Everyone who owns a restaurant or home will at sometime or another need a new oven or range for their kitchen. Perhaps the most importat decision to be made is 'should I go with gas or electric?'. The technology of both gas ranges and electric ranges has progressed to the point where what had been seen as grave limitations for gas ranges and gas ovens in the past are now either gone or immensely decreased. After a lot of research into the pros and cons of each I recently bought a gas oven and gas range. However what was the right choice for my needs may not be the right choice for you.



For me the most obvious benefit of gas ranges is the instant control of heat. The fact by itself greatly influenced my decision to get a gas range for myself. A gas range provides for a really enjoyable cooking experience. New gas ranges generally have sealed burners which make clean up a snap and reduce the chance of clogging. Clean up on older gas ranges could be difficult as food would occasionaly clog the burners when food was spilled.

In the past Gas ovens were known to have pathetic broiling perfomance and spotty heat. The pitiful broiling performance was usually due to the broiler being a separate shelf below the main oven. This has all changed now, modern gas ovens have even heat and dedicated broilers set up on the top of the main oven cabinet.

Yet another advantage of gas ovens are the by-products of gas combustion, carbon dioxide and water vapor. In most gas convection ovens, the by-products of combustion stream through the oven before going out the flue. This gives gas baking a moist heat that makes baked goods especially turn out more moist and with a better crust. Electric heat bombards the food products with a direct, dry heat that tends to produce a much drier product and therefore a product with a significantly decreased shelf life. Baked goods produced in a gas oven will typically hold for up to 50% longer versus the same product from an electric oven. This means less food waste for your restaurant and less labor cost as you don't need cook new batches as often when using a gas oven.

For me the choice was clear, gas was the way to go. More instant heat control on the gas range and more uniform, higher caliber of product from the gas oven makes them much more enjoyable to use. Although gas ovens and gas ranges are often more to buy initially, cost to run them over time is often lower than an electric oven. On top of it all, lower labor costs and less food waste, makes a gas range and gas oven the clear choice in my mind.