Advice Neede for Electric Stove-Hell! I just moved into a new place, and for the first time in my life, I'm stuck with an electric stove...

Question

Advice Neede for Electric Stove-Hell!  I just moved into a new place, and for the first time in my life, I'm stuck with an electric stove. I am finding it impossible to cook on. Bacon, for example gets done in the middle, and the ends remain uncooked unless I spend gobs of time tending to it, moving it around, etc. Worse? I'm starting to see small "burn" spots on the bottom of my All-Clad. The burners are a flat surface that a wiped clean before I heat anything, so it's not reside ruining my pans. Help! What can I do to improve cooking capability and how do I protect my expensive cookware? This is bumming me out in a major way.

calendargirl · Answer

Many thanks, I'll try it!

Merrill S. · Answer

I usually put it in a 350 oven, laid out on a baking sheet. I flip it after 8 to 10 minutes and then just cook until it's crisp.

calendargirl · Answer

Merrill &amp;amp; mrslarkin, when cooking bacon in the oven, what temperature and what kind of pan do you use?  I'd like to try it in my gas oven, too!

Jennifer P. · Answer

I used to cater lunch for 20 with only 2 burners and a convection oven at my disposal, and had happy clients every time. One trick I found invaluable was to keep an extra burner at a lower heat for when I needed to go from boiling to simmering in an instant ( this was an older electric stove top, not a glass surface).

pierino · Answer

Same problem here. I just "inherited" one from the previous owner---eventually I'll rip it out. The cook top is useless for anything but boiling water because the "burners" cycle on and off and you can't maintain a steady flame as you would with gas. Fortunately for me over in the Commons building there is a major league, 6 burner gas cook top that I can appropriate as needed.

mrslarkin · Answer

I've got glass-top electric also. I agree with drbabs - turn the heat down - heating elements kick on super fast, and stay really hot for a while. If needed, I change the setting, even move the pan off the heat if it gets too hot. And Merrill's advice is golden - bacon cooked in the oven is fantastic!

Merrill S. · Answer

Also, you might want to think about using your oven more -- bacon cooks really nicely in the oven, as do sausages. And there's no splatter!

drbabs · Answer

I feel your pain.  There's no natural gas where we live so I have a glass-topped electric stove, too.  It sounds like you're cooking with the heat too high.  You're used to the heat coming up immediately with gas, but with the glass-topped electric stove, you have to preheat slowly so the pan gets evenly heated.  You also have to make sure the pan size and burner size match.  Good luck--I hope this helps.

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