An American in Britain

I never thought there would come a day when I’d miss my gas stove. Yes, we call it a stove in the US, but the English like to call it a cooker. Even the electric cookers over here are not quite the same as in the US.[ad#ad-1]

Growing up, we had gas stoves but I was always scared of them. There was that “pop” just before the fire was ignited and sometimes it seemed the “pop” was very loud and the flame was going to come at me. Of course, it would be terrifying to a latch-key kid of 8 or 9 who was also responsible for the care of her younger siblings. I eventually got used to it and sometimes would get a rush of anticipation for the “pop”.

Later, we had electric stoves and I used electric stoves pretty much up until my last house, when renewing my acquaintance with the gas stove caused a little anxiety. Not to mention frustrating. I worried about gas leaking. I hated lifting the top to clean underneath. We had had various styles of electric stoves – some with flat tops that were easy to clean, others with the coils over a metal dish that can be replaced if it could not be cleaned.

I’m no gourmet chef, and my dinners are unimaginative, but they are usually edible. In the US, I may have messed up on recipes and infrequently, I may have been distracted and allowed a dish to burn. But I am finding that with the electric cookers here, I am more often than not, burning everything. Is it the cooker? Is it the pots and pans I’m using? Is it because I am not vigilant? These cookers are like hot plates that heat up quick but do not cool very rapidly. So if the directions tell me to bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, I end up boiling and not simmering. So everything burns.

I know it will take some getting used to, trying to find the right setting to get the right temperature, knowing when to turn down the heat (before boiling), etc., but it is more frustrating than it should be. If I slowly heat, starting with the lower settings, it takes forever to get to boiling. If I start at a high temperature to reach boiling sooner, I can’t cool down fast enough. I will have to experiment with the different settings – perhaps start at a high point but quickly turn it down. I find that I am baking more – making casseroles and such, as I really can’t mess with the oven settings.