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They cost as little as $35 at Amazon. Foldable Cart
There are some things that people pick out apartments for. Some search for claw-foot bathtubs, others fixate on flooring. But me? I’m stove-obsessed. When looking for my latest apartment, I did everything in my power to ensure my stoves were powered by gas, and not electricity.
I generally despise electric burners. While they may be better for the environment and better for you, they certainly are not better to cook on than their fuel-fueled counterparts. There are a few techniques, like cooking with a wok, or making a French omelet, that require precise control, and an electric stove just won’t give that to you.
While my apartment search ended with me having to settle for an electric stovetop, it doesn’t mean I only cook on them. Instead, I’ve added a mini butane stove to my kitchen, like this one from Coleman. If you have an electric stove and are missing gas, I couldn’t recommend picking up one of these enough.
To buy: Coleman Portable Butane Stove, $35 at amazon.com
While I originally bought a portable stove for camping, I’ve been using it more and more indoors. All it needs is a butane canister and flat surface to get started, and then it’s ready to be turned on. If you have an electric stovetop, a great place to use it is on top of your electric stovetop.
The reason electric stovetops are generally awful is easy to explain: They offer no heat control or responsiveness. I swear, even the lowest setting on my electric stove is too hot to sweat out aromatics without burning them to bits. And beyond the fact that they offer no control, they don’t cool down fast enough either. If I bring a soup to a boil, it takes over five minutes for my stovetop to cool off enough to get it down to a gentle simmer.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t use my portable butane stove everyday. But when I’m wanting to cook a French omelet and not have to worry about accidentally browning the edges, or if I’m making pancakes, I reach for this. It just offers so much more control than my electric stovetop and the results prove it.
While this isn't the portable stove I use, it's an affordable option that thousands of Amazon shoppers swear by. One reviewer writes, “I intended to use this for camping, but I ended up cooking with it more than my usual electric stovetop.”
Another shopper who loves cooking with gas and was stuck with an electric stove writes that they “decided to buy a ‘camping’ stove to use on my cooktop.” They write, “I have not used my very expensive electricity-powered stove/oven in over a year.”
Camping Cookware Set If you’re stuck with electric stovetops, maybe it’s time you picked this up off Amazon. It’s just $35 and your cooking will thank you.