CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A gas vs. electric cooktop debate was ignited in early January when U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. suggested to Bloomberg News that a ban on gas stoves would improve environmental health at home.
“This is a hidden hazard,” he said. “Any option is on the table. Products that can’t be made safe can be banned.”
Trumka’s dramatic suggestion of a ban has since been pooh-poohed, but a debate about the discomfort of change still simmers.
Readers expressed a variety of reactions to a potential ban on gas stoves when Cleveland.com Editor Chris Quinn asked this question on his Subtext account: “I hate electric cooktops, but want a healthy planet. What about you?”
He received more than 300 responses. Reactions were varied, emotional and sometimes full of questions. Here’s just a sample ...
- I want a healthy planet as well, but I’m not giving up my gas range and oven.
- I hate cooking on an electric stove, but I bought an air purifying system during the pandemic, and I noticed it works overtime when I turn on the gas stove. It does kind of concern me, so I have started opening windows when possible.
- I just wish there was a better option that doesn’t suck. Electric stove tops are not very responsive and give little to no rapid temperature control.
- I don’t get the dislike for electric stoves. I’ve always preferred them as a cleaner source. Live flames in a house creep me out. Is there something snobbish about using gas for wannabe chefs? Electric gets the job done.
- Why would you hate electrical cooktops? Electrical cooktops and ovens do the same job as gas appliances with far less worry about malfunction!
- Cooking with gas vs electric is for me like the difference between a Ferrari and a horse-drawn cart. No comparison. Though I’ve experienced induction cooktops and they seem more flexible. But the thing is until I saw that announcement, I had ZERO clue that it’s harmful. To people. I am sad...AND will convert when we have to replace.
- Do we know that gas ranges cause more emissions than the emissions needed to power electric stoves? If so, what’s the degree of variance? Seems important to know that.
The Ohio Restaurant Association questions the need for a ban. “Traditionally, gas stoves have been an efficient way to cook in high-volume kitchens as the open flame heats the pan in very little time and allows chefs to have much more control over cooking temperature,” says the association’s CEO John Barker. “Commercial kitchens also have extensive ventilation systems maintained in accordance with Ohio code to ensure the safety of employees and guests.”
Barker said a ban on gas stoves would place an additional burden on an already struggling industry, forcing restaurant owners and operators to invest in new equipment. He also says that the cost of retrofitting a commercial kitchen to ensure an adequate electrical load is not feasible for most restaurants.
Chefs we talked to felt strongly about cooking with gas.
From a practical perspective, Chef Doug Katz of Zhug in Cleveland Heights and Amba in Cleveland, says he prefers using a gas stove at home and at work because it allows him to adjust heat quickly and appropriately when preparing dishes.
“It is more fun to cook when I can see a flame underneath my pot, and I think it allows for more precise and intentional cooking for me and my team of chefs,” said Katz.
“The gas stoves are perfect for our rapid-fire approach to cooking on the line, he says. “Again, it allows for accuracy and speed when sautéing and preparing dishes quickly. Electric burners don’t communicate as clearly to the cooks, and it makes them harder to rely on for speed and accuracy.”
Katz admits that cooking with gas has an emotional component as well.
“I think there is some nostalgia here as well,” he says. “When I was very young, I knew I wanted to be a chef and at that age, my mom had an electric stove...one with the snail-style burners. When I got my first job and took cooking classes as a teenager, I used a gas stove and felt like that was real cooking...not the cooking I had done as a little boy with my mom at home.”
Chef Doug Katz stirs sloppy joe keema at amba as it simmers over an induction burner. Nicole Steffen looks on. (Photo by Lizzie Schlafer)Lizzie Schlafer
Katz says electric induction burners are an option for chefs and at-home cooks but he doesn’t see them as a replacement for gas. Induction burners are a type of electric stove that uses electromagnetism to generate heat within the cookware itself. They are very popular in Europe, where the cost of natural gas is higher and shortages of supply are more common. The impediment to induction cooking is the need to buy an expensive new appliance and compatible cookware.
“I do enjoy using induction burners for heating sauces gently, or boiling water for blanching or cooking pasta, or for hot holding preparations at my restaurants,” he says. “Induction burners have come a long way and, though I never would have purchased them for my kitchens in the past, I do think they have many uses in my kitchens today.”
But banning gas? Katz says, no. “How could a chef, who had a restaurant called ‘fire,’ eliminate using fire in his kitchens? I love cooking over a wood fire and must admit, I’m a bit of a pyro, too.”
Gas stove burner. (Staten Island Advance/Anthony DePrimo) Staff-ShotStaff-Shot
Brian Doyle, chef/owner at Café Avalaun in Warrensville Heights, is a gas-stove supporter. “When I heard about it, my reaction was that would be a terrible thing to do to the restaurant industry,” he said. “I think most chefs would agree that gas is superior for control over the flame and cooking temperature. It is more responsive and much faster.”
“I do have a place for induction burners,” he notes. “They’re useful tools for a variety of reasons. They are fast. They are responsive. But they’re not as controllable in real-time during a cooking process.”
Kyre’ Marshall, a sous chef at Serenite Restaurant in Medina, prefers the control of gas as well. “I have gas stoves at work and even when I was in culinary school, we had gas stoves. It heats up way quicker than an electric stove and since it heats up quickly the dish will be done quicker.”
“A ban will affect me because it will affect my job because things will take longer,” says Marshall. “What if the electric goes out? We won’t be able to make customers happy.”
Federal regulators are examining the health effects of emissions from gas stoves. SolStock via Getty Images
Loretta Paganini, owner of the International Culinary Arts and Sciences Institute in Chesterland and a cooking instructor, is also a gas supporter.
“Without a doubt, gas has my vote,” she says. “Being a chef, I like to be in charge when I cook, and I feel that only gas gives me that choice. I can start it and stop it when I want, I can adjust the heat intensity to high or low immediately without waiting. Gas intensity is more powerful than electric heat making it a favorite among our professional students. Plus gas is cheaper to use.”
Paganini says that when she first moved to Geauga County, there was no gas line available in her neighborhood. “So, I paid the gas company to bring the gas line out to me,” she says. “This is how much I value gas for my cooking.”
Paganini says that if she was forced to give gas, she would use induction stoves as an alternative. “They are efficient, quick to heat, easy to clean,” she says, but also “more expensive to run, hard to adjust and it requires the right pots and pans.”
Natural gas stoves are used in about 40 percent of all households in the United States. One of those home chefs, Patrick Billey who moved to Northeast Ohio from France, agrees with the professionals.
“When I moved to the U.S., we had only a classical electric device, before gas was brought in our neighborhood five years ago,” he says. “As soon as it was possible, we switched to gas, for our cooking as well as for our heating.”
Billey says that electric stoves require anticipating every moment, before cooking to reach the right temperature and after cooking to avoid burning yourself. It’s more difficult to control the heat without the “visual” control of the flame.”
Billey thinks regulators should look outside the kitchen first. “I support and will support any effort to fight global warming and all associated environmental issues,” he says. “But from my kitchen, I feel that this debate about gas stoves is unfair. Why not debate about gas heating? Why not debate about banning those big individual trucks?”
Ninety-six percent of professional chefs prefer cooking on gas because its the most responsive. (Dreamstime/TNS)TNS
The American Gas Association is, predictably, pro-gas. “Ninety-six percent of professional chefs prefer cooking with gas, both because of the instant heat it provides and because of its affordability. Natural gas is projected to be between half and one-third the cost of other fuels through at least 2050, making it the most affordable way to cook,” according to a recent statement.
“There have been seven total studies conducted to determine whether there is an association between asthma and gas stoves since 2013. Five of the seven found no statistically significant associations between gas stoves and asthma. Neither [of the statistically significant studies] demonstrated causality.”
Lauren Siburkis, a spokeswoman for the FirstEnergy electric utility, says, induction is often a happy compromise. “Induction models are a popular choice for individuals interested in using energy more efficiently without compromising the quality of their cooking,” she said. “Induction models are a type of electric stove that use electromagnetism to generate heat within the cookware itself and can result in little to no heat loss.”
“According to the Department of Energy, an induction stove is 5 to 10 percent more efficient than conventional electric stoves and about three times more efficient than gas stoves,” she says.
Based on their available information, one Cleveland.com reader said, “I love my gas cooktop! But love the planet more. Induction cooking maybe the way to go forward.”
Paris Wolfe is a life and culture reporter for Cleveland.com. She has a special interest in food and dining. She loves the plant and prefers cooking with gas. You can reach her with restaurant and food news and story ideas at pwolfe@cleveland.com. Here’s a directory of her latest posts. Follow her on Instagram @pariswolfe.