Cooker Hob

Just as cookers are powered by two main fuel types, electric and gas, so do cooker hobs come in two types,

1. Ceramic electric hob
2. Solid plate electric hob
3. Gas hob

Each has it's benefits. The chief benefit of an electric hob is that it heats a pan evenly, unlike a gas hob, where the heat is directed just to the centre of the pan. Ceramic hobs are faster to heat, nearly instant like gas, and are easier to clean than solid plate hobs.

The chief benefit of a gas hob is the control over the heat. A temperature of a gas flame can be controlled instantly, which is of benefit to chefs, whereas the heat on a solid plate hob can take minutes to heat to the desired temperature.

Gas or electric, what both have in common is the number of burners or heat rings. As pictured below, four is the standard configuration on most hobs, although some gas hobs do offer an additional wok burner.

The dimension of hobs, whether gas or electric is standardised to 60 cm.

For electric hobs, the ceramic hob is more expensive and desirable. And specifically the halogen ceramic hob which gives near instant heat control.

Both have their difficulties in cleaning. For gas hobs the metal casing needs to be removed for easy access. Whereas burn marks can stain electric hobs and may require a ceramic hob scraper.