss this in my new gas stove, minus fan-forced
option)

As for stove-top elements, electric hotplates are not as temperature
controlled as gas - you may need to experiment for 'simmering'
qualities with each of the elements. Achieving a true simmer with
electricity is fraught with problems.
Your cookware will play a major role in the success/failure rate using
electric stovetop elements... thicker based pans will serve you well,
while thinner based ones may tend to burn/dry out whatever you're
cooking.
As with all stoves it's just a question of experimentation for the most
part.
Wishing you the best of luck figuring out your temp. stove/oven!

LadyJane
--
"Never trust a skinny cook!"

wrote:
> sorry I should proof read a little better
>
> I DO cook all my meals

Assuming you aren't a TROLL... cooking on electric is really no different
from using a gas stove except the gas reaches the hot point faster than an
electric burner. And there is the automatic shutoff of gas, but still, take
the pan off the burner.

The knobs have listed settings, don't they? Low, medium, high, like that?
So watch what you cook. Try figuring out what setting boils water first and
fastest, then go from there. It's really not rocket science. I loved my
gas stove but I've been relegated to electric most of my adult life and hey,
they work Just imagine having to cook in a wood fireplace! Oh wait, now
we're stepping into grill territory!

Jill

wrote:
> I wouldn't call myself a real cook but I don't cook all my meals, boxed
> as they may be. I recently moved into an apartment for the school year
> and it has an electric stove + oven. I've always had a gas stove
> growing up so is there something I should change to my cooking?
> Sometimes I do use the ovenfor meatloaf or cassarole but mainly the
> stove so are they any tips or things to keep in mind while cooking with
> electric.


It heats diffferently and the burners stay hot longer once it's off.
You will simply have to use it to see how different it is. Personally
I like electric better, but I am usually in the minority.

-L.

I sympathize, as I had an electric in college too.

Main thing to remember - the coils stay hot after you turn them off. So
pull the pot/pan away from the burner if you don't want whatever you're
making to cook further. This is most important for something that cooks
quickly, like scrambled eggs. Be careful not to touch the burner then,
too (duh, right?).

The electric oven I never had too much of a problem with, unless of
course it doesn't heat right, which can happen to many an oven. Bake
some dessert (like a cake or brownies or something like that) and that
should help tell you how low/high it runs by how it bakes.

Good luck. If you cook a lot, you'll adjust pretty easily.

Kris


wrote:
> I wouldn't call myself a real cook but I don't cook all my meals, boxed
> as they may be. I recently moved into an apartment for the school year
> and it has an electric stove + oven. I've always had a gas stove
> growing up so is there something I should change to my cooking?
> Sometimes I do use the ovenfor meatloaf or cassarole but mainly the
> stove so are they any tips or things to keep in mind while cooking with
> electric.

"Kris" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>I sympathize, as I had an electric in college too.
>
> Main thing to remember - the coils stay hot after you turn them off. So
> pull the pot/pan away from the burner if you don't want whatever you're
> making to cook further.


I'd rate than number 2. IMO, number 1 is the fact that a burner can be on
and you don't seen anything so you can walk away and forget about it. My
daughter has ruined two of my tea kettles doing just that.

jmcquown wrote:
> The knobs have listed settings, don't they? Low, medium, high,

with a gas stove, i've never liked lighting them

sometimes your fanning around the burner and the gas accumulates just
before it lights, you get that small thud as it lights.. WHOOOOOM!

LOL

same as the oven..

i just hate it

wrote:
> I wouldn't call myself a real cook but I don't cook all my meals, boxed
> as they may be. I recently moved into an apartment for the school year
> and it has an electric stove + oven. I've always had a gas stove
> growing up so is there something I should change to my cooking?
> Sometimes I do use the ovenfor meatloaf or cassarole but mainly the
> stove so are they any tips or things to keep in mind while cooking with
> electric.

C.,

Many people prefer an electric oven because it is a more even heat,
the element isn't as hot as a burner. So the oven shouldn't take any
getting use to. The cook top on the other hand will be a bit of a
learning curve. The big difference is that electric heats up and cools
down slowly, so you have to think ahead. If you have a rolling boil
and want to go down to a simmer, turning down the burner won't do
anything for a couple of minutes. And the same is true in reverse for
heating things up. If your oil gets too cool, you can't just crank up
the burner for a second or two. You have to adjust the burner a minute
before you really need it to change, and the electric will change
temperature gradually. That's about it. And don't be afraid to take
the food off the burner completely if it's too hot or transfer it to a
burner already on low. Oh, and one more thing, be careful where you
set down the oven mitts. Those burners stay hot for quite a while.
And until you get use to the stove, make sure you didn't turn the
burner up to high instead of to off. (It won't turn red for a couple
of minutes, and by then you're out of the room eating. And by then,
something can be on fire.) Not good. Okay, that's two things, but
along the same line.

I hate electric stoves, but I lived in a rental for several years with
one. It's not the end of the world, it just takes some getting use to.


Hope this helps,

Ken

> wrote in message
ups.com...
>I wouldn't call myself a real cook but I don't cook all my meals, boxed
> as they may be. I recently moved into an apartment for the school year
> and it has an electric stove + oven. I've always had a gas stove
> growing up so is there something I should change to my cooking?
> Sometimes I do use the ovenfor meatloaf or cassarole but mainly the
> stove so are they any tips or things to keep in mind while cooking with
> electric.

The main thing is to turn the element off a little before something is done
so it finishes cooking on retained heat. If it has coil burners the coils
will stay hot for a little bit after you turn them off. Since it stays hot
you can continue to cook on it for a couple of minutes.

Ms P

wrote:
> I wouldn't call myself a real cook but I don't cook all my meals, boxed
> as they may be. I recently moved into an apartment for the school year
> and it has an electric stove + oven. I've always had a gas stove
> growing up so is there something I should change to my cooking?
> Sometimes I do use the ovenfor meatloaf or cassarole but mainly the
> stove so are they any tips or things to keep in mind while cooking with
> electric.
>


An electric stove element takes longer to heat up and cool down than
gas. This means that if you turn the knob to high to speed up heating
and don't turn it down again until the pot is boiling, it will probably
boil over because the cool-down reaction isn't instant like it is with
gas. As Emeril says, there are other settings besides OFF and HIGH.
Learn to use them.

On the plus side, an electric element won't heat the saucepan handle to
"OUCH" the way gas does.

gloria p

Steve Wertz wrote:
> On 26 Aug 2006 22:30:57 -0700, wrote:
>> so are they any tips or things to keep in mind while cooking with
>> electric.
>
> Usually you press buttons on the electric stove instead of
> turning knobs on the gas stoves. It seems tricky at first, but
> with practice you'll get the hang of it.

I may be getting an entirely wrong visual from your statement. Way back
when I was in my twenties, I had access to an electric stove that was
already old and had push button controls for the cook top elements. It
was an abomination, but an interesting one! Just a couple of years ago,
I happened onto another of the same type, in avocado green.

Please tell me that you meant something else when you said "press
buttons instead of turning knobs."


> Otherwise, it takes longer to preheat, and if something gets too
> hot, remove it from burner for a minute in addition to just
> turning down the heat (because it also takes longer to cool
> down).
>
> Simple common sense.

Straight from the Famous Last Words phrase book??

> wrote:
>I wouldn't call myself a real cook but I don't cook all my meals, boxed
>as they may be. I recently moved into an apartment for the school year
>and it has an electric stove + oven. I've always had a gas stove
>growing up so is there something I should change to my cooking?

You'll figure it out. The oven will work the same and the
stove will be a little slow to change temperature, but
otherwise, heat is heat.

>Sometimes I do use the ovenfor meatloaf or cassarole but mainly the
>stove so are they any tips or things to keep in mind while cooking with
>electric.

To heat the cooktop burners up quickly, turn them to high
for 10-30 seconds to start, then turn them back to medium
or medium-high or whatever you're aiming for. You'll catch
the temperature in the middle of the rise to high, which
was steeper to start.

--Blair

ms_peacock > wrote:
>The main thing is to turn the element off a little before something is done
>so it finishes cooking on retained heat.

I just take the pan off the heat and turn off the burner.

--Blair

"Blair P. Houghton" > wrote in message
m...
> ms_peacock > wrote:
>>The main thing is to turn the element off a little before something is
>>done
>>so it finishes cooking on retained heat.
>
> I just take the pan off the heat and turn off the burner.
>
> --Blair

That's what most people do. But if you learn how long the burners stay hot
you don't have to move heavy pans of stuff around. If you're using all four
burners you might not have anywhere to put them. Plus if you're cooking on
retained heat even for a couple of minutes you're saving electricity.

Turn a perceived disadvantage into an advantage.

Ms P

On 26 Aug 2006 22:30:57 -0700, wrote:

>I wouldn't call myself a real cook but I don't cook all my meals, boxed
>as they may be. I recently moved into an apartment for the school year
>and it has an electric stove + oven. I've always had a gas stove
>growing up so is there something I should change to my cooking?
>Sometimes I do use the ovenfor meatloaf or cassarole but mainly the
>stove so are they any tips or things to keep in mind while cooking with
>electric.

An electric stove is actually EASIER to use... my parents house had
gas and it took me awhile to get used to the electric one here. It
heats up quite quickly and gets surprisingly hot. The electric stove
has a more even temperature than a gas one so if you're careful it's
easier to make sauces/custard etc without burning it.

Karen AKA Kajikit wrote:
> On 26 Aug 2006 22:30:57 -0700, wrote:
>
> >I wouldn't call myself a real cook but I don't cook all my meals, boxed
> >as they may be. I recently moved into an apartment for the school year
> >and it has an electric stove + oven. I've always had a gas stove
> >growing up so is there something I should change to my cooking?
> >Sometimes I do use the ovenfor meatloaf or cassarole but mainly the
> >stove so are they any tips or things to keep in mind while cooking with
> >electric.
>
> An electric stove is actually EASIER to use... my parents house had
> gas and it took me awhile to get used to the electric one here. It
> heats up quite quickly and gets surprisingly hot. The electric stove
> has a more even temperature than a gas one so if you're careful it's
> easier to make sauces/custard etc without burning it.

Interesting. My experience has been just the opposite. I had an
electric range in my last place for 8 years and hated it. I find it
much harder to control electric ranges because it takes much longer for
the heat to go up or down. And much harder to get a really low heat.
Maybe it was just the range I had. But I love the gas range in my
current place. Would hate to have to go back.