Propane Education & Research Council (PERC), support the finding that more women
than ever are involved in the grilling process - from purchase to cooking to cleaning.
Compared to when they were growing up, women today are much more likely to be the
primary griller in their household (37 percent) than were their mothers (23 percent).
Nearly 40 percent of women say they are grilling more often today than in the past
few years and 37 percent - nearly 21 million women - report doing more grill cooking
than their significant other. During the grilling season, women beat men to the
grill in their cooking frequency, saying that they tend to use it for meals at least
a couple times a week (66 percent vs. 57 percent).
The survey explored reasons why Americans enjoy grilling, with a focus on convenience,
food quality and time savings. Better taste topped the list (54 percent), followed
by less kitchen clean-up (42 percent) and keeping the kitchen cooler (38 percent).
Other reasons for cooking outdoors included ease of use (36 percent), time savings
(29 percent), and healthier food (28 percent). Women placed far more emphasis than
men, though, on keeping the kitchen cooler (48 vs. 28 percent) and the healthy qualities
of grilled food (34 vs. 22 percent).
“Fast, easy, fresh - those three words capture the allure of the grill for busy American
women,” said Kate Caskin, Senior Vice President, PERC. “With its relative ease and
simplicity, it’s no wonder that almost 21 million women are now more likely to grill
than their significant others. The propane gas grill offers the perfect dinner solution
for on-the-go families.”
More than 15 million new grills were shipped in 2005, according to the Hearth, Patio
& Barbecue Association. PERC’s research uncovered that women report being the primary
decision maker in 22 percent of these product purchases. This level of involvement
and product familiarity extends to other grilling-related activities: 71 percent
of the women surveyed agreed that they feel comfortable buying, exchanging or getting
a propane tank refilled and 52 percent feel confident hooking up the propane tank
to their gas grill. Further, almost 75 percent disagreed with the statement that
they felt intimidated by using an outdoor gas grill.
“At the same time that we are seeing a surge in female grillers, 11 percent - more
than 6 million women - report that they knew nothing at all about safe grilling practices,”
Caskin said. “Keeping a few simple safety tips in mind can only add to the overall
grilling experience and help make grilling an enjoyable, everyday cooking method.”
Nearly one-third (31 percent) of the surveyed women indicated that they did not know
enough about safe use of their grill; 44 percent felt that their significant other
would do a better job at following safe grilling practices.
The survey, which asked outdoor gas grill owners a variety of questions about their
grilling habits as well as their attitudes towards grilling practices, was conducted
for PERC using Opinion Research Corporation’s CARAVAN National Omnibus. Telephone
interviews were conducted from January 11-14, 2007, with a nationally representative
sample of 409 adults who currently own an outdoor gas grill. The margin of error
is +/- 4.9 percent.
Yet one-third of women report not knowing enough about safe grilling practices; propane
industry provides tips to help consumers protect themselves while grilling
Washington, DC (February 27, 2007) - With 34 million women using the grill a “couple
of times a week” during the grilling season - and another 3.4 million cooking on
it every day - this outdoor appliance can no longer be considered a male domain.
These estimates, based on the results of a new survey from the
