You can always put a teakettle with some water in it on the hot waiting burner. I do that anyway when I turn off a burner and it takes a while for it to cool down.

I've done this on occasion. But why not just turn the second burner on to low heat just as you need it? The food temp needs to drop anyway for lower temp cooking and it doesn't take that long to heat an electric burner to low!

Doing it this way eliminates the safety hazard and the energy waste.

This is DEFINITELY dangerous and wasteful.
I've never cooked on anything but an electric stove, and never really noticed that it took a long time to change temps, but that's probably because it's what I'm used to.

My "trick" if I ever need to quickly cool something down from a boil to a simmer is to just turn the temp down on the boiling element, move the pot/pan to an empty (and off) burner for a while until the element (and my food!) cools to simmer temp, then put it back on. Easy.

We have an old electric dinosaur stove in my new apartment. I don't like to leave a burner on though since I have people who aren't kitchen savvy coming in and out of the area.

Plus I don't like the extra heat in the kitchen during the summers. With *my stove at least, the burner cools down faster if I take the pan off. I just place it on one of the cold burners for 60 seconds while the other burner lowers its heat. It does the trick.

I'm with Kittystocking here, I think this is a little too dangerous for my household as I have a 3yr old who likes to 'help', bless her heart. And, similar to Kitty, I've always just moved the pot/pan in question to an unused cool burner while the needed one is being adjusted downward. Works every time.

The 2-Burner Trick or how I learned to burn my house down from The Kitchn.

I,too, have a god-awful electric stove, and when I need to move my pan to a lower heat, I just pick it up and wait for the burner to cool down. Or, like others have said, I just move it to a cold burner that is off.
Someday, sigh, someday, I will have a gas stove.

I'm with kittystockings. Less wasteful and less dangerous.

I used to do this but never felt comfortable with the energy wasting side of it - I'll use kitty's way now.

I'm with Kittystockings too. This so-called 2-burner trick is just ridiculous.

Thanks for your tips, everyone. I'm definitely still learning how to work with an electric stove! On my stove, it really seems like even a low-temperature burner was taking a long time to warm, hence the idea of pre-heating one. I'll do some more experimenting.

And just to clarify, I'm not talking about having two burners going for hours. It's more like a matter of minutes. Get the quick sear on the meat or get the water boiling, then I transfer to the second burner and turn off the first. This is also continues cooking the food seamlessly, which is efficient and cuts down on overall cooking time. (Again, on my stove, it seems like the food cools down much faster than the burner does)

2-burner trick is the only way to cook with a pressure cooker on an electric stove. I don't worry about burning my house down because I've trained myself to check for the little red 'on' light and I NEVER put anything flammable on the stove, even when the burners are off.

this topic is good timing for me, as i'm moving into a new apartment in a few weeks, and am going to be making the transition from gas to electric. nervous. terrified. someone tell me that electric stoves/ovens are least more efficient than gas, right? right??

@Emma - I have a ceramic-electric stove, and it takes forever to heat up, even on low, so I'm with you on the two burner method. If I need low heat, I'll turn the back burner on medium about 3 minutes before I need to go to low, then when I transfer the pan I crank it down to low and turn the front burner off.

I just blow air on the coils when I want to lower the temp fast (overboiling pastas or potatoes anyone?) and lift the pot/pan for a couple of seconds, no biggie.

I have an electric stove and I just slide the pot on and off the burner, a few seconds at a time, until the temperature comes down. This is easier if you have a glass-top stove, though.

I definitely think this is a reasonable method for those of us use to gas cooking. When visiting my parents, it's almost maddening trying to cope with the adjustment from gas to electric. I finally decided I'd try this two burner method and it was a great help. To all the naysayers, it's all well and good that you're used to electric, but for those of us only just making the transition, this can be a sanity saver.

Burning anything comes from inattention to your cooking and a "method" won't change that. That being said, I've had gas once in my life (granted, I was 18 and just going to college) and I hated it. Can't explain why...I just prefer electric over gas.

I do exactly what kathleen3641 does with my ceramic cooktop - slide the pan to one side while the burner cools down a bit.

Oh for christ's sake.

I, too, am cursed with an electric, which I have had to find a way to cope with when turning down, etc. Two tricks: First, I keep a set of iron trivets in the middle between the burner sets to remove the pan as needed, like others have suggested, (avoiding burnt onions, and especially that bitter bite of burnt garlic...bleh). Second, learn your stovetop's cool down time, and just switch it down (or off) sooner. For instance, know that point JUST before a rolling boil, or if you just need a boil, then look for the gentle boil and then switch the burner down half the temp (it'll keep going), then turn it down to low. It takes a bit more monitoring than gas, but with patience and learning your new appliance, you can master it...and avoid the danger (and waste) of two burners going at once...

Thank you for this post and discussion - such a challenge for me, that as I'm looking for a new apartment, a gas stove is a must! But, maybe with these tips, I can make do...?

Thanks for the tip! I recently (about 6 months ago) moved to a place with an electric stove. The thing that is driving me *crazy* is that the coils don't sit flatly on the stove, so the pan has a slight tilt to it. This isn't normally a problem...but if I'm using a skillet and trying to cook something that can spread (like an egg), then the thing will follow gravity and spread in a way that drives me nuts.

Any thoughts about how to get the coils to sit flat? Can I just replace the coils, maybe? I've tried jostling them, taking them out and reinserting them, etc to no avail.

I've always had electric stoves though I have used gas frequently at friends' and relatives' houses. I've never felt comfortable with gas but I think that's because I've never been terribly comfortable with open flames of any sort.

I also use the lifting the pan or moving it to a cold burner while the coil cools to low temp (it doesn't take long). There's plenty of residual heat in the food to keep things going. If your stove is heating really slowly then it might be a problem with your stove since it shouldn't take very long especially for low heat.

laetitiae, I have a similar problem, in that my pans are not well-balanced, so sometimes the weight of food in the pan is less than the handle, and my pans tilt. I have found one of my salt shakers is the perfect height for propping the handle of one pan, while an egg-timer is just right for another one. They're always conveniently within arm's reach of the stove, too. Look around your kitchen for similarly sized things that might do the trick!

Wow, I can't believe how nasty some of these responses are... So, a few of you disagree. Do you go around calling people morons every time you have a differing opinion? It's a little ridiculous. Plus, she asked for tips, so it's not like she's completely inflexible on her method.

As someone who's also adjusting to an electric stove (and how slow my burners heat up when I'm used to the instant gratification of gas), I thought it was a pretty brilliant solution. I burned the hell out of chicken tonight and it was nice to hear that I'm not the only one who's having to learn by trial and error here.

Thanks for sharing, Emma... we'll eventually get the hang of it without being too wasteful and idiotic. : P : P : P

My mum has always had electric. Other things- don't turn the heat way up high to begin with. You can bring water to the boil at a 4 instead of a six. Use aluminium-based pans, which respond quickly to changes in temperature- or copper or stainless steel.

You just need to let pans heat up longer, and don't be tempted to move food around too much - better quality pans are useful here. I have gas, but would not find cooking on an electric stove inconvenient, even for Chinese food. Heating up a second burner is just wasteful and unnecessary.

El-oh-el, Kitalita!

i´m with Haley on this. some people need to relax when they don´t agree. it´s ok to disagree but there are nicer ways to do that.

i am going through the same thing. my new rented apartment is perfect, the kitchen is great, except the electric stove. and the first time in my life i´ve had to cook or clean or do anything with one of these things. i am not a happy camper about the change, but i guess i have to do the best with it. and this tip might come in handy. i find my self holding the pan in the air to not burn anything.

In less than 15 days this nursing student with a BS in public health will move into a 175 sq ft studio with an electric hot plate (live small and close in order to pay for school). So I'm glad Emma posted this. How does one cook great meals on a 2 burner electric stove? How does one manage the heat as she is talking about?
Love that she posted this, love the trivet ideas.

Sorry to be late to the party. But I have electric and I use just add a spoon of water to the item (unless it will damage the item), and move on. What size spoon; depends upon the item, most items, a teaspoon or so; a five gallon pot of pasta water might need a cup size spoon. Learn to deal with it and move on. Try it, the water drop the temp dramatically and evaporates fast.

In response to kittystockings and all of you who agree - your solution has the same amount of danger. Using a little less electricity is great and all but you're suggesting leaving a super hot burner on while empty. It's no different.

I grew up with an electric stove and also used one in college. When I got married, our apt came with a GAS stove and I was 100% paranoid about the pilot light, until I learned to love gas stoves. When we built our first house, gas lines weren't available in our suburban community so I wound up with a smooth top range. [looked great but hated it] Thankfully, both placed I lived after that had gas stoves. Nothing compares!! Revisiting electric again ; ( since I'm visiting my mother. Hate her stove and will be using some of these handy hints... thanks to all the "electric" uses for posting.

I have a glass top electric stove. As someone else said earlier, I have learned that I can turn off a burner several minutes early to lower the temp. And, sometimes I shift a pan to a cold spot on the cooktop. This is especially good with my cast iron pans, as the heat loss is slow and gentle, instead of a shocking thermal drop. It works for me. Your mileage may vary. Keep cooking!!

First World Problem, people!