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Cabinet Terminology

What is a Cook-top?

Cook-topCook-top refers literally to the surface on which one will apply heat to food. Cook-tops are available in three primary formats: gas, electric and magnetic induction. Of the three, gas is the least changed over the years. The biggest advancement to gas cook-tops has been the addition of safety pressure switches, timers, and electric starters. Ultimately, cooking with gas is a matter of preference for those that like to see a flame while cooking.

Major industry advances have developed in electric and magnetic induction technologies. The heating elements of an electric stove can now be easily masked into a glass-looking counter top. The thin amount of space needed for an electric cook-top and its underlying heat shield make it possible to locate this in a number of more convenient locations throughout the kitchen. However, electric cook-tops maintain contact with cookery during heating so there is a limitation as to what metals may be used to prevent damaging the cooking surface.

Magnetic induction represents the future of cook-top technology. This style of cooking creates a magnetic field that heats the ferrous metal of the pans and pots being used. The advantages include a child-safe heating surface that does not get hot to the touch because it only heats the pot with a non-hot magnetic field. Plus, magnetic induction has the ability to boil water in half the time of gas or electric. The negative is that it only works with full steel or cast iron cookery.

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