GAS, VITROCERAMIC AND INDUCTION COOKTOPS. WOULD YOU LIKE US TO HELP YOU CHOOSING?

Even though gas cooktops are still the most popular ones, the truth is induction cooktops have slowly gained ground to traditional hobs. During the latest years more and more people have chosen this system. Moreover, they have become the biggest induction defenders. This has created an intense debate between gas favourables and induction favourables. Meanwhile, vitroceramic is doing its best to try to survive, but lately its disadvantages have made unsatisfied gas users prefer induction cooktops.

 

Everything seems to indicate that in a near future the choice will only be gas or induction, but we are going to include all three systems in this post so as you have complete information before making your choice.

 

Gas cooktops. The system chefs and traditional cooking lovers use

 

Gas cooktops are the most widespread option in professional kitchens and the main reason is it provides the required heat since the beginning. It also uses the cheapest energy with the lowest consumption which it’s essential in a business that requires using it all day. Moreover, you can use any cookware on it without restrictions, heat is constant and stable and can easily be controlled, and it’s the most appropriated system to cook at very low temperature.

 

Main inconvenience is they are more difficult to clean –or at least less comfortable- and less secure because they send out real flames.

 

Vitroceramic cooktops. The first alternative to gas

 

Vitroceramic cooktops are made of vitroceramic glass. Their glory days were in the 90’s but nowadays induction technology is much more advanced.

 

Their main unique sales points as an alternative to old gas cooktops is they are theoretically easier to clean and safer, but their inconveniencies never convince gas cooktops favourables: they provide less power, they warm up very slowly, heat intensity can’t be precisely controlled, energy consumption is the highest one and, even though they allow using residual heat, the reality is most times nobody takes advantage of this possibility.

 

Induction Cooktops. The most innovative system

 

In fact induction cooktops evolved from vitroceramic cooktops, as they are made of the same material. The main difference between both is how the heat is transmitted. Induction cooktops create a magnetic field to transmit heat directly to the cooking vessel, as we explain in our post “How Does an Induction Pan Work”.

 

This is the system of the future according to manufacturers, who have invested many resources to improve its technology. Induction has solved most of the main inconveniences of vitroceramic cooktops: they are more powerful, have less consumption, heat intensity can be precisely controlled and, as the cooking surface never warms up, they are easier to clean and much safer than the other systems.

 

Their main disadvantage is price. They are much more expensive than induction and gas cooktops, especially latest generation ones. They also require using induction ready cookware and some of them limit cookware use, as we explain in our post “My pan doesn’t work. Issues with induction cooktops”.

 

Which is the best one?

 

If you like cooking we recommend you not to choose a vitroceramic cooktop and consider only induction or gas.

 

If you finally choose induction you must take into consideration price will be the highest one, especially if you choose one of the latest models –which is something we recommend you so as to take advantage of all benefits of induction cooktops without the inconveniences of low range models-. Remember you would need to replace your old non-induction ready cookware and that induction energy consumption is higher than gas cooktops one.

 

On the other hand, remember if you choose a gas cooktop you will keep on cursing your hobs every time you have to clean them, you will surely burn yourself again in an unguarded moment and you will probably leave the hob on during dinner time. But you will be able to keep on using your old cookware, as it is not necessary to use induction cookware in non-induction cooktops. Moreover, non-induction cookware is cheaper. Castey has developed a vitro-gas special cookware collection that will not only save you some money but also help you take the most of energy used to cook faster.

 

If you can’t still make up your mind, there are half induction half gas cooktops so as you can enjoy all the advantages –and disadvantages- of both systems.

 

As you will have noted, choosing a new cooktop is not going to be easy, as all them have some pros and cons. You will need to take all your needs into consideration and choose the one that better fits your needs. Once done, you will probably need to choose the best cookware for your cooktop. There are many materials and qualities and not all of them have the same good performance. This quick guide to choose a frying pan will help you with some smart tips.

HOW TO CLEAN INDUCTION COOKTOPS. CARE SECRETS OF VITROCERAMIC AND INDUCTION COOKTOPS.

The main advantage vitroceramic and induction share is they are theoretically easier to clean than the old gas cooktops. But this theoretically advantage may become a disadvantage because, although they are easier to clean, they are also more delicate and can be easily damaged if they are not properly cleaned with the appropriate cleaning products.

 

Everything is so nice and easy in TV commercials

 

If our life were a TV commercial we would use a vitroceramic cleaning product to easily and happily clean our already shinny and clean cooktop. We shouldn’t have to scrub, because in our perfect TV commercial life we could cook almost without splashing and we would have plenty of time to remove stain before it became burned or dry.

 

Unfortunately reality is quite different. Even though we are focused and careful, there are some small details than can slowly damage our vitroceramic or induction surface, such as oil and food splashes, marks made by cooking utensils or accumulated dust and grease for example.

 

Good news is almost all these damages are not permanent. You can easily recover the original appearance of your cooktop with some patience and the appropriate tricks.

 

1. Stop cleaning your cooktop with washing-up liquid

 

You started using it that day you ran out of vitroceramic cleaner because “It’s OK if I do it just one time”. Nothing happened so you kept on doing it because you found it very practical and cheaper. But this has slowly damaging your cooktop making it loose brightness. Don’t do it again. You must use a vitroceramic cleaner and a wet clean sponge or pad. Once cleaned, dry it gently with paper towel because moisture is not good for vitroceramic and induction cooktops.

 

2. Remember you must wait until it is cold

 

Although temptation is big because you never have time for anything and cleaning it when it is hot will save you some precious time, don’t do it. You could scratch it or leave it worse than it was before.

 

3. Your cooktop is not a countertop

 

Even though you have a small kitchen, don’t place things on the cooktop, especially those that could scratch it, such as knives or flatware. Neither use it to cut food –even if you use a cutting board-, to create the final presentation of your dishes or for cold preparations.

 

4. Cook carefully

 

Never move or shake pans while they are in contact with the vitroceramic or induction glass because any food rest in the surface could damage or scratch the cooktop.

 

5. Metal and sharp utensils, scourers or any abrasive material or detergent is completely forbidden

 

You can use them for other purposes but never in your cooktop nor in your pan! If you are fighting against hard stains, the following are some harmless alternatives you can use.

 

Tricks to remove the hardest stains

 

1. Let the vitroceramic cleaner do its job

 

Spread the cleaner all along the glass and wait 10 minutes before cleaning.

 

2. Use a vitroceramic scraper

 

You can remove rests with these scrapers. Although you may think they are going to scratch the surface, they have been developed with this purpose and will help you a lot with the hardest stains.

 

3. Use a lemon

 

Spread some lemon juice on the hardest stains to soften. Lemon acidity won’t damage the glass but will make easier to remove them.

 

4. Vinegar is also permitted

 

Warm it just a little bit, spread it on the glass, wait some minutes and clean normally. This will also help you recover the original brightness of your cooktop. If stains are still there, make a pastry with some vinegar and bicarbonate, apply on the stain with a sponge or wipe and then rinse it with a wet wipe.

 

5. The Pierre Verte cleaner

 

Don’t be afraid to use this universal natural cleaner in your vitroceramic or induction cooktop to remove the hardest stains. We always recommend this product to our customers.

 

After reading all these stuff you may think owning a vitroceramic or induction cooktop takes hard work and lots of worries. Yes, vitroceramic and induction cooktops are easier to clean than gas hobs, but they require you to be careful to remain shiny and beautiful as the first day during years of service. For this reason we recommend you to do some research about the advantages and inconveniences of the main cooktop systems before making your choice.
 

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INSTRUCTION MANUALS ARE BORING. I NEVER READ THEM. ALUMINIUM COOKWARE CARE SECRETS.

ALUMINIUM, STAINLESS STEEL, CAST IRON…WHICH ONE SHOULD I CHOOSE? OUR SMALL MASTER IN COOKWARE MANUFACTURING MATERIALS

 
If you have already read our post How to Distinguish Between a Good Frying Pan and a Bad One at a Glance –you should read it, it’s a great one- you surely know manufacturing materials are key to determine the final quality and performance of a pan. That post was only focused in aluminium pans but as aluminium is not the only material used to build cookware we are now going to make everything a little bit more complicated by talking about other common materials: stainless steel and cast iron. Next time you go shopping you will perfectly know which one is the best for you!
 

Stainless Steel is not only good to boil

 
Stainless steel cookware is very versatile. It has some inconveniences, of course, but if you choose a good quality product you will be able to cook great dishes. As we love being optimists let’s start with the good things. We take for granted that you are considering buying a good quality product made of 18/10 stainless steel, meaning made of 18% chromium and 10% nickel. This means you will own a product its main features will be: high durability, great resistance to acids –such as lemon or tomato- and a non-porous surface that avoids flavours and smells to impregnate the cooking surface. It won’t neither have an excessive weight so that it will be versatile easy to handle and, although it has some peculiarities, easy to clean and maintain.
 
Now it’s time for the bad things: stainless steel has bad heat conductivity properties and unless it is non-stick coated, food can easily stick in the cooking surface if you don’t stir constantly, cook with plenty of liquid or add a generous quantity of oil –or any animal or vegetal grease-. Also, it won’t be suitable for induction cooktops unless it includes an induction base, but this base will reduce energy efficiency.
 
Good news is there are alternatives and solutions for these inconveniences. Bad news is, as always, you will need to pay for them. Stainless steel cookware of the highest quality include one –or various- inner sheets made of a highly conductive material –usually aluminium- to improve energy efficiency and, while they are at it, outer sheets made ferritic materials so it can be used in induction cooktops without problems. Finally, there are various alternatives to improve non-stick properties, but if your main goal is avoiding food from sticking in the cooking surface, our recommendation is using the old non-stick coating.
 
By the way, if you ask yourself which kind of stainless steel do Castey use, the answer is “this last one”. We don’t coat it to highlight stainless steel cooking properties and although it’s a little bit more expensive, we really believe it is worth it.
 

Cast iron is heavy and expensive but stews taste jolly well

 
This is the perfect sentence to summarize all properties, advantages and inconveniences of this material, which is one of the most popular in the world for cookware. We could leave this chapter here, but we will give you some more information so as not to seem lazy.
 
Let’s start with the good things too. Unless stainless steel, it is one of the materials with best heat distribution allowing perfect even cooking results all around the cooking surface. Even though it takes a lot of time to heat it, once it reaches the desired temperature food is perfectly even cooked. It also has excellent heat retention properties, making it the best choice to cook at low temperatures as it gives a unique flavor to all dishes and keeps the food warm until serving. Enamel coated cast iron also retains cold very well. Casseroles can be placed in the fridge to serve cold dishes and even in the freezer to preserve them. And they are also induction ready!
 
Now it’s time for the bad things. It weights a lot. It weights too much. Big size casseroles are difficult to move and handle even when they are empty. They are also really expensive, but also very resistant and will last more than a lifetime.
 

Which one should I choose?

 
Again, there is not a correct answer to this question so we cannot answer it for you. Our goal has been to provide the tools and information you need to make your choice. We will be happy if we have helped you just a little bit!
 

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