Ceramic Cooktops - Buying Guide
If you are a kind of person who craves for flashy cooktops, then there's no way you can get your eyes away from ceramic cooktops. There are all sorts of cooktops like an induction cooktop, gas cooktops, but when it comes to the sleek design and flashy appearance, none can beat ceramic cooktops. So, if you are looking to décor your kitchen with some good looking ware, you must take your hands-on ceramic cooktops. Compared to other types of cooktops, the ceramic cooktops are new to the market like frigidaire; however, due to increased demand, their numbers are increasing day by day.
One of the biggest reasons for this increase in ceramic cooktops is their ease of maintenance. Sure their stylish surface is one of the factors, but cleaning is a matter of more significance. Who would want to spend minutes cleaning off leftover from the surface? With the surface of ceramic cooktops, the cleaning becomes much easier. Apart from that, there are other factors as well that you need to pay attention to. So let's take a look at them.
Shape Of The Cooktop
Usually, ceramic cooktops come in two shapes; square and rectangular. Depending upon the requirement of your application, you can select either one of them. Most people get rectangular tops because of more space, but if you want a compact design, then you can go for a square one. Before purchasing the cooktop, you can measure the space where you wish to put your top, as per the requirement of space, you can select the dimensions of the cooktop. Also, you will have to ensure that there is sufficient room for ventilation to dissipate heat.
Cooktop Type
Ceramic cooktops come in various types. Some of the most famous ones are Halogen cooktop, semi-halogen cooktop, and Ceramic radiant cooktop. In the Halogen cooktop, the Halogen bulbs are used as a source of heat. In case of the semi-halogen cooktops, a combination of a halogen bulb and coiled metal element is used to supply the heat. As for the ceramic radiant cooktop, it uses coiled metal elements for the production of heat. These are all as good as others. The only difference between them is the method of supplying heat, so the amount of heat supplied is the distinguishing factor between them. If your application requires more heat, then select the one that supplies more.
Design
The ceramic cooktop that you purchase must be suitable for your kitchenware. It means that the cookware you use for cooking stuff should perfectly sit on the cooktop. There are various things you can look at in design. You can take a look at a number of stations where you will put down your kitchenware. If you want to cook a number of things simultaneously, then opt for the one with more number of cooking stations. If the cooking pots are of larger size, then get a cooktop that has a larger station. The tops also come with different sizes of cooking stations which are usually known as dual-a element cooktop. In that, you can place small size pot as well as large size pot at the same time and eliminate the problem of stirring.
Surface
It comes without saying that cleaning a surface of the ceramic cooktop is a lot easier compared to other types of cooktops. But still, the surfaces come in variety as well. An ideal cooktop will be easily able to wipe off any dirt that sticks on the surface of the top.
Controls
Just like any other gas or induction cooktop, ceramic cooktop also comes up with regulating knobs that regulate the heat. The regulators should be easy to control and remove for cleaning. In addition to that, there should be clear marking for indicating the amount of heat being supplied.
Safety Indicator
This is just an additional feature which holds a lot of significance. Ceramic being refractory remains at higher temperature even after switching off the knob. So there should be an indicator that tells when the cooktop has cooled down enough to be touched again. When compared to market brands the GE electric cooktop is famous and money's worth product for moms.