Ceramic Cooktops

Electric cooktops have been getting unfair publicity over the last 20 years because of things that happened many years ago.  I hope that I can put aside some of the myths and give you a great alternative to gas.  

Flat glass electric cooktops come in a variety of sizes and have many features.  The glass acts like a membrane; it lets the heat through instantly.  (This is opposed to the old Corning types that absorbed the heat, which would result in a stained top.)  Within seconds the top is too hot to touch if turned onto high.  The surfaces are hard to damage and do not stain.  Two manufacturers make most all glass.  Burnt on food can be cleaned off using a single edge razor blade or with a paint scraping razor tool.  Other discolorations are easily cleaned by the cleaning creme packed in the box that we sell when you run out.  A 12-oz bottle should last a year. 

Ceramic cooktop features:

Cookware: Pots and pans should be reasonably flat.  The flatter the better.  Making good contact with the surface will allow the heat to remain on during the cooking time.  The burner will cycle on and off if your pots are not flat.  This happens on all electric cooktops.  They have a thermal limiter in the switches which will prevent the cooking surface or the coil burner from being damaged or ruined if a pot is left on the top with nothing in it and the burner on.  This safety feature becomes a nuisance if you have warped pots and pans; however, we get very few complaints about these glass tops.  It is not recommended to use either glass or cast iron cookware.  Both materials are very hard and may damage the cooking surface.  Use these types of cookware with caution.

Wattage:  This is the power of the burner.  It usually correlates with the burner size.  The largest burners have about a 9” diameter cooking surface.  The hottest are about 2500watts.  A 2500 watt burner cooks about 1% slower than a 15,000 btu gas burner (found on most commercial gas ranges) Most ceramic cooktops have a variety of burner sizes which range from 1200 watts to 1500watts, 1800 watts, 2000 watts, 2200 watts and 2500 watts.  The lower the wattage the smaller the burner surface is.  

Dual Coil Burner:  This type of burner has 2 cooking areas in one burner.  One can operate only the center of the burner, usually 5”-6” diameter and about 1200 watts.  If the entire surface us needed it becomes about 8”-9” and about 2500 watts.  This enables one to use a large burner for a small pot and not waste energy.  Most cooks need more small burners than large ones.

Bridge burner:  This type of burner is used when cooking with a griddle.  The bridge is a small burner in between 2 burners (usually of the same size and wattage) that looks like a butterfly.   It links both burners so you have one continuous rectangular surface on which to put a griddle.

Warming Zone:  Some cooktops come with a low wattage rectangular cooking area for warming casserole dishes or keeping your pots warm but not at a cooking temperature.  The power is usually about 400watts and has an adjustable temperature switch for even lower temperatures than any 1200-watt burner can reach.

Ceran: Ceran is the brand most manufactures use for their cooking surface.  Another manufacturer of glass is Uk.  Both glasses act the same. 

Color:  The glass used is a deep ruby red glass.  The coloration is added on top of the surface.  The color gives the top a mottled effect and makes white look more like gray.  The mottling serves two purposes: 1) hides any fine scratches or imperfections 2) creates an attractive pattern on the glass.  There is now available true white.  True white is a white glass surface that has the same properties as the red.  It is not available in all brands and is made through Uk.

Touch control:  Some of the latest models are coming out with no knobs.  The unit has a touch control built right into the cooking surface.  This makes it even easier to clean since there are no knobs in the way.

These cooktops come in a variety of sizes and burner configurations.  They come with a rim covering the edge of the glass or rimless.  Some of the rimless models can be counter sunk to make them even with your counter surface.  The rimless ones usually sit a bit higher than the rim models.  With all the choices available there is one which will fit every need.  The price of the cooktops start at about $500.00 and go up to $1500.00.  With the cost of natural gas going up these tops are a great alternative and cleanup is so much easier than any gas top on the market.