Which stove is better to choose for the kitchen. Additional features - necessary or not. Oven - classic or multifunctional.

The stove is the main appliance in the house. After the fridge, of course. Many housewives pay great attention to the choice of the stove, because the quality of the dishes they prepare depends to a large extent on its work. What to look for when choosing a stove - read in this article.

Plates

Users usually do not have questions about choosing a source of heating for stoves. Here the determining factor is the ability to connect the stove in your apartment and there are only two options - gas or electricity.Over the question of which stove to choose, you have to think. The following types are currently on the market:

Plates with gas ovens;

• gas stoves with simple and multifunctional electric ovens;

• electric stoves with conventional burners and an electric oven;

• electric stoves with glass-ceramic surface, progressive burners and electric oven;

• combined stoves with gas and electric burners;

• built-in panels and dependent and independent ovens.

Before choosing a stove, decide on your cooking needs. Are you going to cook dinner parties every day, or are you limited to scrambled eggs and bacon in the morning and rarely eat at home at all. It largely depends on what your stove should be.

Chefs prefer to cook over an open fire. known fact. This is due to the fact that on an open fire, the products heat up faster and more evenly, therefore they are less exposed to heat and, as a result, retain more taste and nutrients. The flame from the gas burner almost instantly heats the dishes in which food is cooked. After turning off the gas burner, the effect on the products immediately stops. Thus, the cooking process when using an open fire is easier to control. However, the products of combustion that fall out after using such plates settle on the walls and kitchen furniture, which does not happen with electric stoves, which, by the way, are much easier to maintain.

All cookers have a unified working surface kitchen height - 85 cm. However, manufacturers equip the plates with adjustable supports with a margin of 5 cm, taking into account possible floor irregularities.

The width of the slabs ranges from 50 to 90 cm. Small slabs are produced for small kitchens. It happens that a large frying pan on such a miniature stove takes place immediately under 4 burners, respectively, such dishes heat up unevenly, but only from the edge where the burning burner is located. Wide slabs - for spacious kitchens and large dishes.

The depth of the slabs available on the market is between 50 and 60 cm, but 60 cm slabs are more common.

If the kitchen is small, then it is better to buy a freestanding gas, electric or combined gas-electric stove in it.

As for kitchens with built-in equipment, built-in ones are better suited. hobs and ovens. On the working surface, gas and electric burners, fryer, steamer, grill or wok pan.

The width of the hob can be from 30 to 90 cm. The wide hob includes 4 burners and 2 electric ones under the glass-ceramic coating.

If the organization of space in the kitchen involves the use of built-in household appliances, in kitchen cabinet at a height convenient for the user, a separate oven with independent control can be installed. For safety reasons, there should be cavities around the perimeter of the oven, blown by a fan so that the furniture panels do not catch fire from excessive heat. Taking air from the room, and throwing it out together with fumes from the oven into exhaust system, the fan lowers the temperature of the oven body, as well as all its parts.

Plates are different both in appearance, ease of use, hygiene, and in the materials used in their production.

An inexpensive cooker consists of 2 independent parts - a hob and oven. Panels with protruding burners are less convenient to use than smooth ones, and besides, they are more difficult to care for. Hobs are equipped with metal or glass lids that protect the hob from contamination. Glass lids are easier to clean than metal lids. Removable roofs are preferable to those that cannot be removed. By removing the lid, the user can better clean the plate, including in the places where the lid itself is attached. It may seem that glass lid- short-lived and if carelessly lowered onto the stove, it can be damaged. However, manufacturers supply such plates with a special mechanism that ensures that the lid is lowered smoothly onto the hob.

Usually under the oven there is a drawer for storing dishes and kitchen utensils. AT inexpensive models it doesn't move out. Only the possibility of detaching the lid of the box is provided, which is not very convenient during cleaning. In inexpensive cookers, this drawer is very small and low, so you can store only pans in it. However, a roomy compartment in more "advanced" models allows you to place large-sized dishes.

The hob has a metal or ceramic base with burners on it, which can also be made of different materials and various designs. Inexpensive hobs with hotplates are usually made of enamelled steel, which is highly hygienic and may have different colors. However, the enamel is quite difficult to clean from traces of "escaped" soup or milk, fat droplets and burnt food residues. After the forced use of abrasive materials to clean such a surface, scratches appear on the enamel, and care for it is even more difficult. In addition, the enamel is unstable to chipping.

Stainless steel panels are polished or matte. Although they are easier to care for than enameled surfaces, they can be stained by fingers, so special cleaners are needed to care for stainless steel.

Glass ceramic looks beautiful and is easy to clean, but is afraid of the effects of sugar, which changes its structure and physical properties. Therefore, you need to be very careful when preparing dishes using products containing sugar. So that “shells” do not form on the surface from accidentally spilled liquids containing sugar, you should immediately remove them or use periodically updated films. Glass ceramics must also not be cleaned with abrasive detergent compositions or materials.

Glass-ceramic surfaces pretty durable. They withstand static loads up to 25 kg/sq. cm and are superior in durability to other components and parts of the plate. For cooking on such surfaces, you can use dishes with a bottom diameter of 12 to 21 cm, except for aluminum pans, which leave marks on the surface. Glassware should have a smooth or slightly concave bottom.

There is also a variety hob called "gas on glass". In this case, the surface itself is hidden behind a layer of glass-ceramic or tempered glass. Usually glass-ceramics are more expensive than tempered glass, which is explained by the good thermal conductivity of this material, but in this case this parameter is not important. The gas burner heats up the cookware instantly. Therefore, it is wiser in this case to choose tempered glass. The disadvantage of such surfaces is only one - they are quickly scratched, so you need to handle them carefully.

Ovens

The design of the oven affects the ease of use, as well as the quality of cooking. Hot vapors during cooking must be vented through a hole in the rear wall into the hood. Thanks to this feature, the oven controls will not get hot and the grease will not bake on them, so cleaning them will be much easier.

The coating of the inner walls of the oven must be easy to clean, withstand high temperatures and resistant to any organic acids. Oven cleaning can be traditional, pyrolytic or catalytic. Traditional cleaning passes in the usual way manually using detergents and rags. Pyrolytic cleaning is a self-cleaning system that burns grease and other dirt inside the oven at a very high temperature. The decay product - ash - is removed with a damp cloth. This is the maximum effective method, so stoves that support this type of self-cleaning are not cheap.

With a catalytic purification system, internal surfaces the working chambers are covered with finely porous enamel with special catalytic properties. They accelerate the process of fat oxidation and its splitting. This method is convenient in that it runs automatically during cooking. However, it is less efficient than pyrolytic, so sometimes the inner chamber of the oven has to be washed.

In order for the interior of the oven not to lose heat, it is important that it is well insulated. Often housewives complain that the oven is "lying" about the temperatures that it should give out. For this reason, the quality of the food remains unsatisfactory. You have to use trial and error to adjust to the operation of the oven. The point here is the tightness, or rather not the tightness of the door. It is important that the oven door is well sealed, and it is better that it be with double glass coated with a heat-reflecting compound.

The ease of use of the oven is created by a retractable trolley with telescopic guides, thanks to which the process of removing baking sheets becomes easier and cleaning more comfortable. In addition to all of the above, all modern models ovens have a backlight inside the working chamber to monitor the cooking process.

gas stoves

Gas stoves come with a gas and electric oven. The first, respectively, is cheaper than the second. The disadvantage of such stoves is that they are fire hazardous and pollute the surrounding space with organic combustion products. Therefore, when using such a plate, it is recommended to install a simple hood. This plate does not require special utensils, fit even aluminum pans. By the way, a pan with concentric grooves on the bottom heats up faster than the same pan with a smooth bottom, since it has a larger heating area.

The dimensions of the burners must correspond to the dimensions of the cookware. Ideally, the flames should only heat the bottom of the pan, not the sides. Otherwise, dishes and handles suffer, especially if they are plastic. The time spent on cooking also increases.

The protruding burners of gas stoves are equipped with cast-iron grates (double, which is more convenient, or single) and steel covers covered with dark enamel. The removable grate allows you to take care of the stove without removing the dishes from other burners and without turning off the stove. Steel lids on burners sometimes become unusable from contact with liquids, but they can always be replaced.

In general, protruding burners are not the most the best way, since it is difficult to care for such a stove, and the dishes are not installed securely on them. On a flat burner, in turn, it is not dangerous to put pots, it is easy to clean and looks good.

The shapes of the burners are also different. In addition to round burners, you can also find triangular ones, on which pots can be placed without the use of additional grates. The pan can be placed directly on the surface of the burner. This form factor ensures uniform heating of the bottom of the dishes. Caring for such a stove is much easier. Oval burners are good for oval cookware, it also ensures uniform heating, which means good quality dishes.

There are also special burners for cooking over low heat. Without them, it will be difficult for a cook, since stewing meat and vegetables, as well as preparing sauces, can only be done on such a fire, and it is almost impossible to adjust a conventional burner to these needs. The fact is that the flame is completely hidden under the lid of the burner, so the heat is evenly and slowly distributed over the surface of the bottom of the pan.

Powerful multi-circuit burners for fast food have several levels. They create 2 or more heating zones, the heat from which is directed to the center and along the edges of the bottom of the dish, which ensures instant and uniform heating. Such burners are very convenient and easy to use, so they are especially popular with housewives.

Gas stoves by manufacturers:

gas ovens

Gas ovens are:

• classic (without fan) with 2 heating modes;

• multifunctional (with fan) have up to 8 heating modes.

Classic ovens are the simplest and most inexpensive devices. At the bottom of the camera they have gas-burner, and at the top - a gas or electric heating element - a grill. Some of them are not even equipped with an auto-ignition function. That is, the burner is ignited either manually using a pneumatic lighter or matches, or manual ignition is provided. This makes the oven a fire hazard, because if the flame is accidentally blown out, the gas continues to flow. To avoid flame extinction, hollow burners and auto-ignition systems are installed in ovens with a fan, since the fan can easily blow out the flame. Ignition can be manual (installed in ovens without a fan) or automatic switching on. To use the first, you need to press the ignition button and at the same time turn the gas regulator knob. Auto-ignition is carried out only by changing the position of the handle.

The volume of the oven is one of its main parameters, if you have big family or you like to receive guests. If this is the case, then make sure that the oven is equipped with all kinds of additional devices, as well as a grill and a skewer.

The problem of cleaning the oven is especially acute, because inexpensive stoves do not provide for a catalytic self-cleaning method, so they have to be washed by hand, which is difficult and inefficient. When using the catalytic self-cleaning method, side walls working chamber are covered special composition(catalyst) absorbing fats. At the end of the cooking process in such an oven, you just need to wipe the walls with a damp cloth. However, the coating loses its effectiveness after about 5-7 years of operation. Therefore, in expensive models, it is possible to replace removable internal panels.

Grills

A gas grill, unfortunately, cannot be automated, although it is more economical than an electric one. The electric grill, on the other hand, provides uniform heating and more precise stepwise temperature control. In general, this function is rather the final cooking and is used to obtain a crispy crust at the final stage. Rotary spit is used for cooking large pieces meat, poultry and fish. The uniformity of roasting or baking of the dish is ensured, of course, not by the grill, but by convection.

Electric ovens

Electric ovens are:

• static;

• multifunctional.

In a static oven, heat is used tubular electric heaters top and bottom of the camera. In the upper part of the chamber there can be a grill and a skewer. An electric grill, as we said above, although more expensive, provides more uniform heating and is easier to regulate than a gas grill.

Multifunctional electric ovens equipped with convection, which allows you to cook a variety of dishes by changing the heating and precise observance temperature regime. In such ovens, 4 heating elements (heating elements) are used: top, bottom, side and located on back wall around the fan, which evenly distributes hot air throughout the entire volume of the chamber, which allows you to cook food at once on several levels.

Self-cleaning of the walls in electric ovens can be carried out either catalytically or pyrolytically. In the second option, the oven is heated to 500 ° C, due to which all organic products burn out. After cleaning, you need to wipe the walls of the chamber with a damp cloth, since the decomposition products of organic matter are still on the walls of the chamber, albeit in the form of ash. It is logical that when using this method of cleaning, the room is distributed strong smell burning, therefore, such ovens should be combined with a good hood, arranged so that it can be used with the door closed. As for pyrolysis, it is used only in electric ovens, since gas ovens are simply not able to heat up to such a temperature.

Multifunctional electric ovens can have more than 8 operating modes:

• defrosting frozen food when room temperature. Convection works;

• defrosting frozen foods warm air. The fan and the bottom heating element work in the oven. Used for drying mushrooms, vegetables and fruits;

• regular cooking. The top and bottom heaters are on. The mode can be used for cooking pies, cottage cheese, pizza;

• accelerated cooking. Two heating elements (upper and lower) and a fan are included. The mode can be used to cook fruit pies, casseroles, roasts, fried vegetables;

• fast cooking at different levels. The fan works with and the heating element around it;

• "brown" dishes and baked goods. Top grill included;

• grill. A grill heating element is included which directs the heat directly onto the food. The mode is recommended for browning dishes, cooking casseroles, thin pieces of meat, fillets, fish, sandwiches and vegetables;

• grill with forced circulation air, allowing you to achieve an even "brown" food and the formation of a crisp. Heater and fan included. The mode is recommended for cooking large pieces of meat, shish kebab, whole poultry, baked meat and grilled chicken.

Electric stoves
Electric stoves are more expensive than gas stoves, however, they are less flammable. Such stoves come with protruding burners or glass-ceramic hobs. Burners under glass ceramics can be different:

• conventional burners with an electric spiral inside;

• halogen;

• induction;

• tape heating elements.

Since the thermal conductivity of glass ceramics is low, the surface of the stove outside the cookware remains almost cold. Heating zones can be different both in shape and size. It all depends on the volume and shape of the bottom of the dish. For example, there is oval zone heating for ducklings, there are zones and a rectangular shape.

The dishes must be selected clearly according to the size of the burners and with a flat bottom. Otherwise, the burners will wear out quickly. Ordinary metal burners slowly heat up (10 minutes) and slowly cool down.

The power of the burners can also be different. For example, if the burners of medium power heat up in 10 minutes, then the burners increased power are designed for quick heating and warm up in 7 minutes at maximum power. After the hotplate has warmed up, it switches to low power mode. The degree of heating corresponds to the degree of glow of the burner marked in red. There are also automatic burners. They are marked with a white spot in the center and independently, thanks to a temperature sensor, determine the moment of boiling water, reducing the heating power.

Radial burners with three radially arranged heating elements heat up in 8-10 seconds and provide even heat distribution, which is good for slow cooking.

Radial burners with band heating elements (High light) heat up in 3 seconds. In terms of heating rate, they are close to gas ones.

The burner with a heating element heats up in less than 20 seconds.

Halogen burners, labeled Latin letter H (Halogen), heat up in 1 second. The heating tubes in such elements are filled with rarefied halogen vapors. Electricity causes these vapors to emit light and infrared waves. Such burners very intensively heat the entire area of ​​the bottom of the pan, instantly stopping heating when turned off. Thus, cooking time and energy consumption are reduced.

Induction burners only heat the bottom of the cookware. The cooking surface does not heat up. When choosing cookware for induction hobs, you need to follow certain rules. The bottom of the pan should be thick and must be made of magnetic material. The fact is that under the glass-ceramic coating is located induction coil, which interacts with magnetic material, thereby exciting electromagnetic oscillations in it. As for the harm / health benefits, the low-frequency electromagnetic field does not affect this factor in any way.

All electric stoves are equipped to a greater or lesser extent with elements automatic control. On the simple models a timer and a temperature controller are set to control the temperature.



More complex models have the full range technological innovations. Touch sensors on glass ceramics allow you to turn on the stove with the touch of a finger. Indicators on the control panel indicate the status and operating modes of the stove. The timer fixes the start and end time of cooking.

The size of the dishes and their filling can also be adjusted automatically. So, additional sections are automatically included heating elements if the area of ​​the bottom of the pan is large. Otherwise, if there are no dishes or the pan is empty and heats up too quickly, the automation will turn off the burner. A slowly heating pan will cause the heating to continue. There are functions that make the hotplate recognize the presence/absence of metal utensils. If there is no pan in the center of the heating zone, the hotplate will automatically turn off. With semi-automatic control, the heating area is increased manually - by turning the temperature control knob, pressing a button or touching the sensor.

Boiling can also be controlled by automation. The letter "A" is displayed on the control panel, indicating that the food is boiling. After boiling has occurred, the stove will automatically switch to the minimum heating mode, and then to the working mode in order to maintain the set temperature. Temperature sensors are located at the corners of the cooking surface, which monitor the temperature inside the pan with high accuracy.

Many "advanced" electric stoves are equipped with "Thermoprobe", which determines the degree of readiness meat dishes- a probe that is inserted inside the product. As soon as the temperature of the meat reaches the set limit, sound signal and the automation turns off the stove. In order to save energy, the automation can turn off the power supply of the heat-consuming burner before the food is completely ready. An interesting function that provides for cooking with the burner turned off due to its residual heat.
Included with some electric stoves are special frying pans with frying sensors, which, when the set temperature is reached, give sound and light signals. Smart frying pan fries without splashing oil, so ignition is excluded.

Some electric stoves support an electronic memory function that remembers the heating modes for cooking those dishes that the user cooks most often. It remains only to choose the appropriate program. The cooking parameters will set themselves. There are electric stoves, the systems of which contain parameters for cooking according to recipes, both installed at the factory and stored in the memory of the electronic processor of the oven using the Internet.

Electric stoves by manufacturers:

Combined gas-electric stoves by manufacturers:

Security

There are several aspects responsible for the safe operation of cookers. Fire safety deserves special attention. Many gas stoves, except for the simplest ones, are equipped with the "Gas Control" system, which, when the flame goes out, automatically turns off the gas supply to the burners and burners of the oven. As for stoves not equipped with this system, we recommend that you treat the possibility of gas leakage responsibly and prevent the occurrence of a fire.

The electrical safety of the stoves, in turn, depends on the matching power of the stove and the capabilities of the power supply. Before choosing stoves, make sure that the electrical network in your home is able to withstand such loads. However, automation protects the electrical network from possible overloads. If a malfunction is detected, it will first turn on alarm on the hob control panel, after which the hob will automatically turn off.

To prevent the fire of furniture built-in panels, manufacturers equip the stove with temperature limiters on the surface of the stove, which turn off the power when the oven is heated above the set limit, and this, according to European requirements for fire safety- 90 °C.

Mechanical safety is ensured by the rounding of the corners of the slab and the installation of removable or recessed control handles. External parts of the sconst plate handcrafted and manufactured in such a way and from such materials as to Small child I couldn't pinch or burn myself. Automation also warns of the danger of burns. The letter "h" on the control panel indicates that the temperature of the hotplate that was recently used has already dropped to 60 °C, but you can still burn yourself.

Remember that the installation of an electric stove can only be trusted by a qualified specialist. Imported gas stoves must be adapted to the operating conditions of Russian main gas networks. In most cases, a readjustment of the device is required, since electronic automation is very sensitive to voltage fluctuations and may refuse to work if there are large deviations.

Conclusion

We hope our article will help you in choosing a stove. Both gas and electric stoves have their advantages and disadvantages. However, perfect option always somewhere in the middle, so if you are an amateur cook, we advise you to pay attention to the combined stoves. They have concentrated in themselves all the advantages of both types, therefore they provide all the possibilities of cooking.

Among the variety of stoves, everyone can find a model to their taste. There are a few basic questions that need to be answered before purchasing a device. What is the budget for future purchases? Which stove do you need: gas, electric or combined? What type of burners do you need? Of course, these are not all the parameters that buyers pay attention to. So, about everything in more detail.

From the history of household stoves

On June 11, 1742, the famous scientist and politician Benjamin Franklin invented cooker. He drew attention to the fact that in American stoves most of the heat is lost in the chimney. His stove turned out to be very economical, with cast-iron walls with high thermal conductivity. So the scientist was able to reduce fuel consumption, heat loss and furnace parameters.

Of course, Franklin's small-sized stove was difficult to call a stove, but it was quite possible to cook food on it. In Russia, such stoves were called potbelly stoves.

Types of household stoves

According to the type of stove, they are divided into electric, gas and combined. The choice depends on the heating source and the possibility of connecting the device to it. As for combined stoves or, as they are also called, gas-electric, they are a combination of standard stoves. The advantage of such a stove is that it can be used regardless of power or gas outages. In the event of a power outage, you can always cook food on gas burner, and if the gas is turned off, then electricity will come to the rescue.

Advantages of gas stoves

The main positive quality gas stoves is economical and more convenient adjustment heating. Unlike electric stoves, they do not need time to heat up the burners. In addition, there are a lot of other advantages of gas stoves:

• Price. They are much cheaper than electric ones.

• Presence of ignition in modern models.

• Utensils from absolutely any material are suitable for cooking.

The disadvantages include the possibility of gas leakage, but manufacturers have taken care of this. Many gas stoves are now equipped with a gas control system.

How to choose a stove?

Advantages of electric stoves

Modern electric stoves have a predominantly glass-ceramic surface. Their advantages include attractive design and ease of care, to the minuses:

• Strict requirements to the used utensils.

• Long heating time.

• Potential for surface cracking during use (applies to glass ceramics).

By type of plate can be divided into built-in and freestanding. The first option is classified as elite technology. Built-in appliances emphasize the design of the room, save space and, most importantly, there are no gaps between the countertop and the stove. stand-alone - classic version, which is gradually losing its positions.

Which stove is better to choose: gas or electric?

How to choose a good hob?

Before purchasing a hob, you should pay attention to what material it is made of. Enamel, stainless steel, glass-ceramic and tempered glass are the main materials of the hob.

1. Enamel is a cheap material that can chip or scratch over time. Washing off grease from such a surface will not be easy.

2. Glass ceramics. More expensive option. Easy to clean and quickly heats up the surface.

3. Stainless steel- one of the most durable coatings. Care of the surface of the stove is not difficult, and it will suit any kitchen interior.

4. Strained glass- inexpensive surface. Its disadvantage is that it can be easily broken or scratched.

The number of burners can be different: three, five or even more. The same goes for their forms. Square, round, rectangular - for everyone interior fit special model. When buying a hob, you need to decide on the types of burners. They are:

• Gas. Found in gas or combined stoves. They heat food quickly and easily. But the dishes on such burners heat up extremely slowly.

• Induction. They remain cold throughout the entire operation. Heating is carried out directly to the dishes. To use burners, cookware only made of cast iron or enamel is suitable.

• Ceramic. This is a tribute to the design of household appliances and the ability to quickly heat up to a suitable temperature level.

How to choose a hob?

The size of the burners varies. So, a burner having large diameter, used for cooking in dishes of the appropriate size.

How to choose an oven

Choosing an oven is an important task. By type, they are also divided into electric and gas. They bake, stew and simmer in the oven, so it must meet all the needs of a modern housewife. Namely, it is easy to clean, some models are equipped with pyrolysis or hydrolysis cleaning.

When buying an oven, you should give preference to options with convection, which allows you to quickly and evenly cook food, and the presence of a grill in the oven is another positive point.

How to choose an oven. Medical advice

Additional functions of the cooker

Home appliance manufacturers are constantly coming up with something new. Apart from standard features, which everyone is used to, they offer models with a lot of useful additional features.

Among the most popular are the following:

• The "gas-control" function instantly cuts off the flow of gas and prevents its leakage.

• Electric ignition. Used in gas stoves. Replacement for matches and other elements of fire ignition.

• Protection from children. An actual function for those who have inquisitive kids at home.

• Illumination of an oven allows to watch process of preparation, without opening a door.

• The express hotplate enables quick cooking. It is equipped with several rings of heating elements, which can significantly reduce the cooking time.

• Recognition of metal utensils. Used in induction cookers.

How to clean a gas stove

The editorial staff of uznayvse.ru reminds that the stove is not the only one Appliances to help prepare food. No less tasty and healthy meals can