All those cooking shows on TV have inspired Auckland’s home chefs to enlist our services as North Shore gas fitters. They want us to set up state-of-the-art natural gas cooking systems for them, and we’re happy to oblige. When it comes to cooking, electricity is out, and gas is in. That’s not just our opinion. The world’s leading chefs happen to agree with us. They love cooking with gas, particularly on gas cooktops, and here’s why.

Ask any chef and they’ll tell you that one of the biggest advantages of gas cooktops over electric ones is their instant response speed. When a gas burner is ignited, it responds immediately to reach the desired heat, while electric burners take a few minutes to reach the same temperature. Plus, gas burners cool faster when you turn them off, so a boil can become a gentle simmer in seconds. This is crucial as it means less chance of overcooking e.g. delicate sauces can become runny if cooked on a certain temperature for too long, while none of us needs to be reminded how unpalatable a plate of mushy, overcooked vegetables can be.

This response speed allows for more controlled cooking. It is easier to reduce and increase the heat as required. Gas is also capable of heating the sides of a pan and not just the bottom, which cooks food faster. A gas cooktop gives you more options too: you can flambé over one, and even roast vegetables. Certain types of ethnic cooking are better done over gas as well. For example, Indian cooking requires high direct flame heat to quickly brown and toast the major ingredients used in sauces. An electric cooktop can’t deliver that type of heat.

If you were to summarise the advantage of a gas cooktop over an electric one, you could say that gas is kinder to food. By having more control over the temperature, and the cooking process itself, you can prepare food the way it’s meant to be.

If you want to emulate your favourite chefs, then cooking with gas is a very good place to start. In a recent survey, 96 out of 100 chefs said they prefer gas to electric. That’s a statistic that’s hard to argue against. When it’s time to use gas in your kitchen and you need some advice on how to start the process, give us a call and let’s chat. PG Plumbing & gas are the North Shore gas fitters with a huge appetite for pleasing our customers.