Town Appliance Official Blog

If you wish to have a great household, it's important to keep in mind that kitchen is not only the room we cook food in, but a place where friends gather, family gets together, and this room seems to be the centerpiece of every home. And as we all need our food to taste good, various appliances play a certain role in it, but a cooktop is among the essential. A great cooking surface is what we need to master our cooking skills and make dishes that will make people happier.

However, choosing a perfect cooktop may be a hassle nowadays as there are numerous options available. We thought listing down the types of cooktops and their features might be helpful in this situation.

Electric

Electric cooktops provide a great consistency in temperature control, and as their power source is electricity, it makes them very easy to install in comparison to gas cooktops. These cooktops come with either coil burners, or with a flat, glass, or ceramic smoothtop cooking surface which seems to be very popular in the past decade. Besides consistency, these cooktops provide a very precise temperature during their usage.

Now, as every appliance comes with both pros and cons, we might say that, if there's a downside of electric cooktops, it would be their slightly slower heating response when compared to both gas or induction cooktops. So if you're a patient cook, electric cooktops are a good choice.

Induction

Additional safety, extreme cooking power, and perfect heating control are the ultimate conveniences of induction cooktops. These cooktops perform based on the usage of electromagnetism when the cooktop creates a magnetic field on the surface that reacts to the cookware. The heat is produced from a vibration created by the magnetic field. Note that only certain materials are able to activate this field, such as steel or iron.
As this technology is so unique, but still, good for many of us, very available, benefits are almost limitless to those who own an induction cooktop. What's better than electric cooktops, is the fact that these cooktops provide instant heating, which won't be testing your patience, and also help you control the temperature much better. Not to mention that the risk of fire hazards in the kitchen, both during cooking or not, is minimal. These cooktops provide heating only when the cookware is on the surface and as soon as you remove the cookware, the magnetic field turns off automatically, even if you didn't turn off your cooktop.

If there are any cons to owning an induction cooktop, it's the fact that they are still considered products of advanced technology, and therefore, may be a bit more expensive than the other cooktops. So if you want to have great temperature control, instant heating, and greater safety, you'll need to be ready to pay a slightly larger sum.

Gas

More experienced chefs with higher demands of their cooking appliances almost always turn to gas cooktops. As with charcoal grills, there's something in nature's most basic and old-school ways that gives the most precise results. In this case - it's the open flame. The great thing about gas burners on the cooktops is that they will provide much quicker heating than electric ones. Also, gas cooktops always contain both power burners for cooking food with maximum temperatures, as well as burners for delicate cooking with controlled heating of simmer burners.

There are just a few smaller disadvantages to gas cooktops to keep in mind during a decision-making process. These appliances don't come with digital controls, but the turning knobs that don't always provide the exact temperature. Also, you need to make sure that your household has a proper gas line to ensure your cooktop works properly. If this is not the case in your home, you might want to consider other options.

Rangetops

Most of the cooktop units, whether gas, electric, or induction are of a drop-in installation configuration. Rangetops are the alternative to this design. The main difference between a rangetop and the other standard cooktops is that rangetops are planned to slide into the countertop and occupy the entire surface from the rear to the front of the counter. Also, in terms of design, knobs of a rangetop are placed on the front to achieve a range look and functionality, while the controls on the standard cooktops are mostly on the top.
These cooktops come in both gas and electric option while electric ones are slightly rarer. Keep in mind that these appliances may cost a bit more than standard cooktops as they're considered premium appliances.

Purchasing a new cooktop is deciding on the future eating quality for you, your family, friends, and everyone you intend to welcome with a lovely dish. Therefore, most importantly spend some time to think about your cooking habits and preferences. When you're sure of what type of cooktop will suit best to your kitchen and cooking style, feel free to reach out to our professional staff for help if you wish to be extra sure about the right model, as we offer a great variety of cooktops from the world's most famous brands, only at Townappliance.com