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Design: Belouk
If you’re planning to cook at home, your kitchen is definitely not complete without a hob. The decision of what type of hob to get should already be made before you start your renovation, as provisions have to be made for building it into the countertop, as well as for the necessary utility connections.
The traditional gas hob is reliable and has served many generations, but with newer technology and innovation, there are now alternatives that might serve our modern lifestyles better.
So, which do you go for?
TYPES OF HOBS
There are three popular types of hobs — gas, induction and ceramic.
Some hobs from City Gas, such as the AZ-730FT gas hob, come with a timer control that allows you to set the cooking time, so you can multi-task.
Gas hobs
Most of us are familiar with this type of hob in the kitchen. When the hob is turned on, a flame lights the gas flowing out of the burners on the cooktop, producing the fire to cook with. You can either use it with gas supplied in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders that would have to be replaced when the gas is used up, or piped gas for convenience. As such, determine what type of gas you are using in your home, to select a compatible hob.
Gas hobs are composed of burners of different sizes to accommodate various pots and pans. The burners are also of different types — such as wok or rapid burners — suited for an array of cooking needs, be it a gentle simmer or high-heat frying. Most popular are those with two or three burners, with a width of 72 to 90cm, but you can also find larger ones with up to four or five burners.
Although gas hobs are "low-tech", they are constantly being updated to include features for safety and convenience. Those from well-known brands, such as Bosch, Brandt, Turbo, Electrolux and City Gas, come with a flame failure safety device that automatically cuts off the gas supply upon sensing that the flame goes out, to prevent risk of gas leakage.
City Gas also offers one with a timer control function, great for those who often forget to turn off the stove or for busy multi-taskers. Traditionally, hobs are made of stainless steel, but now, many of the latest models are made of glass, in keeping with design trends.
For gas hobs, as you can see the flames, you are able to better gauge the heat level. Cooking over fire is also great for certain cooking techniques (such as charring or cooking with a wok). However, your kitchen will be considerably warmer, due to the open fire. Since gas hobs can emit a lot of heat, when planning to install one, make sure you have the minimum clearances around the hob to avoid damage to cabinets and finishes.
The Electrolux Inifinite Pure Zoneless EHD8740FOK induction hob allows you to use pots and pans of different shapes and sizes as the hob has bigger heat zones for detecting the cookware.
Induction hobs
Induction hobs use electromagnetism (generating electricity using magnetism) to create heat inside the cooking pan, rather than from the outside. In a way, it turns cooking pans into cookers, cooking food more directly and quickly, with less energy.
With induction hobs, there are no exposed flames and no heat is generated by the hob itself — you won’t feel a thing if you put your hand on the surface of the hob, as the induction zone automatically switches off when the pan is removed. One good thing about induction hobs is that since it has a completely flat surface, it has a modern, sleek appearance — something to consider, especially for open-concept kitchens.
Induction hobs feature touch-sensitive buttons, and different heat settings and programmes for precision cooking, apart from safety features. They come in a variety of sizes and designs, from a portable single-burner to built-in models with multiple burners. There are some models in the market that are exceptionally versatile, such as the Brandt Maxizone and Electrolux Infinite Pure Zoneless (pictured above) induction hobs. With their flexible cooking zones, you can use cookware of almost all shapes and sizes, instead of being confined to specific heat zones.
Bosch's Domino hobs, each 30cm wide, allow you to place an induction and gas hob side by side.
For those who want both induction and gas hobs, Bosch offers the Domino range of 30cm-width induction as well as gas hobs; being modular, you can choose to have either one, or both.
The Turbo Immaginario T583HCSS ceramic hob comes with touch controls with nine power settings, a safety lock and residual heat indicators.
Ceramic hobs
Ceramic hobs look similar to induction hobs, but the key difference between them is that ceramic hobs makes use of an element underneath the cooker’s surface, which heats up and transfers the heat to the cooking pan. As such, the surface of the hob will be hot.
The Turbo Immaginario T583HCSS ceramic hob has high-tech features, such as touch control with nine power settings, and also safety features, such as child lock and residual heat indicators that alert you of the hot surfaces.
One thing to note about ceramic and induction hobs is that you won’t be able to cook if there is a power outage, since they run on electricity.