You Should Know

Induction is the best, I'll never go back

The studies I read, there was no ventilation / exhaust fan. The point was that low income households using these stoves often don’t have proper ventilation and it makes them dangerous. I didn’t find much evidence that using them with proper ventilation is actually a serious problem.

Further, cooking releases all sorts of chemicals from incomplete combustion in the air if something is burning, as well as the toxic chemicals release from nonstick cookware at very high temperatures, so cooking without ventilation is bad for your health would be the message I’d take away. I find most people are completely unaware of the hazard.

the maillard reaction causes cancer. I'm still not boiling my beef.

Appliance repairman here. What I tell my clients about gas in general is that: 1. When natural gas burns it create CO. 2. There is a none zero chance the thing can blow up.

Electric cooking appliances have an absolute zero chance of either of these two things happening.

I try to get people to switch to electric for these reasons some just like the aesthetic of cooking on gas.

They have certain specific advantages, but they are actually slower.

This entirely depends on the stove. Consumer-lever stoves? Sure, definitely. Commercial stoves? Probably not. Commercial stoves put out 3-4x the BTUs of a high-end consumer stove, and usually can't be installed in a home because they require significant shielding around them (so you don't burn a building down) and a very high flow hood. The highest-end Wolf range has a single burner that has a maximum output of 10,000BTU, and costs a whopping $17,000; a fairly basic range top for a commercial kitchen has six burners that can all output 32,000BTU, and costs about $3700. For stir-frying specifically, you can get a single ring wok burners outputting 92,000-125,000BTU starting at about $700 for natural gas (and a helluva lot more if you use LP).

Unfortunately, I can't find a solid conversion between gas and induction stove capabilities.

Oh, and FWIW - if you live somewhere with an unstable power grid, a natural gas or LP stove will continue to function when the power is out, albeit you'll need to light it manually. We lose power fairly regularly due to storms--usually only a day at a time, but sometimes as long as 3-4 days--and it would be a real hassle to have all electric appliances when there's no power.

idk - there should be some very clear cancer statistics to back up such a claim between countries like Sweden (<1% gas stoves, all are electric) vs other countries then.

I read that running an extractor hood mitigates the risk a fair amount. Not completely, but enough that you shouldn’t worry if gas is your only option

It's completely baffling that there are people unironically still defending gas stoves in 2025. There's no discussion to be had on the subject any more, induction is superior and that's final.

Yes, a little bit… Burning any kind of fuel in your home is going to produce carcinogens.

But it’s really nothing to get too excited about, and cooking on electric is bullshit

Also, gas stoves increase the risk of asthma.

https://www.nationalasthma.org.au/living-with-asthma/resources/patients-carers/factsheets/gas-stoves-and-asthma-in-children

Yes, but...

Cooking itself also does this. If you are searing or frying that will also release dangerous particulates. Make sure you have and use a vent hood that vents outside the living space when you cook regardless of fuel.

I can say from personal experience of using every kind of home stove, that gas is both the worst and slowest. Boiling water for my morning coffee is fastest on induction, which takes about half the time as resistive or radiant electric, and gas takes nearly three times longer than that.

Though it might just be the american style of burner that directs the flame away from the center of the pan. I've not yet tried any other kind.

We swapped out a gas for induction, it's amazing to be able to put the temp down below very hot. Also very responsive to power changes, and can wipe clean.

Everything else being equal, of course electric and induction stoves are preferable to gas. I spend most of my life with an electric stove, no apartment I ever saw had induction, but I didn't particularly like the gas stove I had to use for some years.

But if you want the worst user experience ever, find an electric stove with touchscreen controls. What the hell, landlord, where did you even find that one?

The only thing I know gas stoves to be better at than other methods is traditional wok. But that's hardly a reason to jeopardize your health for.

Since this is the stove thread:

I had a pot of salt water overflow from boiling on a electric stove and now there is this tough ring of residue around the burner caked on and it won't scrub off. Is using a razor blade to scrape it off really the only option?

I'm worried I will scratch the stove top and the landleech will have an excuse to steal my security deposit.

Edit: thank you all for your helpful advice

YSK: Everything causes cancer. Drinking water causes cancer. Living causes cancer.

What doesn't?

Even tea causes cancer

gas stoves being better or faster than induction is a myth. They have certain specific advantages, but they are actually slower.

If you have 380/400V 16A induction, it's not even close.
But be careful, if you have ceramic coated pans for instance, and you use the high power settings to heat it up, your pans won't last long, as the ceramic may crack because of the fast heat up. We lost 2 pans that way. 😋
We also had a cheap cooking pot, where it developed a crack between the main pot and the apparently cheaply attached heat spreading bottom.
This made the pot sputter because water was collected in the crack when washed.
When I boil eggs, i time it from the moment the water is boiling. But with out new stove, the water boils so fast, I've had to add 2 minutes to the time they boil!!

Our electric kettle is 2.2 kW. But boiling a liter of water on the stove is still more than twice as fast!! Meaning the stove must be putting more than 4.4 kW to the pot, on the smallest cooking spot!!

Obviously that is only possible for 1 spot at a time, I figure the max must be around 6kW combined.

They have certain specific advantages, but they are actually slower.

I can't think of any advantages, gas stoves are slower, they are harder to clean, they give off an insane amount of wasted heat, which is uncomfortable in hot weather, and they noticeably degrade air quality unless you have very good ventilation.

The only possible advantage I can think of, is that you can use cheaper equipment on gas. but not always, because non metal handles tend to get ruined on gas stoves.

All in all induction is superior. 😎