Stovetop and stove

SamSpade

SamSpade

Well-Known Member
I've assumed a lot of the family cooking jobs lately - and since I don't cook a LOT - curious about something.

Is it likely that a stovetop burner - or the interior - will heat a lot less than the maximum?

Not "possible" - LIKELY. The stove isn't that old - maybe ten years, tops - but whenever I need it to be blazing hot - it never seems to get there.
I've been doing a lot of stir-frying, and in many years past, that wok would be really hot. If I wanted to caramelize onions - it did it fairly well.

Without being able to measure just how hot the surface is getting - something as simple as caramelizing onions seems to be more like simmering them.

Is there a good way to tell how hot it's getting? The only thing I can think of is, test a deeper pot of oil with a temperature gauge.

One thing I have noticed - the burner gets VERY BRIGHT - but - subsequently seems to cool down. Like it is somehow regulating how hot it gets. Well dammit, I put it on full blast, because that's what stir frying is supposed to do.
 
Tech

Tech

Well-Known Member
Are all the burners that way or just the one? We all have our favorite burner. Electric can go bad.
 
SamSpade

SamSpade

Well-Known Member
Tech said:
Are all the burners that way or just the one? We all have our favorite burner. Electric can go bad.
Click to expand...
We tend to use just the one more than the others. I have REPLACED it before - but that's because it failed, totally.

What I guess I don't notice much - and it may have ALWAYS done this - is, it gets VERY BRIGHT - but once you put a pan or pot on it - it eventually cools down - and comes back up. It never "cools down" when nothing is on it - it often does that, when "in use".

I'm wondering if - "it's not a bug, it's a feature".
 
luvmygdaughters

luvmygdaughters

Well-Known Member
Mine does the same thing. I never noticed it before, but its been like this for the past six months. It will burn bright red hot, then fade, like its been turned off, even though I haven't touched the dial.
SamSpade said:
We tend to use just the one more than the others. I have REPLACED it before - but that's because it failed, totally.

What I guess I don't notice much - and it may have ALWAYS done this - is, it gets VERY BRIGHT - but once you put a pan or pot on it - it eventually cools down - and comes back up. It never "cools down" when nothing is on it - it often does that, when "in use".

I'm wondering if - "it's not a bug, it's a feature".
Click to expand...
 
SamSpade

SamSpade

Well-Known Member
Did some reading - here's the gist of what one poster said -

Stoves have two "settings" - ON - and OFF. It's not like a dimmer swtich where you get varying degrees, although I have seen burners with separate sets of coils. So basically - this is how it stays in a target temperature range - it heats up - reaches that temp - and then stops for a while until it needs to heat up again.

So when you put it on Max - it's not "burn as hot as you can all the time". It's "burn at THIS preset temperature, but cool off when it goes above that".

This of course doesn't happen when you cook with GAS. I think I may get gas for my next home - if the government doesn't OUTLAW it.
 
PJay

PJay

Well-Known Member
This is false from an advertisement:

"Glass-top cooktops, or ceramic cooktops, get more efficient and convenient even they are now a newly introduced appliance. With faster heating than gas, more cooking power than electric coils, and a sleek, low-profile look, ceramic cooktops are the perfect balance of form and function."

Gas heats faster.

My burners do the same.
 
SamSpade

SamSpade

Well-Known Member
PJay said:
This is false from an advertisement:

"Glass-top cooktops, or ceramic cooktops, get more efficient and convenient even they are now a newly introduced appliance. With faster heating than gas, more cooking power than electric coils, and a sleek, low-profile look, ceramic cooktops are the perfect balance of form and function."

Gas heats faster.

My burners do the same.
Click to expand...
It's not JUST that - pots and pans OFTEN have slightly curved bottoms - which work GREAT with gas, not so much with electric.
 
PJay

PJay

Well-Known Member
SamSpade said:
Get flatter pans.
Click to expand...
Would help, yes...

or when you want a flame you can get one of these. Amazon has different ones to choose from and plenty reviews on favorites. I have one and love it.

Screenshot_20240308-125707.png
 
PJay

PJay

Well-Known Member
This guy I love to watch cook and his recipes are yum.

Anyway, he uses one..I thought what a great idea!

 
PJay

PJay

Well-Known Member
Nice to have if the power shuts off. My outdoor grill has burners. Smaller one can use on my kitchen counter.
 
GURPS

GURPS

INGSOC
PREMO Member
PJay said:
Would help, yes...

or when you want a flame you can get one of these. Amazon has different ones to choose from and plenty reviews on favorites. I have one and love it.

View attachment 175811
Click to expand...



This has been a global solution for decades ......
I had a cook stove in Korea in 1987 that used a paint can sized tank of Propane that snapped on the side ....

I have a friend in Kenya here is her stove .... a 5 Gal tank connects right to the stove for gas cooking



1710066734849.png
 
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