The ceramic hob
10
Choosing suitable pans
Greater attention needs to be paid to the type and con-
dition of pans used on ceramic hobs than it does with
radiant hobs. Here are some points to remember:
• Check the pan bases. Bases which are convex (curve
outwards) will tend to spin on the hob and will not
conduct heat very well.
• Aluminium is a good conductor of heat, but it
can leave silver-coloured stains on the hob. You
can remove these stains with the hob cleaner
supplied with the cooker.
• Glass vessels and enamelled bases with a rough
pattern will – if pulled back and forth across the
surface – cause greater wear on the hob than
other materials.
To save you time and therefore energy, the contact
surface of the pan base should:
• be at least as large as the hotplate. If the base is
smaller than the hotplate, any spillages are quite
likely to burn onto the hob.
• be smooth or have a fine pattern
• be flat. It takes longer to heat a pan with a base
which curves in or outwards too much.
When you are buying new pans, it is advisable to
choose stainless steel ones with sandwich-type bases
(i.e. layers of different metals).
Save energy!
• Putting a lid on pans cuts the amount of energy
used by half (compared to cooking without lids).
• Using pans with flat bases saves 25% energy
(compared to uneven based pans).
• Make sure the hob is clean and dry. Dirt and
moisture reduce heat transfer between pans and
hotplates.
• Turn the hotplates off and finish cooking using
the remaining heat.
• Save energy by steaming and pressure-cooking.
aluminium
