Cooktops offer design versatility. They can be installed on an island or anywhere there's adequate counter space. Offered in gas, electric, and dual fuel, today's cooktops may be designed with integrated downdraft ventilation, varying burner placement, and front or side controls. Smooth electronic touchpads are easy to clean and digital readouts and push-and-turn controls are convenient safety features
Available in many widths, a standard drop-in 30" top includes 4 gas burners or electric elements — the wider the cooktop, the more burners and options are offered. Electric cooktops are available in the traditional coil or more popular glass top models. Typical residential electric burners provide from 1,000 to 2,600 watts. Pro-styled rangetops offer front, face-mounted controls with more commercial styling. Low 5,000 BTU burners maintain a simmer, and high 15,000 BTU burners can boil water quickly. The new modular versions allow you to interchange griddles, wok rings, steamers, and deep fryers to create your own personalized system for cooking. Though it's more expensive than a traditional range, coupling a cooktop with a wall oven or two is a stylish way to balance form and function.
Gas Cooktops
Preferred by most serious cooks, gas cooktops, designed with open burners, have direct flame contact and quick temperature adjustment. Today's pro-style cooktops offer heavy-duty performance but require high-performance ventilation to handle the high output of heat, steam, and grease. The price for a gas cooktop depends on the style and options you choose.
Thinking about a gas cooktop? Here are some things to consider:
- All offer high-power, professional-style 13,000 - 18,000 BTU burners
- Some offer a low-BTU simmer burner
- High-power burners require heavy cookware
- Continuous grates accommodate oversized pots and allow for easy movement between burners
- Some manufacturers offer dual burners, designed with a double ring of flame to provide faster, more even heating
- Sealed burners make for easier cleaning and usually incorporate an electronic ignition
- Automatic re-ignition, a common feature, restarts the flame if it's accidentally extinguished
- Infrared technology found on commercial-style tops distributes heat evenly on charbroilers and griddles
- Optional drip pans catch cooking spills
- Porcelain-covered cast iron grates simplify cleaning, and some grates are even dishwasher-safe
- Available in tempered glass, porcelain-coated steel, or stainless steel
- A 30" pro-style gas cooktop ranges from $500.00 to $2,500.00
Electric Coil Cooktops
The least expensive cooktop option, electric coil models are the traditional electric cooktops. Their spiraled metal elements prop up or unplug for easy cleaning and sit down into a recessed area that often has a lip to contain spills.
Thinking about an electric coil cooktop? Here are some things to consider:
- Unlike smoothtops that cycle on and off, electric coils offer continuous heat output and can hold a simmer
- Coils hold heat longer after the burner is turned off
- Burners come in various sizes
- Standard coil burners put out 1,500 to 2,600 watts
- Electric coil burners will tolerate warped pan bottoms
- Available in stainless steel or porcelain-coated steel
- A 30" electric coil cooktop starts at about $300.00
Ceramic Glass Cooktops
The most popular style of electric cooktop, attractive ceramic glass smoothtops boast easy-to-clean features. Ceramic glass tops are available with three different types of heating elements or a combination of them. The most popular is radiant ribbon, which is similar to the traditional coil technology but hidden under the glass top. Quartz halogen is often combined with the radiant ribbon, as is magnetic induction. Induction cooking uses electromagnetic energy to produce a high frequency to heat the magnetic material in the cookware, not the cooktop.
Thinking about a ceramic glass cooktop? Here are some things to consider:
- Radiant ribbon ceramic tops offer higher wattage and faster heat than electric coil or gas
- Electric burners don't typically offer consistent simmer control, but some models offer burner controls with microprocessors that provide steady and even heat
- Ceramic glass tops work best when the pan size matches the burner size
- Some tops may offer a bridge element, an extra element located between two burners to create a larger cooking area
- Dual-zone or dual-element radiant burners, providing two different heating diameters in one burner, let you adjust the heat zone to the size of the cookware
- Some tops install flush to the counter
- Most tops will not contain spills
- The use of flat bottomed pans is required for even heat distribution
- Extra working space is a bonus, though cutting is not recommended on the surface
- Glass tops can scratch and break easily and be expensive to replace
- Baked-on spills require a special cleanser
- Quartz halogen cooktops offer instant heat-up but have the longest cool-down time
- Magnetic induction cooktops heat and cool quickly, with a surface that stays cool to the touch. They're energy-efficient, with almost no heat loss; require iron or steel magnetic cookware; and are offered in limited sizes and models
- Hot surface indicator lights and control lockout options are useful safety features
- Available in black, white, almond, and bisque
- A 30" radiant model starts at about $400.00
- A 30" quartz halogen model starts at about $800.00
- A single induction 14", 1800 watt model is about $599.00; a 3000 watt model is about $949.00
- A 30" radiant combined with induction is about $650.00
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