Gas Cooktops
IN ADDITION TO BEING CHEAPER to operate in many parts of the country, the biggest advantage of gas cooktops is that they provide immediate, easily adjustable heat that can be instantly turned off. They can take on many shapes and styles, and grates can cover the whole cooktop or just the burner. The continuous grate allows pots to sit anywhere, but also makes more surfaces to clean. Matte black grates are much easier to keep looking clean than light-colored grates.
Today's gas burners can be sealed, which many people prefer because spills stay on the surface instead of pooling into a netherworld below, and heat is more efficiently directed to the pan (an unsealed burner can lose as much as 1/4 of its heat). Some manufacturers offer a combination of burners on the same cooktop, from as low as 400 Btu (British thermal units) to 18,000 Btu (15,000 Btu is the max for most pro-style cooktops). Both these extremes tend to be found on pricier professional-style cooktops; standard gas cooktop burners run from g,ooo to 12,000 Btu maximum. Some cooks prefer the flexibility of all burners having the same power.
Many cooks supplement burners with cooktop accessories such as grills and griddles. A grill can be adapted for griddle cooking simply by using a cast-iron griddle on top. Simmer plates (also called French plates) cover a high-Btu burner (plates are removable for direct cooking) to provide various levels of heat for pots and pans-high in the center and simmering at the edges. Wok rings allow for steady wok cooking over the hottest gas burners. Cooktop rotisseries are available for a few high-end models.
A DROP-IN GAS COOKTOP HAS JUST A MODICUM of the industrial look but all the speed and adjustability of a pro-style gas range.This drop-in cooktop doesn't have a pop-up downdraft vent, but a range hood is more efficient anyway-and it's a thing of beauty with a copper patina.
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