gas stoves terrify me. i'm not careful enough to not blow up my apartment.

I would do almost anything to get a gas stove...except buy a house...in this market...at this time. Electric stoves are almost impossible to regulate. They practically defeat the purpose of good cast-iron cookware. Gas rules.

i have electric and i hate it. it takes forever to warm up and cool down - not good for the delicate sauces and candies i make on occasion. and "medium-high" means "really really hot." turning it all the way to "high" will burn up my thinner skillets (had this happen once)

Gas all the way. (he he he)

Induction baby! I used to be all about the gas, but induction is SO, SO, So much more responsive AND efficient. Who wouldn't like being able to boil a pot of water in less than 2 minutes without heating up the entire kitchen in the process? And who needs a slow cooker when you can put a dutch oven on the induction stove's lower settings and walk away for hours?

It's a million times easier to clean, too!

I have electric and while I'm not it's biggest fan, it works okay for me. It was definitely a huge adjustment though. I went from cooking on a industrial gas range to a little electric stove. I don't really mind it because I never make anything delicate - more of a hearty cook.

its*

I've always had electric, and I've heard that gas is better, but I wouldn't mind induction either. :) One day when I'm not living in a rental or with someone else, I'll have to decide!

Always had electric. Went from those damned coils to a lovely glass top back to those damned coils.

Doesn't stop me from cooking whatever I want.

I have electric but I would almost kill for gas. So far I haven't had any luck finding a decent rental in my price range with gas.

I have electric now, not my choice, but I was raised in Texas and I much, much prefer gas.

I prefer and have electric one.
I used a gas cooker twice in my life and I always ended up setting up on fire and burning kitchen washcloths. It is not for me.

I have used both gas and electric and now have gas, I think gas is superior for everything but I do agree with the post, that it is hard to get things to simmer, is there a trick to it? or maybe something I could use on top of the grid to tame the flame?

I have an electric stove, but mostly use an induction 1-burner cooktop for cooking -- it's so much more responsive! I'd love to be able to buy a Cooktek 2 burner unit.

I have an extra lousy electric. Some of the burners run really hot, some run really cool. Sometimes they take forever to heat up and then get way too hot for the setting they're on. Oh, plus they're all unstable. ARGH HATE SO MUCH.

We have a gas range and love it. No problems with turning it way down low, so I wonder if ours has a lower setting than some.

My parents' house (where I learned how to cook) had a gas stove, so I got spoiled. Then I lived in an apartment with an electric stove, which I thought was the Almighty Devil Incarnate, because of its irregular temperature fluctuations. But then, oh yes, I moved into my post-grad apartment, which has the HORROR OF ALL HORRORS... an INDUCTION COOKTOP. Someone please kill me to put me out of my misery.

I hate that thing. It gets dirty just from boiling water! Plus, it has 1 burner measuring 9 inches across, and all the rest of the burners are 5 inches across. WTF manufacturers? Who designed this POS?

// rant

Sorry guys. The induction cooktop gets me a little worked up.

I had gas in my old, terrible apartment. The stove was great. It was an older stove with pilot lights but I was so used to gas it was easy to work with.

When I called about the new place my landlord said the kitchen had hookups for either gas or electric but the stove he had in the unit was a GE electric stove with a double oven. It's a nice vintage stove (the color is coppertone and it matches my fridge!). Much as I miss gas sometimes, I love the versatility of my two ovens enough to deal. I just have to watch out when making anything delicate because the coils don't cool quickly. I've boiled things over too often for lack of attention!

GAS, BABY!

sandra lee is the only one on food network who "cooks" on electric. that is reason enough for me.

Gas all the way. I've had assorted electric cooktops in a myriad of rentals before we moved into this house, and gas is just so much better. Immediate response in heating cannot be overrated when cooking.

My partner and I would much prefer gas, but alas we are renting and basically we love everything else about our place (ok, except for the upstairs neighbors), so we've learned to live with electric. Ours is not so bad except for the slow cool-down (we've inadvertently melted a lot of plastic in the past 2 years), but I so miss having the occasional marshmallow roasted on a gas flame! (I grew up in NYC and that's what we had instead of campfires.)

I grew up on gas and have a gas cook top now. I much prefer it as it's so much easier to regulate the heat.

That being said, I also loved my smooth top electric cook top in my last house... but I think that one was an anomaly and definitely one of the better of the electric variety!

Gas. I feel like I can't even cook the simplest thing properly whenever I have to use an electric stove. I mean things turn out fine but there's a lot more cursing in the process.

I've always used electric and have no issues with it. I've heard gas works better and I'm intrigued, but at the same time I don't think all electric ranges are terrible. My mom's is old and inefficient, but I was fortunate to have newer electric ranges at my last three apartments and they worked fine for me; I didn't find them difficult to regulate at all.

I really think it just depends on the model.

(Oh, and as a note, all three were Frigidaire.)

I have a relatively new Kenmore gas range, with two "power burners", a simmer burner, and two standard burners. I really enjoy it.

Have Electric now, and would be fine with that or gas but would love a good induction range (one with burners bigger than 5", that's crazy). I've used the Viking portable induction burner and it's amazing how fast it heats and how much control you have.

Anyone with gas who has trouble getting a low enough flame to simmer, try to find a "simmer plate". It's basically a big flat round piece of cast iron or aluminum that will absorb the heat and lower the amount of energy being transfered to your pot.

Have a gas stove, but all these stove posts make me want to consider induction cooking in the future. A flat surface would be so much easier to clean and the electric pilot on my stove doesn't always want to light the gas element (esp. if it gets even a teeny bit wet).

I've rented apts with both gas and electric stovetops, and definitely prefer gas. When I need a low simmer (like for polenta), I use the "flame tamer" idea from America's Test Kitchen-- take a long piece of aluminum foil and fashion it into a 1" thick ring, and place it on the burner to get some distance between the flame and the pan.

Gas is the way to go!!! It has way more versatility. For totally even low heat get a Flame Tamer (or make one? Cool!) or "simmer plate" as someone above mentioned as well.

Well, I have an original 1950s Custom-crafted Hotpoint electric range and oven. Maybe I have grown accustomed to its quirks but I much prefer it to my sister's poltergeist-inhabited computer controlled combo range/oven. Electricity is cheap in the NW and I find it easier to control than a gas range. It seems to be even in temperament, but the clock died decades ago, and the control dials are starting to fade. But give me an electric broiler over the gas broiler any day. I am currently thinking of re-wiring it (the 50 year old wires do give me 2nd thoughts.).

i have no choice! i have to have electric or something that doesnt use gas! i have an energy star built home and gas is not allowed! i dont mind it saves me money and i have had my stove for long enough i know how to cook on it!

if I were not a renter I would have a gas stove!!

Mine has 1 electric one and 3 gas one. They all have their own uses.

electric now but think we'll go for induction when we finally throw out the dreadful rental one we have inherited.

same story as so many before me: i have electric and i loathe it.

sure, it "gets the job done" but after cooking on gas, you'll never be satisfied with electric again.

I have electric and honestly gas kind of scares me. I'm not comfortable around open flames. I know for control gas is better but electric works fine for me.

However I despise induction cook tops, my grandmother replaced her stove with one a few years ago and every time I cook on if I feel like I'm going to ruin it. I'll be honest, I'm hard on my stove and I'll take a sturdy metal surface I can bang my pans on any day.

Gas! Although I think I can cook most things on electric without too many mishaps, everything is just So. Much. Better. on gas. Oh, and using a wok on electric? Fogettaboutit. While I don't think the home kitchen need be very similar to the professional kitchen, there is a reason no self-respecting restaurant has electric stoves.

A gas range was one of our non-negotiables when my partner and I were looking for a new place recently.

I will say that electric ovens are preferable to gas ones -- they tend to hold more consistent temperatures (in my experience). However, the things I bake tend not to be soufflés or anything especially pâtisserie-related, and anything else (roasting, broiling, whatev) doesn't need consistent temp.

Gas! I grew up using a gas stove and my electric stove apartment renting days witnessed a seriously downfall in my cooking desires. I enjoy cooking so much more with gas. The only thing I like best with electric is how the oven cooks a baked potato... there's something that makes it have a much better and fluffier consistency with electric ovens.

Had an old electric that was epically unresponsive, but replaced with with a new smoothtop with ribbon elements and love it.

I've cooked with gas many times, and it has its advantages, but I really don't like the smell, which throws me off when I'm cooking.

I loathe our electric and am saving up to have the kitchen redone with gas. Thankfully we already have gas heat and hot water, so it won't be the whole HOUSE that needs renovating...

I *DETEST* electric stoves. Beyond rationality. I grew up with a glass stovetop, then a solid ceramic, and only used gas VERY occasionally, and hate electric. The burners take too long to warm up and cool down, they're always getting dirty, they don't respond to heat changes well and they just make me angry at cooking... I can't go from a boil to a simmer quickly, they're just... horrible.

To the point where, as my new rental has an eletric, I'm buying a cast iron camp burner triple, a big gas bottle and using that. I'd rather have my kitchen look ugly then use the electric stove. The only problem is my roommate's girlfriend is afraid of gas... But it's my house, so she can deal:P

I can't believe what I just read!?!? Really people... you are catching things on fire with gas stoves? In case you missed this in school, or in LIFE, fire or extreme heat causes things to... wait for it... LIGHT ON FIRE when in too close a proximity to the source of said extreme heat or flames. You just simply don't leave your kitchen towels right next to or even in direct contact with your stovetop. I'd recommend that you back away from grown up appliances all together and just go with an Easy Bake oven, they are pretty idiot safe.

Gas definitely. Better heat distribution and control. But a chef should be able to cook on any kind of stove! In that case I choose firepit!
Http://twoburners.wordpress.com

Induction is THE way to go. It cooks more evenly and much faster than gas. It's also better for the environment and cleaner for the air in your home. I always preferred gas until I was exposed to Induction.