Cooktops

You may want the flexibility of a separate cooktop from the oven. Europeans refer to the cooktop as a "hob" which comes from an "old fashioned" description of a small shelf or rack (level with the top of the grate of a fireplace) on which to set pans to keep them warm. Cooktop options include gas, electric, or now a combination of both. These options can be designed into traditional, module, and residential commercial-style cooktops. Cooktops vary in width from 30, 36, 42, and 48 inches wide.

Professional chefs prefer gas burners because they heat up faster and can be controlled with greater precision. Gas can be turned off immediately which reduces the accumulation of heat in the kitchen. Two new features for today's gas cooktops include specially developed glass tops and "sealed burners" (which keeps spills on top of the cooktop).

Gas burners come with heat outputs, as measured in BTU (British thermal units) ratings--the higher the rating, the hotter the flame. Output ratings vary among brands and models with the traditional average at 6,500 to 7,500 BTU's. Residential commercial-style burners can go from 360 BTU's (for simmering) to as high as 18,000 (more than double that of a traditional residential unit). High output burners are often configured as a double inset burner. These cooktops are made with special insulation to allow for zero clearance between the cooktop and the surrounding cabinets and countertop, and require direct venting to the outdoors. Today, burners are available in a variety of configurations--choose the one that's right for you.

There are many electric burner options. You may choose from traditional coil or solid-disk elements, or if you prefer the look of a glasstop (smoothtop) surface, you can choose from radiant, halogen or magnetic-induction heating elements. Coil and solid-disk elements take time to heat up but are affordable and easy to repair vs. glasstop surfaces that heat up quickly, but are more costly to repair.

A radiant heat cooking surface features electric coils directly below translucent glass (which transfers heat more efficiently than older opaque, white ceramic surfaces). It works similarly to the old style coil and is relatively inexpensive. However, you will need flat bottomed, heavy gauge cookware for this cooking surface. The Halogen cooking surface, in contrast, works somewhat like an incandescent lamp and heats from electricity passing through a tungsten filament which causes the burner to glow immediately. It heats up faster that other glasstops. A halogen surface does not require special cookware, as it doesn't need perfect contact between the cooking surface and the bottom of the cooking vessel.

Magnetic-Induction ("Induction") is also called "cool" cooking because the electromagnetic energy heats the cookware and not the cooktop. It boasts quick response (going from high heat to low heat) and precise temperature control. It is also easy to keep clean since the surface remains relatively cool and does not burn or crust over from spills. The heating element does not engage without something on top of it. For induction to work you need steel or cast iron pots and pans--no aluminum.