Types of Hobs

A hob (known as stove tops in North America) is a cooking appliance that heats up pans with flame or electricity. There are many different kinds of hobs available, so you can pick one that is best suited to your preferences and kitchen.

Induction hobs feature flat cooking surfaces made of ceramic and come with five or four zones for heating your pans. The contemporary designs that operate with a touch are elegant and chic and are easy to clean.

Ceramic hobs

Ceramic hobs can give your kitchen a modern, sleek appearance. The flat glass-ceramic surfaces are easy to clean and can easily be cleaned when spills or splatters happen. They also heat up very quickly and are energy efficient which helps reduce your energy bills. However, one downside of ceramic hobs is that they tend to be slow to adjust temperature settings and can be a hassle if you’re cooking something that requires immediate reduction or an increase in heat.

Electric hobs use plates that are heated by electric elements beneath. They can be controlled individually with rotary knobs, and then tacked up to the level of power you require. You can use the Boost feature to boost the temperature of a certain zone. Ceramic hobs hold heat extremely well, so even when they are turned off, they will be hot to the touch. This can be a challenge when you have children, so it’s best to only install them in a location which is far from any flammable items and out of reach of young children.

This kind of hob can be mounted on a variety of worktops including laminate or solid hardwood, as well as granite. It’s also fairly affordable and is an excellent option if you’re looking to replace your previous hobs without spending a lot of money. However, just like any other appliance, they must be installed correctly and connected to the mains power supply, so we suggest hiring an electrician professional to ensure that the new hobs are safe to use.

A downside of this type of hob is that it’s very sensitive to the size of the pan as well as its shape. It is necessary to purchase cookware that’s exactly the same dimensions as the element or that is able to fit in the heating zones on the hob. If the cookware doesn’t match the element, it will not recognise it and won’t start to heat the bottom of the pan. This can lead to uneven results in cooking and makes the stove less efficient.

Gas on glass hobs

Glass hobs made of gas have a sleek and modern design. While they be more expensive than electric models and may require professional installation, they typically take less time to heat up – it’s not unusual for a full pan of water to be boiling in four minutes or less. This type of stove is ideal for cooks who need to control the amount of heat that is produced. However, it should be noted that a glass hob is more prone to damage than stainless steel models and may require cleaning more often, since the build-up of grease and residue tends to stay on the surface instead of sliding off.

This Bertazzoni hob is an excellent example of gas on glass. Recommended Internet page comes with four monobloc burners finished in matt black, with control knobs made of metal to give it a chic, sophisticated look. It also comes with an oblong wok ring with 4kW for additional versatility, as well as dishwasher-proof pan supports that are easier to keep clean.

Another highly recommended model is this Bosch gas hob that combines the look of a sleek slab of toughened glass with advanced cooking technology. The dual ring design to the left side of the gas hob has a double inner burner to increase the distribution of heat and speed up cooking. It also has an excellent power level indicator, which helps to regulate the exact temperature of your flame. You can choose between nine preset settings, including the highest setting for sear steaks, and a low one for scrambled egg.

Its simple yet easy-to-use controls were also appreciated by our testers, who found them to be very simple to use. A few minor issues are that you must press the controls a further nine times to reach the maximum temperature and the glass can make it difficult to see the burners’ actions.

Some of the top gas-on-glass hobs can be found at an affordable price like this Neff model. It’s not likely to win any design prizes but it’ll perform the task and be a great addition to your kitchen for just more than 120 pounds.

Electric hobs

Electric hobs are a great choice for modern homes. They not only offer an elegant design that blends in with the rest of your kitchen and are also equipped with advanced functions that are safer, quicker and more efficient than their predecessors in terms of energy consumption.

Ceramic glass hobs are among the most sought-after electric stoves. These hobs are designed with sleek glazed finishes, and feature an exterior that is easy to clean and resistant to scratches. They’re also often equipped with a power boost feature, which allows you to increase the heat of your cooker for a brief period of time.

Another electric hob that is suitable for modern homes is an induction hob. In contrast to traditional electric and gas plate hobs, induction hobs use electromagnetic fields to directly heat your cookware. This means they are more energy-efficient and have precise temperature control. However they require a particular kind of pan to work with them and can be expensive to set up.

A gas-on-glass hob is a second option that’s a great option for modern homes. It has a burner underneath an unidirectional glass layer similar to a conventional gas stove. However, this glass is heat-resistant and shatterproof, which means it’s much simpler to clean than glass that’s tempered. Many of these hobs come with the “hot surface indicator” which alerts you to the heat.

Although gas hobs are an option for many home cooks however, they can be noisy and difficult to clean. They also take a while to heat up and cool down, and their flame can be difficult to control. In contrast electric hobs are energy-efficient and simpler to clean.

There are even electric stoves that can be used with LPG gas. This lets you switch between different fuel sources, so you’ll have the flexibility to adapt to your lifestyle. It’s important to note, however, that these hobs need to be installed by a registered gas safe engineer and require a separate cable of 6mm to be installed in your kitchen. These hobs are not suitable for those who have pacemakers since the electromagnetic field can interfere with them.

Hobs with induction

Beneath the glass surface of the induction hobs, there are copper coils that run an alternating electrical current. When an induction-compatible plate is placed on the hob the coils create magnetic fields that directly heat the pan instead of heating a surface of the worktop or heated plate. Induction hobs are extremely efficient from a energy point of view, as there’s no residual heat that is wasted.

There are a variety of models of an induction hob, from basic entry level ones with a single cooking zone that is marked with rings to more advanced multi-zoned induction hobs that have up to six zones, allowing you to cook several pots at once on a flex zone. Certain models have a touch slider control that is very similar to the way you use on an iPhone. Simply slide your finger across the power bar at the middle to select the desired heat level left to right boosts heat and right to left decreases it. Certain models have preset settings that are specific to food items or recipes which can help you save time in the kitchen.

Induction hobs can be more expensive than ceramic hobs, however they are believed to be more efficient in the long run since they heat up faster and use a smaller space to heat up which could help lower your energy costs. They also cool faster and have a safer design without hot plates, which makes them perfect for families with young children or elderly persons who live in the house. However, they do generate magnetic forces that can cause interference with certain medical devices like pacemakers. It is therefore important to center the pans and avoid using smaller pans on bigger burners.

As with all electric hobs you’ll need to clean your induction hob frequently, since food particles and other debris can build up over time. You can either employ a standard oven cleaner or invest in a specialist one to keep your hob in good condition and shiny for a longer time. Be sure to not use scrubbers or pads for scouring on your induction cooker as they could scratch the surface.