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Gas gains ground

The trend in barbecues is continuing to move in the direction of higher-quality products. The demand for gas barbecues is shaping up particularly well

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Whether you look at the United Kingdom or Germany, gas barbecues are becoming more and more popular, firstly because they are almost instantly ready for use, and secondly because it is possible to regulate the heat more selectively.
To take the example of the United Kingdom, in 1988 only two per cent of those owning a barbecue (27 per cent of the population) had a gas barbecue, whereas in the year 2000 – 44 per cent barbecue ownership – the figure was already 20 per cent. This emerges from a study undertaken by LOFA, the Leisure and Outdoor Furniture Association. The tendency for charcoal barbecues is moving in the opposite direction: whereas 90 per cent of the barbecue-owning population had a charcoal barbecue in 1988, this was down to just 50 per cent 12 years later. LOFA puts a figure of approx. GBP 112 mio (175.6 mio euro) on the overall British barbecue market.
Convenience plays a major role when it comes to barbecuing.
According to a report from the Düsseldorf-based Grillverband, an association of barbecue manufacturers, the market volume in Germany amounted to 145.7 mio euro in the year 1999, with a further 81 mio euro spent on charcoal. Since 1999 the association is assuming annual growth rates of a good 10 per cent. Thomas Bona, the association’s representative, says that there is a definite trend towards gas barbecues, which is made clear by the markedly declining sale of fire-lighters. What is more, the demand for higher-quality products is also on the increase.
Quickly ready for use and convenient: gas barbecues are becoming ever more popular.
Convenience in demand
Exhibitors at this year’s Spoga in Cologne also reported the same tendency: consumers are increasingly going for convenience. Demand is changing, away from tripod grills and towards complete outdoor kitchens. Barbecue trolleys with side tables and additional side burner are part of this trend. Barbecues should not only be suitable for grilling steaks and sausages but also for preparing a large roast or a Mediterranean vegetable dish. Indirect heat enables such demands to be met – whether in a charcoal-fired kettle barbecue or under the lid of a gas barbecue. The new luxury gas models function like a fan oven. They can even be set to low-temperature, slow-cooking methods – and so can even be used for cooking the Christmas goose, which requires an estimated six to seven hours at 80 degrees.
Wood can be used in barbecue stoves.
Adjustable cooking zones
The new gas barbecues offer different…
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