How to choose an electric stove?
Before buying an electric stove, you need to decide on its size. The size depends on how much it will be in harmony with the existing kitchen interior.
The height, recognized as the standard for most kitchen stoves, is 85 cm and is adapted to almost any kitchen furniture, regardless of manufacturer. In order for the surface of the stove to be flush with the working surface of the kitchen tables, the possibility of adjustment is provided for any model. Due to the fact that it is possible to install this appliance higher or lower by 5 cm, it is possible to compensate for some unevenness in the floor. Stove widths usually range from 50 to 90 cm. The narrowest models will be ideal for small spaces - they will not obstruct movement in the kitchen, which will make cooking more enjoyable.
Cooking surface. What should it be?
choose an electric stoveIn order for the hob to serve you as long as possible, without causing any inconvenience, you should pay attention to the material from which it is made. Both surface strength and temperature indicators depend on it. Each of the materials is endowed with its own characteristics and advantages - they should serve as a guide when choosing.
For example, enameled steel has rather high hygienic qualities, it can be of various colors, and its cost is quite affordable. Stainless steel is more expensive but much easier to clean. The highest qualities are possessed by a special aluminum alloy. Such a surface does not lose its gloss, it does not scratch, and it is easiest to care for it.
The advantage of glass ceramics is that it is able to heat up and cool down almost instantly, this is facilitated by a higher thermal conductivity. It is also much safer to work with. A flexible heating element is hidden under the working surface, which is laid in a spiral. The heated zones or cooking zones are marked on the glass. Glass-ceramics has excellent heat-polarizing properties: perfectly transmitting heat from heating elements upwards, it hardly spreads it over the surface. As a result, the hotplate becomes hot, and the space around it hardly heats up.
Such a stove requires maintenance, for this special gels and detergents are provided, and the use of ordinary powders can harm the hob.
Burner types
The hotplates of electric cookers are classified by type and function. The most common are two types - cast iron and glass-ceramic. Their power can be different depending on the size.
Cast iron burners of three types are installed on electric stoves: high power, called express burners, medium power and automatic. The purpose of express burners is ultra-fast heating, they can be recognized by their special markings - a red circle in the center. Automatic hotplates are marked with a white circle in the center. In the middle of this hotplate there is a sensor that helps to determine the temperature of the cookware. Having independently determined the moment of boiling water, the burner immediately resets the power.
choose an electric stove
The range of glass-ceramic models includes conventional and double-circuit burners. In the latter version, you have the opportunity to set the diameter of the heating area, adjusting it to the size of the dish. Burners with an oval heating zone are also available, in which, by setting the switch to the appropriate position, you can turn on another (additional) segment of the heating element, which makes an oval zone out of a round burner. Thanks to this, it becomes possible to uniformly heat the ducklings, trays provided for cooking fish, etc.
Oven selection
The difference between ovens in gas and electric stoves is in their functionality, and here there is a clear advantage of electric models. The simplest of the electric ovens has two heating elements (upper and lower), a temperature switch and a backlight. For those whose culinary imagination goes beyond ordinary cakes, a multifunctional oven is more suitable in which you can cook a variety of dishes. Convection is always present in it - hot air blowing, contributing to uniform cooking.
For multifunctional electric ovens, the following operating modes are provided: defrosting food either at room temperature or using a stream of warm air; cooking dishes as in a conventional oven (with the upper and lower heaters activated) or accelerated cooking (hot air is added to the previous option). If you want to brown your food, only the top heater should be turned on.
According to European standards, the glass of the oven should not be heated above 80 degrees, so as not to cause a burn in a person upon contact. For this, such methods of glass cooling as blowing and vacuum glass unit are provided. Blowing is carried out using a turbine built into the oven, through which a stream of air is supplied to the glass and thereby cools it. Subsequently, the flow is directed to the air outlet and through the holes located in the rear wall of the slab, it goes outside.
Vacuum double-glazed windows are 3-4 layers of glass, between which air is pumped out. The resulting vacuum space, completely devoid of heat-conducting properties, becomes a reliable protection for the door from heating. One of the most important functions of electric ovens is to self-clean the walls. It occurs due to their special coating or hot steam.
If we talk about prices, then the most inexpensive models are, of course, electric stoves with an enamelled surface and cast iron burners. Glass ceramics are more expensive, but their advantages are obvious.