Ceramic hobs

[Morning Glory]

Mod. Edit: This post copied and edited to start new thread.

I'm thinking of getting a ceramic hob to replace my old gas hob. Has anyone got any experience of using one?

 

[sidevalve]

We have one - it is easy to clean and efficient BUT we would both go for gas if we could - no 'tilting' the pans, no getting a cast iron pan scalding red hot to seal a steak - give me a flame I can see everytime

 

[Morning Glory]

no getting a cast iron pan scalding red hot

Will they not do that? Can you not use cast iron?

 

[epicuric]

Is that a ceramic hob you have there @SatNavSaysStraightOn ? If so I'd like to hear how you get on with it as I'm thinking of getting one.

They are great for keeping clean, but not very practical - certainly not for heavy use. We had one at our previous house, above it was a pan rack. One day the inevitable happened and a pan fell onto the hob and ended its days. Fortunately it was covered on insurance. They scratch easily, and I don't think we could use certain types of pan on it. Form over function - I would never choose one over gas.

 

[Elawin]

Will they not do that? Can you not use cast iron?

I don't have any problems with using cast iron pans on my ceramic hob, although I've yet to try the griddle (which doubles as a baking stone). Just make sure your pans are all suitable for use on a ceramic hob.

The only problem I have found is that the rings on it are not the same sizes as my pans, and of course one of the rings I use most is right over the back, while one of the front ones I rarely use at all except when I'm making cheese or yoghurt, which are usually the only times I use a pan of that size. It couldn't be turned round because then I would have to reach over some of the pans to use the knobs. I also have to remember that it heats up a lot quicker than my old electric hob, and retains heat for a lot longer, and I've had to re-think the way I cook some foods (especially rice and milk-based sauces). It's very easy to clean and keep clean. I have a suitable metal scraper for any burnt on "disasters", but for the occasional "accident" an old credit card works perfectly

My daughter has a ceramic induction hob, which with hindsight I think I might have preferred as you are not limited to a number of rings and can cook with as many pans as you can reasonably fit on it. Hers came with a complete set of pans too, but cost considerably more than my ceramic hob. Unfortunately she could not use her cast iron pans on it as they were not suitable for induction hobs, and she gave them away...... They were exactly the same make as mine, and I could have made good use of them.

 

[Morning Glory]

My daughter has a ceramic induction hob

Yes - important to draw the distinction between induction and non induction ceramic hobs. I'd rather the latter. I have used them before in self catering. I'm still thinking about it. I need to replace my oven too.

 

[sidevalve]

I don't have any problems with using cast iron pans on my ceramic hob, although I've yet to try the griddle (which doubles as a baking stone). Just make sure your pans are all suitable for use on a ceramic hob.

The only problem I have found is that the rings on it are not the same sizes as my pans, and of course one of the rings I use most is right over the back, while one of the front ones I rarely use at all except when I'm making cheese or yoghurt, which are usually the only times I use a pan of that size. It couldn't be turned round because then I would have to reach over some of the pans to use the knobs. I also have to remember that it heats up a lot quicker than my old electric hob, and retains heat for a lot longer, and I've had to re-think the way I cook some foods (especially rice and milk-based sauces). It's very easy to clean and keep clean. I have a suitable metal scraper for any burnt on "disasters", but for the occasional "accident" an old credit card works perfectly

My daughter has a ceramic induction hob, which with hindsight I think I might have preferred as you are not limited to a number of rings and can cook with as many pans as you can reasonably fit on it. Hers came with a complete set of pans too, but cost considerably more than my ceramic hob. Unfortunately she could not use her cast iron pans on it as they were not suitable for induction hobs, and she gave them away...... They were exactly the same make as mine, and I could have made good use of them.

So how do you manage with the 'tilting the pan' trick - the only way to get decent fried eggs ?
Plus how can you use a wok ? We also find the heat retention an annoyance as once switched off - it takes ages to cool off and gives some nasty burns if you aren’t careful

 

[Elawin]

Yes - important to draw the distinction between induction and non induction ceramic hobs. I'd rather the latter. I have used them before in self catering. I'm still thinking about it. I need to replace my oven too.

My oven can be used as a fan oven or a conventional oven (my old one was just a fan oven, which can have disadvantages when cooking some dishes). It has an inbuilt grill and also a "turbo" setting which browns meat etc beautifully.

 

[Elawin]

So how do you manage with the 'tilting the pan' trick - the only way to get decent fried eggs ?
Plus how can you use a wok ? We also find the heat retention an annoyance as once switched off - it takes ages to cool off and gives some nasty burns if you aren’t careful

I just tilt the pan, the same way anyone else does, although maybe at a smaller angle. I tilt the pan too when frothing milk for my coffee. I have never used a wok, but there are some available for ceramic hobs. I usually use a large frying pan and push the cooked ingredients to the side, combining them all at the end to warm through.

I find that foods will still cook to the same degree if the ring is turned off about three minutes before the end of cooking time, after which time the food is just kept warm. For instance, when cooking rice - the method I usually use is to bring the rice and water to the boil, boil for two minutes, then turn the heat right down for ten minutes before removing from the heat and standing for three minutes. In this instance, I put the rice and water on a high heat. As soon as the first bubbles appear, I put the lid on and turn the heat right down. I then cook the rice for eight minutes and turn the switch off. After three minutes, I remove the pan from the heat and let the rice stand for three minutes as per recipe. I try to take advantage of the residual heat, although I must admit it takes a bit of practice.

One advantage of heat retention is that it stops the feline and canine members of the family from investigating any pans left on the hob. I have never had any burns from this hob after I've turned the switches off, but then my hob has warning lights (leds) which go out when the hob has cooled considerably and is safe to touch or clean. My old hob did not have these warning lights and there was no easy way of telling whether the hob was hot or not, or in the case of lower temperatures whether it was even on.

 

[Morning Glory]

So how do you manage with the 'tilting the pan' trick - the only way to get decent fried eggs ?
Plus how can you use a wok ?

I don't think I've ever tilted the pan when frying eggs. I use a long handled teaspoon to pour the hot oil over the eggs to cook the white. Well - I tilt the pan to pool the oil in order to get a spoonful.

I don't use a wok but a flat bottomed 'chef's pan' - similar shape but with flat bottom, so I guess that would work OK.

 

[Kake Lover]

I have a ceramic top. I wouldn't swap it for anything else.
It's easy to clean. You can buy special cleaner but you only need a little bit, so it lasts ages. You also need a basic glass scraper for removing a lot of greasy spray and spills eg after frying a batch of pancakes.
It's as easy to regulate as gas.
I have a flat bottomed wok.

 

[medtran49]

Our stove is a ceramic top. I like it much better than the electric stove burners. Spills are easier to clean. We did crack one once but that was because 1 of us stupidly sat a dish right out of the fridge on a hot burner.

We also purchased a couple of nice size, high power induction burners, as in we can't use both at full power at the same time or we blow the circuit breaker. We really like them, especially in the summer, since they heat up so fast and don't transfer heat into the atmosphere. You still get heat transfer from the pan and contents, but not the burner. You can remove the pan for a short time from the induction burners before they error out, so you could do the pan tilt. And the heat stops as soon as you turn the burner off, so that you only have residual heat of pan and contents. Flat bottomed wok cooking works great, especially when you have the high setting on, which is around 600 degrees if I remember correctly.