I’ll be staying for 6 months or so with a relative, and especially because she is gluten intolerant, I thought I might concentrate on cuisines that are naturally tending that way–esp. Thai/Viet, some Chines, Indian, Mexican.
The downside is that she lack a gas stove and has one of the flat, glassy topped things. I don’t see that working optimally. So I wonder: anyone have experience with those indoor single-burner things that YouTube chefs routinely use? I think they’re propane based.
I have an Iwatani, runs on butane. Special Cartridges, propane might be less expensive.
Thanks. How long do the butane canisters last?
Am starting to wonder if I should get an induction burner. I’ll be doing a mix of wok and sauté cooking.
I have not timed them, they are expensive, I do not recommend them for “everyday” use due to the cost. You mention propane…propane costs less.
You mentioned induction, my induction is flat top glossy…aren’t you trying to avoid that?
I have a few “outdoor” propane stoves and many camping stoves.
What are you seeing on you tube? I do not click on links, maybe you could capture and post a picture of a stove?
About glass top vs. induction: I don’t like the inertial heat of the electric flattop range. Heat output and quick adjustability are the key considerations for me–that why I favor gas so far. Also, I gather that induction heaters don’t have scorching problems.
I have a 12k btu and a 30k btu propane burners I use for a wok…
Maybe you could use a 12k indoors. Is this kitchen designed to use a wok with high heat?
If you could cook outdoors, a 30k propane is $50+ plus a tank, about $120 total.
Camp Chef is a brand of outdoor propane burners.
Electric Stove…move the pan when it gets too hot.
My Mom’s electric stove never gets too hot–at least without the heat inertia and scorching/scratching becoming headaches.
I have an induction stove. I would highly recommend getting one of them. The response to changes in the dial is instantaneous. I was boiling eggs last night, and after 30 seconds turned them down to the barest simmer. There is no lag time.
Also, it would be an easy item to bring home, since they are small and portable!
I would totally go induction burner, I love mine. Only downside is some cookware doesn’t work on it.
I have a smooth-top electric in our current home. I greatly miss the gas cooker in my previous home. I’d rather cook on the two-burner on our boat than the smoothtop.
I cook in a lot of different kitchens (galleys actually) for work. I’m seriously unimpressed with induction. The best thing going for it is that isn’t as bad as resistive electric.
I have two gas-fired catering burners similar to this https://www.amazon.com/GS-3800DF-Burner-Spiral-Portable-Carrying/dp/B00BS4RP8W/ref=sr_1_53?dchild=1&keywords=catering+burner&qid=1593798549&sr=8-53 (mine came with plastic cases). I bought them for moving brand new boats when the yacht broker doesn’t want us to use the built-in cooker. They’ve also been handy at home during power outages. You can get the gas cartridges at WalMart and most big-box hardware stores.
There seems to be some confusion between propane and butane. In practical terms there isn’t any. Both are liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The chemistry is a tiny bit different. The heat output is the same. If you’re cooking above the Arctic Circle there can be some issues with getting butane to out gas. Note that what we buy as propane is a mix of propane and butane, mostly propane and what we buy as butane is a mix of propane and butane, mostly butane. The expensive bit for the portable burners is the gas cartridge, not the gas. You can get adapters for some burners to run off a conventional 10# or 20# propane bottle. No jet changes or anything else.
Wok cooking has come up a few times in your thread. Flat bottom woks don’t work well for cooking and are even worse on induction than on resistive electric. A real wok works fine on a portable gas burner.
Respectfully @Auspicious, butane is only a gas above 30.2 F. Propane is a gas above -44F, thus I can’t imagine many people living above the Arctic Circle opting for butane. Obviously at standard atmospheric pressure. I have, as you may or may not remember, worked above the Arctic Circle.
As have I. The issue arises as British yachties who get LPG that is mostly butane who sail to Scandanavia and end up having to wait for some passive solar heating to get out gassing. This is particularly a problem for those who require coffee to get started in the morning.
I topped up LPG in the Azores on my own boat one Atlantic crossing. Mostly butane. That became a problem the following winter in Annapolis. This is why I now have two 6 kg tanks and two 20# tanks.
I spent five or six winters in the Barents Sea as part of treaty verification. I don’t recommend it.
Gotcha, and thank you. Funny I just had a convo with my dad about different JetA, and other fuels in extreme temps. Aviation buff here.
Agree about northern seas, a difficult fate, not to my taste at all. There’s a very good reason I don’t live or work in Alaska. As I write this however, we are about the same temp as both Anchorage and Fairbanks. We’re at a whopping 63 degrees. I’ve heard of something called summer…happy and safe 4th to you!
I find it is easier and often cheaper to heat than to cool. I’d rather wear a sweater or a fleece than lie in bed sweating.
Happy and safe 4th to you as well. (–o–) ← Internet hug.
Thanks, Auspicious. I might look into burners that can connect to propane tanks as well as butane. I don’t know what butane canister costs add up to. I can cook outdoors (in fact have a 30-60K BTU propane wok burner at home on the deck), but my family I’m traveling to lives in WA, USA, and it rains a lot there, so I’m thinking indoors. But flexibility would be nice.
I commuted from Northern Virginia to Mukilteo WA for several years. It rains often there but not a lot. Cooking outside is not a big problem there.
I’m still researching on gas vs. induction countertop items. I wonder: can you explain how a typical, genuine-but-flat-bottomed caebon-steel wok would work worse on induction than on an electric glass-top range? Maybe you’re thinking of less radiant heat for the elevated sides?
That is exactly my experience.
A conventional round-bottom wok provides even more control over temperature by moving up and down the sides.
