Using gas cooker when I'm used to electric

LameWolf

Hi, OS friends.

Last September, we finally bit the bullet and got the kitchen refitted.

At Mr LW's instigation, we got a new gas cooker, which I am struggling to get used to.

For the last 13 years I've had a gas hob, and the old built-in electric cooker.

I do also have a microwave/combi, which I tend to use all the time, as I'm tbh scared of the gas oven.

I printed out a chart of equivalent degrees Centigrade / gas mark and have that attached to the side of the fridge with magnets, but still I bottle out of using the gas oven.

One of the things I can't get my head round is when I put the oven on to pre-heat, how do I know when it's up to temperature?

Also, what will be different about using gas versus using electric oven? Mr LW reckons food will be moister, so I need to know how to allow for that.

I've never used a gas oven in my life, only used a gas hob when I moved here in 2002, always had electric only prior to that.

For information, I do NOT cook any meat or fish (I can't bring myself to deal with them_pale_) so we're only talking vegetarian meals here, and cakes/crumbles etc, but if anyone has any tips they could share and/or encouragement for me to become friends with my shiny new oven, I'd be grateful.

I'm ashamed that I've had it nearly a year and only tried it out a couple of times.:embarasse

TIA. :beer:

Seakay

My old gas oven used to take about 15 minutes to get up to medium or hot temperatures, a little less for cool temperatures.
The thing to remember is that a gas oven has variable heat within it - the flames are at the bottom of the oven and because hot air rises the top shelf will be hotter than the oven floor.
this can be a pain or an advantage - I got used to cooking items with different suggested cooking temperatures at the same time - but it does highlight that even more than electric with gas you really do have to check it and see rather than rely solely on suggested cooking times.

http://www.cooksinfo.com/oven-temperatures

[Deleted User]

DD has a gas cooker and when asked said it takes about 20 minutes for it to get up to the temperature it's set to. No indicator light like there is on an electric oven so you have to get to know the foibles of the individual oven!

suki1964

I use electric indoors and gas at work

I don't like the gas tbh, I don't think it's very predictable , having unease cooking areas

But that may just be the oven or just me being too used to electric

I remember on my sisters old gas oven you could check the flame height. When at temp the flames got lower

Better still, go buy an oven thermometer. I use one as my multifunction oven can often feel a lot lower then it is so I like to check manually

Farway

I have only ever used gas, it it very forgiving, don't worry about getting it up to temperature, just light it up & bung the food in and it will sort it's self out

juliettet

I would do a tried and tested favourite like a veg bake or something that would not spoil if the door gets opened. Start off with 10 mins short and note down the actual time it gets to the point that you like it. Then use that variable?

LameWolf

Thanks, folks.:beer:
MrsLW the lack of an indicator light is a real pain; but I'm sure I can get there, if I try.;)

Suki an oven thermometer is a good idea - I'll look for one next time I'm in town. I think my DH said something about the flames being lower when it's up to temperature, but it sounds a bit hit-and-miss to go by that, to me.

Seakay thanks for pointing out that it'll be hotter at the top than the bottom - you'd think I'd have realised that, but I hadn't; it does explain why I had problems when I made biscuits in it though. A useful nugget of information.

Gigervamp

Also, if the flames are at the back of the oven (my mums cooker has flames along the middle of the oven floor), you may need to turn the item you're cooking half way through, to stop it cooking one side more than the other.

LameWolf

Thank you Gigervamp, that's something I didn't know. :beer:

Ben84

Gigervamp wrote: »

Also, if the flames are at the back of the oven (my mums cooker has flames along the middle of the oven floor), you may need to turn the item you're cooking half way through, to stop it cooking one side more than the other.

Experiences must vary, but I've had lots of gas cookers over the years in different houses, and have never had to move things around to cook evenly. The ones with the burner at the back of the oven have actually been consistently the best ovens for me.

As for cooking with gas, I prefer it to electric and get good results. It's a bit different to electric.

Pre-heating isn't a big deal, gas usually heats up fast. If you want to be specific about things, when you light it you'll initially get a large flame (either immediately, or once the thermocouple safety device has heated up), then a little while later it will reduce because the oven is up to temperature. You can visually see the flame turn down, and with many cookers I can hear the difference as the whooshing noise stops or reduces. However, in practice, I just light the oven when I start assembling the food and by the time I finish it's hot enough to cook.

Generally I bake everything like cakes or bread in the centre of the middle shelf. Things I want to brown quickly, like roast potatoes or macaroni cheese I move up one or two shelves.

I think gas ovens are more forgiving of opening the door as the burner will turn up and restore the temperature quite fast compared to electric. I even take a quick look occasionally with things like souffle and it's ok. I could never do that with my old electric oven.

I generally cook by feel. When the oven stops making the high flame noise it's hot. When the food smells cooked, it's done. Once you get used to it, much like cooking with electric, it's just a thing you do without thinking much about it.

Linda32

I can confirm every word of Ben84's post.

We had an electric oven and gas hob in our first house and I was never confident with the oven. It was rented so we had no choice. Growing up we always had a gas cooker and I've had one for the best part of 18 years. Its still the same one actually.

An advantage of it being hotter at the top than the bottom is if something is done but other parts of the meal aren't then you can move something to the bottom of the oven to slow down the cooking but keep it hot.

The only other thing I can think of is if you are cooking two sponges for a Victoria sponge then you need to put both pans side by side not one at the back and one at the front of the shelve, otherwise they will cook unevenly.