Accommodation needed for cooking efficiency

Ronald Chiu in his letter "It's time for kitchen stoves to go electric," March 29, pointed out the virtues of cooking with electricity rather than gas. Clearly, Chiu is not a cook. I've lived in many parts of the country where gas ranges are not available. I've suffered through many versions of electric cook-tops; all performed badly. Only gas cook-tops allow you to make the quick temperature changes that are required for more than boiling water. However, I'm only talking about cook-tops. In the rest of the kitchen such as the oven, electric appliances are superior. It's our manufacturers who are the problem since all average-price ranges are either all-gas or all-electric. "Dualfuel ranges" are available but are very expensive. As I found when I remodeled my kitchen a couple of years ago, you have to buy a wall oven (electric) and separate cook-top (gas) to get the optimum cooking arrangement for a more modest cost. Green is good but a reasonable accommodation is needed for cooking efficiency.

Susan Coveney

Malta