[Sca-cooks] OOP: Stove info wanted

[Edouard de Bruyerecourt]

Robyn.Hodgkin at affa.gov.au wrote:
>
> My 2 cents worth:
>
> The thing I despise about gas stoves is the inability
> to simmer anything. long slow cooking just isn't an option.


:)
I never knew I wasn't simmering on the gas range......

I've never had that problem, although I will admit being willing to nip
out to the store several blocks away with a pot simmering on an electric
element, but would feel uneasy about doing the same with a gas burning
going.

The old gas range had one special burner on the back, with a double gas
head. Normally, gas came out both the normal size head and the smaller
inside head, which fed off the line first. When you turned the gas down
low, any gas coming through the line was consumed by the inner head
first, so only it burned with six little flames. Perfect for simmering.

What I like about gas for slow simmering is almost all the heat is
coming from convection, against the bottom of the pot, then out and up
over the sides. Electric elements have more heat from conduction
straight to the bottom of the pan. There's a little more heat going to
the food in the bottom and then up through the pot, rather than the
bottom and outside of the pot going in.

I find diffusers wonderful for both gas and electric.

Edouard