First Batch of Bread in New Natural Gas Oven

My husband came home from hunt camp yesterday so I wanted the house warm and welcoming when he arrived.  I made a slow-cooker Tuscan chili (watch for the recipe next week) and my tried and tested, favourite French bread.  As planned the house smelled wonderful, filled with the tantalizing aroma promising a delicious evening meal.

Our dining/living room has a beautiful large south facing window with a half circle window over it.  On sunny days this end of the house gets quite warm making it a perfect spot for proofing bread.  I made the dough, let it proof then shaped into three loaves. 

I did not anticipate any problems baking bread in the new natural gas oven as I've baked bread often in the outdoor grill.  The loaves baked as they normally would although a bit quicker than in the electric oven.  My experience has been bread cooks about 5 minutes faster using natural gas and 8 - 10 minutes faster using propane when compared to using hydro.  So far, I am enjoying my new gas range immensely, quite pleased with the results combined with lower cooking costs.  I'm no longer watching the clock to see when I can do a bit of cooking at the lower TOU hydro rates.  Initially I was concerned switching to a gas oven as I've heard they can be problematic for hot spots but this one seems to be quite good so far. 

There are many reasons why a home cook changes cooking fuel with the most common being relocating.  The cooking fuel they were used to using simply is not available at their new location.  My Mom had a horrible time adjusting from cooking with natural gas to electricity when she moved into an apartment.  Her solution was simple to do minimal cooking and more eating out.  Many find themselves in the same situation.  My recommendation is to use tried and tested recipes during the learning curve period of using a new cooking fuel.  Keep the various dishes simple to avoid frustration.  With a bit of practice and patience you will easily master cooking using a different cooking fuel than you were used to. 

Cooking With Natural Gas

The price of hydro in our corner of beautiful Ontario, Canada is skyrocketing despite the fact that Ontario generates a good amount of hydro via hydro, coal and nuclear power plants.  Much of that hydro apparently is sent to the United States.  We are now on TOU pricing meaning that most cooking is done during peak hours or in terms of economics at the highest kWH price.  I really loved my Jenn-Air electric range but decided to go with natural gas when we moved.  Natural gas has always been less expensive in Ontario.  It is about a third of the price of hydro if not a bit less so in terms of economics it made good sense to switch cooking over to natural gas given the amount of cooking and canning that we do.  

Natural gas as a cooking fuel has a lot of benefits over electricity.  The burner is either on or off without any of this warm-up period for the burner.  It is even faster than instant-on electric burners.  There is no residual heat in the burner when it is turned off eliminating any scorching that can occur if you don't take the pot off the burner immediately.  Natural gas actually shortens the cook time and burner can be adjusted to perfectly fit any pot or pan possible.  That being said, using natural gas as a cooking fuel involves an open flame so extra precautions are necessary.

Rule Number One:  If you smell gass, do not attempt to light the burner or turn on anything electrical including a light switch as that could cause the natural gas to ignite.  Call your gas provider immediately and vacate the premises until the issue has been resolved!

Never have flammables like t-towels (red X)  near the stove.  Yes they can catch fire when using electric burners but there is a greater risk when using natural gas.  Long hair should be tied back and loose fitting clothing should be avoided.  Curtains should not be used in a kitchen where they could accidently come into contact with an open flame such as a gas burner.  Always light the burner after the pot or pan has been placed on the burner (red arrow)!

Once the pot is on the burner you can safely light the burner.  Newer gas ranges have an electronic ignition so turn to ignite then once the burner is lit, turn the knob to cook and adjust the flame height.  In the event the hydro service is disrupted you can light the burner manually by turning to ignite and lighting with a match.  Once lit, turn to the cook setting and adjust the flame.

The flame should be blue or mainly blue and it should not come up the sides of the pot or pan (red arrow).  From basic chemistry a blue flame burns hotter than yellow or orange.  A yellow/orange flame means there is dust, dirt or air in the gas line.  Adjust the flame so it is sitting below the pot or pan, not coming up the sides.  If the flame comes up the sides of a pot or pan you waste as much as 80% of heating capacity (aka not frugal) and you run the risk of damaging your cookware (also not frugal).

The properly adjusted flame will be inside the diameter of whatever pot or pan you are using and it should be mainly blue (red arrow).  There may be condensation on the outside of the pot but that is normal, no cause for concern.

I did quick soak of kidney bean for chili a couple of days ago (pictured) then fully cooked them.  Hands down the natural gas burner was superior to cooking beans on an electric burner.  I opted for a gas range with enclosed burners and continuous burner grates as opposed to individual burner grates.  This makes clean-up a snap as boiling water can be poured over any spills to easily wipe up.  What I really like is the controllability of the burner.  The flame can be adjusted for just about any sized pot and when I want it off, it is off immediately.  All in all cooking with natural gas is a lot nicer!

Our Thanksgiving Turkey 2011

We hosted Thanksgiving at our new home this year.  There were a total of twenty-five from our family including ourselves.  Larger scale entertaining takes a bit more planning and prep.  This is one time where I do use menu planning.  We were at our vacation home but thanks to email my husband's sister took care of a lot of the menu details.  We provided the turkey and ham as well as our home.  It only seemed fitting especially since both his parents have passed.  My husband is the eldest of his siblings  and since we do a lot of entertaining we have all the extra needed for larger gatherings. 

I am getting used to cooking with natural gas and so far loving it immensely!  The new stove was hooked up just a couple of days before we left for our vacation home so I didn't have much time to experiment.  We've only been home not quite five full days so in total have had less than a week to use the stove.  I made a banana loaf, roasted a chicken, and used the stovetop a bit.

We roasted a 23.7 lb turkey for part of our Thanksgiving feast.  There honestly isn't much difference between roasting a chicken or turkey other than timing.  I always roast both stuffed and covered at a lower temperature until the last fifteen minutes or so when I remove the lid for browning.

A turkey this size would have to be in the oven by 10 AM to be ready for dinner at 6 PM, or a total of eight hours when I was using an electric oven.  I put the turkey in at 11:30 AM and discovered it was cooked perfectly by 4:24 PM, for a total of only 5 hours without the need to remove the lid for browning!  The turkey pop-up timer has sprung with confirmation by a meat thermometer at an internal temperature of 175ºF.  Not only are we saving on the price of cooking fuel, the cooking time is reduced.  Now I have to ponder why as the temperature was the same I always use - 275ºF.  Technically, the cook time should be the same regardless of the cooking fuel.

Pictured is the beautiful beast, and doesn't it look delicious?  We roasted the turkey the day before our Thanksgiving feast.  It is a lot easier to de-bone then reheat for larger gathering.  The stuffing is scooped into an oven-proof baking dish for re-heating.  I made the gravy then as well which worked out nicely for defatting.  I kept the carcass for making turkey stock later.  The ham (not pictured) was warmed through the next day.

Tip:  When warming deboned turkey, pour a small amount of water over it then cover well with tinfoil.  This will prevent the turkey from drying out.

My husband and I thoroughly enjoy entertaining our family and friends.  We have a long standing tradition of sending left-overs from larger events home with our guests.  Yes, we could use up the left-overs ourselves but some of our family and friends travel a fair distance to attend meaning they don't get home until after midnight or later yet have to be up for work the next day.  Some of them have little ones as well.  This is our gift to them to help make the next day just a bit easier for them. 

This Hot Mama is Cooking With Gas!

Here in beautiful Ontario, Canada we have several choices of cooking fuel - wood, charcoal, butane, propane, natural gas and electricity (hydro).  Some are experimenting with solar cooking as well but that really is only somewhat dependable during the summer months.  I've cooked with all of these cooking fuels.  By far the most common cooking fuels in residential homes is wood (Northern areas), electricity, natural gas and propane.  Availability of a cooking fuel can be restricted by location.  For example there are no natural gas mains in some rural areas so you must use electricity, propane or wood.  Apartment buildings in urban centres generally do not have the option for natural gas and many won't allow any type of outdoor grill on balconies.  If you do have an option, aside of owning your own woodlot or having access to free firewood, natural gas is the cheapest cooking fuel coming in at about the third of the cost of electricity.  Ontario has gone to TOU pricing which means you are paying more during high periods of use that translates into paying more to cook breakfast and dinner.  The beauty of natural aside of the low cost is natural gas appliances operate even if the hydro is disrupted so you can still cook.

My last kitchen range was a Jenn-Air slide-in model with every bell and whistle available.  I had the smooth and coil cartridges, the big pot burner,  and the grill.  It was an absolutely gorgeous stove but just would not stand up to heavy duty canning.  I was adamant about switching to a gas stove for this house.

I chose a Whirlpool Gold 30-inch free standing gas range (model# GFG461LVB) with continue burner grates.  It is 5 burner range with self-cleaning oven and extra features.  Unfortunately it does not go below 170ºF so I will not be using the stove for dehydrating, something I could do with the Jenn-Air. 

Pictured also is my new Whirlpool Gold Quiet Partner dishwasher (model# GU2475XTVB1).  All of the controls are hidden when the door is closed.  My husband had a dickens of a time getting the old dishwasher out because the previous owner installed the floor in a manner that prevented sliding the dishwasher out.  They did leave a lot of extra tiles so there should be some of the marble tiles in the garage that we will cut to fit at the base of the dishwasher then install the kick plate.  The dishwasher runs like a dream!

The very first thing I did with the gas range was boil water in the tea kettle.  It was sophisticated but gave me an idea of how to work the controls.  To turn on the burners, the control is set to ignite where the electronic igniter creates a spark to light the burner.  During a power outage a match can be used to manually light the burners or oven.  Once the burner is lit, the control is turned from ignite to desired setting.

Banana bread is one of our favourites so what better way to test the performance of a new oven than with a tried and true recipe?  The bread came out quite lovely, nicely browned although just a bit darker than I would like so I will adjust the baking time when I make it again.  Other than that I have no complaints.  There was a good rise even though I was baking potatoes and a peameal bacon roast at the same time.

We eat a lot of salads but that is not always reflected in this blog where I show the entée only unless I make a special salad.  By far my favourite salad this summer is Greek salad.  I'm not sure why but I'm finding it a bit more interesting than the standard garden salad.  Don't get me wrong as there are lots of ways to jazz up a garden salad and the toppings are endless but the Green salad is just easy to make with a clean, refreshing flavour.  It isn't heavy like Caesar salad can be yet the feta cheese provides extra protein and calcium.  And the feta is a nice change from cheddar cheese.  Next up will be experimenting with blue cheese.  That should be interesting!

I baked the peameal bacon roast and baked potatoes in the oven along with the banana bread.  I cooked the carrots on the gas stove top.   The results were excellent!

What is really nice is I can now cook meals at a third of the price of using electricity.  When the TOU pricing came out I struggled to figure out an easy solution.  I used the outside grill as per normal but there were those days I really needed an alternative.  Now I can relax and cook exactly what I want without worrying about the TOU pricing for hydro.  At the same time I know I can always cook even if the hydro is out.