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Cook Top or Stove Top
Think of a cook top as a stove that isn’t resting on an oven, but is built-in to your countertop. The same burner features that you find in a stove cook top can be found in a counter top cook top as well. But before you buy either one, there are several decisions you’ll need to make.
The first is how much room you have. Stove and cook tops come in a wide variety of sizes including 20, 30, 36 40, 42 48 and 60-inch widths. They also come in a variety of depths with cook tops ranging from “narrow” at 18 inches to as deep as over 26 inches for some of the more upscale and commercial ones. For ranges, the depth measurement can be anywhere from about 24 inches to more than 32 inches for some of the commercial varieties. Figure out what your kitchen can handle and decide if you want to invest in a lot of remodeling or just want to slip a new stove or cook top into the spot the old one occupies.
Burner Considerations
Then decide if you want a conventional or sealed burner. A sealed burner does not allow spills to drip into hard-to-reach places. You can clean up any messes by just lifting off the grate and wiping around the burner. Conventional burners are unsealed but usually have drip pans under them which can be removed and cleaned, although the newer ones make this chore much easier than it used to be.
Depending on your cooking skills, you may want also to consider the burner BTU output. BTUs are British Thermal Units and are a measure of the intensity of heat. On most home stoves, the burners produce around 8,000 BTUs, and sometimes have a single burner that can deliver 11 or 12,000 BTUs, which is perfect for the home cook. But if you’re an aspiring (or already skilled) home chef, you should consider a higher end stove that has a burner that can deliver 15,000 BTUs. At that level of heat, you will be able to more closely match the results that restaurant chefs regularly seem to achieve (although they are working with stoves with burners that can produce 20,000 to 26,000 BTUs of heat). At the other end of the scale, you might also want to consider having a low-heat burner that generates only 500 to 900 BTUs, which is better for simmering.
Wok Cooking
If you’re going to be using a wok, pick a stove with at least one burner that can deliver 11,000 or 12,000 BTUS. The 8,000 BTU burners can’t deliver the kind of high heat demanded by stir frying.
The grates on some gas stoves are built so that the wok’s round bottom can rest in the center of the grate and is easily balanced by holding onto the handle. For others, it’s necessary to remove the burner top and replace it with a wok ring. (They come packaged with most woks or can be purchased at a kitchen store.) Rings with holes around the circumference or rings made out of wire work best since air can better circulate and help keep the flame hot. Place the ring down with the wider end up to get closer to the flame.
What about Extras?
Yet another cook top or stove top decision is whether you want extras like a grill, griddle or a deep fryer. Many of the higher end stoves have pop-in attachments you can buy as accessories.
Virtually all gas stoves now come equipped with an electronic ignition system that generates a spark to ignite the natural gas every time you turn on the burner. Some of the stoves also automatically shut off if the burner goes out, which is a great safety measure. Make sure that you can light the burner with a match in case of a power outage, however.
If you’re worried about small children be sure your selection is equipped with safety features like knobs located out-of-reach on the backsplash, push-to-turn knobs and indicator lights to show when burners are turned on.
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