Time to change your everyday cooking experience? If so, what a better way to add an extra dose of style, beauty and value to your modern kitchen than by enhancing its looks and functionality with a quality cooktop. Today, kitchen cooktops are part of the latest cooking trends, as their introduction by the industry has completely overshadowed the existence of the conventional ovens. Undoubtedly, kitchen cooktops have become customers’ top choice when it comes to cost-effective cooking in style.
Just like all other cutting-edge appliances and pieces of kitchen equipment, kitchen cooktops can be found in various models, depending on purpose, design and special features. However, there are few that sand out.
Gas Cooktops
The working principle of gas cooktops is simple; they can operate either on natural gas or propane. Gas kitchen cooktops are the top choice of professional cooks who rely on the precise temperature control. Later models of gas cooktops come with smooth-surface burners, which makes them very easy to clean and maintain in comparison with first generations of gas cooktops where cleaning the burners was a real pain in the neck.
Electric Cooktops
As the name implies, this type of cooktop runs on electricity. Electric kitchen cooktops are a more Eco-friendly cooking solution compared to gas cooktops, but on the flip-side, the biggest drawback of this type is the lack of temperature control. Moreover, the cooking surface of the electric cooktop usually heats up and cools down slowly, so the user is required to use a flat-bottomed cookware.
Induction Cooktops
These also run on electricity, but in a quite different form, called ‘electromagnets’. In other words, induction cooktops use electromagnets as cooking elements, placed under a flat cooking surface. Thus, when electricity passes through the cooking elements, their electromagnets generate resistance. Induction cooktops require magnetic cookware, because using a non-magnetic cookware results in a waste of electricity, or simply said, a waste of money. By far, induction kitchen cooktops are considered the most Eco-friendly cooking method, but their major drawback is the high price.
Smoothtop Cooktops
Being part of the latest generations of kitchen cooktops, smoothtop models come with a flawlessly flat cooking surface, usually made out of ceramic glass. Thanks to their smooth and even surface, these cooktops are exceptionally easy to clean. However, their silky, yet fragile surface requires special attention when it comes to scratching and braking. Also, smoothtop cooktops generally come at not so easy-on-the-pocket prices.
