Ranges: Electric Cooktops

Electric cooking surfaces are available in multiple configurations. The basic electric element is a coil element. These cook very well with most pots and pans but will take some time for the new temperature to take effect, as these burners retain the heat. All coil burners are not considered the same. The grid and number of turns in the coil, the faster and more evenly it will heat your pot or pan.

Smooth surface cooktops are very popular due to the fact that the heating elements are positioned below the cooking surface. This makes cleanup a lot easier since the spills are contained to the surface. A bridge burner expands cooking options by connecting the two heating elements to form a continuous oval shape. A separate heating element in between the two elements provides equal heat distribution within the entire oval pattern.

With all Electric Cooktops, you want to match the size of the pan to the size of the burner. Many electric cooking surfaces today will allow you to choose between multiple burner sizes within a single element. For example, you can select a 6-inch burner, a 9-inch burner, or a 12-inch burner size from a single cooking area. This provides you with greater flexibility when preparing meals.

Induction cooking heats a cooking vessel by magnetic induction instead of a flame or an electrical heating element. Because induction directly heats the vessel, very rapid increases in temperature can be achieved. You get a very fast response in temperature changes like a gas burner, but easy clean up like a smooth top surface. One thing to keep in mind is that induction cooking surfaces require a pot or a pan with ferrous metal such as cast iron, glass copper. Aluminum cookware will not work here. A simple test would be to place a magnet on the bottom of the pan to see if it sticks. If so, you're good to go!