Kitchen Cooktops – The Right Type for You

Choosing new kitchen cooktops in large part is a matter of style, preference and possibility. Depending on your needs, kitchen size, and space, you can choose a range ( which includes a stove and an oven) or choose to buy the separate units; stovetop and oven. Either way, there are specifics to all types of kitchen cooktops to pay attention to when you decide on what to buy.

1. Stovetops

Stovetops can be used with three different types of heat: gas burners, electric coil heating elements and electric ceramic burners. The main thing to consider here is the manner in which a specific source of heat performs, and this is especially important to professional cooks.

2. Electric coil burners

These kitchen cooktops heat quickly and evenly. They have only one downside: when lowering the temperature, the change takes effect very slowly, as these kitchen cooktops tend to retain heat. Also, after you turn them off, they stay hot for a short period. Maintaining them can also be a challenge, as spills tend to fall below the burner's surface.

3. Gas Burners

The solution to the temperature problem electric coil burners have are gas burners. Temperature is easily controlled as they heat almost immediately after turned on. Now, it may take longer than the electric coil burner to actually make a pot of water boil, but if that is not a problem for you than you can ignore it. In addition, gas burners can handle all pot shapes and sizes.

4. Electric ceramic

These kitchen cooktops are very stylish. The stove surface is flat and the heating elements are hidden beneath. These cooktops are interesting because the inducing element sends the heat directly to the pot or pan and not to the stove surface. The downside to these cooktops is that they can't handle all pots and pans; aluminum ceramic and cooper pans won't work on these cooktops. Moreover, the burners for the ceramic cooktops are more expensive than others.

As mentioned before, if you need an entire kitchen cooktop, go for the range. The oven is installed beneath the stovetop, so you will have all elements in one place. Maybe it will be a slight inconvenience to maneuver in the oven since you'll have to bend a lot. Buying separate elements can be little more expensive than buying a range.

Finally, cost and performance are important factors as well. When it comes to cost, electric coils are cheaper than the gas and the ceramic ones, but these are less expensive to operate. On the other hand, a gas burner is the cheapest choice from operation and maintenance point of view. As for performance, gas cooktops are mostly preferred because they are easy to control and are very responsive. Ceramic cooktops are best if you are looking for fast heating and easy cleaning.

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