Cooker and Stoves in a Professional Kitchen

What is a Cooktop?

A cooktop is a cooking surface that is placed on a cooktop range. The cooktop can be made up of one or more ceramic, electric, induction, or gas elements. Usually, there is an element on one side, and a griddle or frying pan on the other. The cooktop provides the heat source, while the cooktop range controls the temperature and power. Depending on the type of cooktop, there are many options for cooking. The most commonly used options are griddle, induction, and electric induction. The griddle is usually made up of several flat metal plates that have four or five small round holes. Induction cooktops use magnetic fields to heat and cook food.

What is a Range?

A range is the cooking appliance that has gas burners and ovens. A range can be made up of gas or electric burners and ovens. The range is the central unit of the kitchen equipment and is used to prepare all the dishes for the meal. A range is also used for baking, broiling, and other related tasks. To make things simple, most professional kitchens contain a combination of cooktop and range. The cooktop can either be induction or electric and the range can be gas or electric.

Differences between Stoves and Ranges

- Stove: A stove can be used for cooking on both gas and electricity. It can also be used for heating up items like soups, stews, and casseroles.

- Range: A gas range works with natural gas, while an electric range works with electricity.

- Burners: Stoves usually have a group of burners to cook multiple items at once and a grill to cook add-on items like sausages and bacon. Ranges usually have one large oven cavity.

- Ovens: Ranges have ovens to bake, broil, and roast items like pizza, casserole, roasts, and turkeys.

- Convection Ovens: A range convection oven can cook dishes like lasagna or lasagna dishes.

Gas Cooktops

A gas cooktop is a device that is used to boil water and cook food. The most common type of gas cooktop is a convection gas cooktop. Convection cooktops use fans to distribute the heat evenly, allowing you to cook at a much faster pace. These are the most popular types of gas cooktops.

- Broil: Broil is a type of cooking that uses a flame to give the food a brown color. Usually, broilers are used for meats and poultry.

- Grill: Grill is a type of cooking that uses direct flame to give the food a red color.

- Source: There are two different types of gas sources that are used for gas cooktops. One is a natural gas source, while the other is a propane source. - Type of Oven: Gas cooktops come in many different types of ovens like convection, radiant, electric, and infrared.

- Performance: The gas cooktop performance depends on the type of source used by the cooktop.

Electric Cooktops

An electric cooktop is a type of cooktop that is powered by electricity. The most common type of electric cooktop is the electric induction cooktop. It is also called an “induction stovetop”. Electric induction cooktops work by converting electricity to magnetic waves, which are then transferred to the hot surface.

- Induction Range: A standard induction range uses electromagnetic induction to heat the cooking surface.

- Gray Market: This term is used to refer to an electric induction cooktop that has been bought from an unauthorized store.

- Stainless Steel: The most common type of cooktop on an electric induction cooktop is stainless steel because it conducts heat efficiently.

- Black Porcelain: Black porcelain is the most common material for an electric induction cooktop because of its conductivity.

- Glass: Glass induction cooktops work great for making soups because they heat up very quickly and are easy to clean.

- Size: Induction cooktops come in a variety of sizes like standard, compact, and large.

Ovens

An oven is used to bake, broil, roast, and toast items. The type of oven you choose depends on your needs. The most common types of ovens for a range are convection, radiant, and electric.

- Convection: A convection oven uses fans to circulate the heat around the food, making it cook evenly.

- Radiant: Radiant ovens have wires inside the chamber that heat up when exposed to electrical current.

- Electric: The most common type of oven used on an electric range is the standard self-cleaning oven.