Burner diameter
The heating power directly depends on the diameter of the burners. And, at the same time, the performance of the device and the speed of cooking. The larger the burner, the more heat dissipation it has. Also, the diameter of the burner allows you to determine what sizes of dishes are suitable for use on the hob. Indeed, for induction models, this value is critical for high-quality heating. Burners can have the following diameter:
- small — about 145 mm, power within 1200 W;
- medium — about 180 mm, power within 1700 W;
- large — about 220 mm and more, power within 2000 watts.
Some hobs use double ring burners that allow you to adjust the diameter of the heating zone. If the diameter of the burner is 180, 200, 220 mm, then it means that the heating zone on a particular burner can be narrowed or expanded, depending on the size of the dishes used.
Number of power levels
The number of temperature settings of the burner. The more power levels, the more accurately you can set the required temperature for cooking a particular dish. However, in most cases, nine levels are enough for home use. But, if you are a gourmet and often cook unusual dishes that require strict adherence to the recipe, then you simply need more temperature settings.
Automatic programmes
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Boil detection. A system based on a sensor that monitors the state of the product being cooked (usually by the temperature of the dishes): before the water boils, the burner operates at maximum, and after boiling, the sensor reduces the intensity of work to a certain value. The point of this adjustment is that much less heat is needed to maintain the boil than to heat it up to the boiling point; moreover, if you do not reduce the heat, the liquid can spill. Accordingly, automatic boiling allows not only to save energy but also to avoid such troubles. This function is found in electric models (see Product type).
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Keep warm function. The keep warm function keeps food warm until served. It will come in handy in cases where dinner is already cooked and the guests have not yet arrived. The maximum time for keeping heat usually does not exceed 1-2 hours.
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Melting. Special mode for low-temperature thawing of small portions of frozen food, melting butter or chocolate. The function allows you to carefully melt the necessary ingredients into a mass of a homogeneous structure without fear that they will burn or overheat.
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Auto fry function. The pre-set automatic frying mode, which ensures that the temperature of the bottom of the dishes is maintained at the optimum temperature, preventing it from cooling down or over
...heating. An auto fry programme usually provides several cooking modes for different tasks.
— Additional. Several specific auto-programmes used in individual hobs and not covered by the list above.
Frame
The presence of a metal
frame in the design of the hob. Such a frame can be located both around the entire perimeter of the device (in most classic models) and only on one side (usually in domino hobs, see "Design" for more details). The frame plays an aesthetic role, allowing you to optimally fit the hob into the overall design of the kitchen. However, it can also perform a very practical function: to retain liquids spilt onto the surface. On the other hand, such protection also has disadvantages: it can be quite difficult to clean dirt near the frame, and the liquid retained on the hob can burn, making cleaning even more difficult. So in terms of cleaning,
models without a frame are more convenient.
Dimensions (WxD)
General dimensions of the device in width and depth. Depth, in this case, refers to the distance from the leading edge to the trailing edge (when viewed from the user's side). Note that the external dimensions of the hobs are often larger than the dimensions for embedding (see below).
Country of origin
The country in which, according to the manufacturer, this or that model is manufactured. Despite the fact that most of the manufacturers are concentrated
in China, European factories for the production of household appliances have not disappeared. And certain models can be produced on them. In general, such a division into a Chinese or European plant should not particularly affect the quality of products, but still the stereotype of a reliable European assembly (
Germany,
Spain,
Italy,
Poland,
Turkey) is present in us. However, it is possible that the model may have a country of manufacture, for example, Poland, and in the store under the same article you will meet China.
