Does Anyone Out There Love Their Electric Oven?

[Shelsi]

Can it be possible? Every time I live in a place with an electric oven my cooking sucks! Right now we're in an apartment with one and all my food burns and doesn't turn out right. For the past 4 yrs though we were in a house with a gas oven and everything was great. I'm a really good cook and yet electric ovens just destroy my food.

We're moving across the country in a matter of days...we just found out about this TODAY

I found a great looking house to rent online...it is beyond gorgeous and everything we want and even in our price range BUT it has an electric oven. Actually it has 2 electric ovens and a gas stove top.

Could I learn to love this or should I just look elsewhere? Tell me there is hope? This place is just so beautiful looking, it's like a dream home...except for this one appliance!

[frontierpsych]

Could you afford to replace it?

I did have a pretty good electric oven at my last place, so no, they're not all bad. The place we're at now though is all gas and also quite nice.

[Hera]

Personally I kinda like electric ovens, though I much prefer gas stovetops. Can't broil in'em though...

[4evermom]

The electric oven is fine, imo, but the electric stovetop drives me nuts. I'm always turning on the wrong burner (because the front and back controls are mirror image for the left and right sides) and not realizing because it takes a few minutes for the burner to glow. I've finally adjusted, mostly, after using one for ten years. Dh is always asking me what number to turn the burner to and I don't cook by numbers, lol.

[Liquesce]

Originally Posted by Shelsi

Actually it has 2 electric ovens and a gas stove top.

That sounds like my own personal cooking nirvana. I much prefer electric ovens and gas stovetops, but have never actually seen the arrangement outside of pricey custom setups.

[Autumn Breeze]

No I freaking HATE mine. Even worse, there are gas lines (capped and all that from the source) that run to the area. But the previous owners bought an electric. Why i don't know. And I can't afford a gas one. GaaahhH!!!

[spero]

I've used both and gas just cooks way better, IMO. My mom always had gas stoves until we built a new house, then chose an electric range because it had a top and a bottom oven. She lamented that choice for the next twenty-seven years.

Originally Posted by Shelsi

Right now we're in an apartment with one and all my food burns and doesn't turn out right.

If that happens again, know that it's likely a thermostat problem, and a relatively easy repair. Unfortunately, it's common for the thermostats in electric ovens to wear out.

[Elowyn]

Your thermostats have probably been off (many older/cheap electric ovens are, especially in apartments.)

Invest in an oven thermometer (for a few bucks) and calibrate the oven before cooking anything. (i.e. turn it to "250" on the dial, see what the thermometer reads, then "300" then "350" etc and make a chart - most ovens that are "off" aren't consistently 25 degrees off, but rather are more off at one end of the scale than the other.) That will most likely fix your cooking.

[34me]

I do like mine. It's only 6 months old though. It's one of the oes that have the hidden element so it heats really evenly.

[2 in August]

I've only ever had electric stove tops and ovens and all my food is fine. I even get compliments on it, lol.

[Ruthla]

I've never once in my life used, or even seen, any other kind of oven. My mom has a gas stovetop and an electric oven, and that's the same setup we had in the house when I was growing up.

[LemonPie]

Originally Posted by Elowyn

Your thermostats have probably been off (many older/cheap electric ovens are, especially in apartments.)

Invest in an oven thermometer (for a few bucks) and calibrate the oven before cooking anything. (i.e. turn it to "250" on the dial, see what the thermometer reads, then "300" then "350" etc and make a chart - most ovens that are "off" aren't consistently 25 degrees off, but rather are more off at one end of the scale than the other.) That will most likely fix your cooking.

This. And, if you don't have an element on the bottom, consider putting a pizza stone in the bottom of the oven and leaving it there all the time. It helps the oven run more efficiently by absorbing and radiating heat. . . or so sayeth Alton Brown

[Peony]

I HATE my electric oven, I burn everything. : It is so getting replaced next year.

[roomformore]

We've had electric ovens for a few years now. I have no problem baking in them. Actually, my mom and grandma both have always had electric ovens and they bake the most amazing pies and breads...:
I would love two ovens. I would totally go for a place b/c it had two ovens. :

[oceanbaby]

Electric ovens are supposed to be much better than gas ovens - more even heat distribution. I guess a cheap electric oven could be pretty bad, but I have a gas oven right now and it is nothing fantastic.

[Shelsi]

Originally Posted by roomformore

We've had electric ovens for a few years now. I have no problem baking in them. Actually, my mom and grandma both have always had electric ovens and they bake the most amazing pies and breads...:
I would love two ovens. I would totally go for a place b/c it had two ovens. :

This is why I am so torn. I have always said I wanted 2 ovens. I never have enough room when I'm baking tons of stuff and of course it's always hard to plan big holidays like Thanksgiving when I'm doing all the cooking. This isn't the only electric oven I've had though where I just don't get along with it.

Maybe it sounds silly but I think I put a lot of my self worth into my cooking ability. I'm not working right now, not going to school, etc. But one thing I can really do well is cook and bake and when that goes wrong then I start to feel over all depressed.

Not being able to broil is a good point too. I have missed my broiler so much since moving into this apartment.

Maybe we'll call tomorrow and the place will be taken so the choice will just get made for me.

[Samjm]

I think it depends on what you learned to cook on. Where I come from there is no piped gas to houses. period. I learned to cook on all electric, and I am an excellent cook. I don't cook well on gas however.

[reece19]

I like mine ok - we're in an apartment, and I'm sure it's old and probably doesn't heat to the correct temp. However, I cook by vision so timing isn't an issue, and things seem to cook evenly.

I had a gas oven previously, and I didn't like it any more than the electric. Then again, I don't have any preference between gas and electric stovetops, either. I know a lot of people do.

[ledzepplon]

Originally Posted by Liquesce

That sounds like my own personal cooking nirvana. I much prefer electric ovens and gas stovetops, but have never actually seen the arrangement outside of pricey custom setups.

We have one. It's a Kenmore. Not super pricey or custom! I love it. Electric is actually supposed to heat more evenly than a gas oven, and I wouldn't trade the gas range for anything.

[leanbh]

hate hate hate our electric oven.


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