3 Reasons You're Not Getting Best Hob Isn't Working (And Solutions To Resolve It)
How to Choose the Best Hob
There are many factors to consider when choosing the ideal hob, ranging from cost to energy efficiency. Determine which features are the most important.
A basic electric ceramic stove could cost as low as PS100 however, you'll have to spend more for a model with a lot of features. Gas hobs are a popular choice, and offer great temperature control, but they're also more expensive.
1. Haier I-Flex Induction Hob
With four cooking zones and three functions called 'Push&Go', this hob from Haier can help you make quick meals. It was one of the fastest to boil water in our tests, taking only four minutes. It's child-safe and comes with a pause function, so you can quickly stop the process without having to mess around using controls.
Its style is sleek and modern and is a great match for contemporary kitchens. It is usually made of glass (shatterproof and heatproof) or ceramic, and has controls that are flush with the worktop for ease of use.
The controls were easy to use and we appreciated the display that displays the current power level and the zone that is currently in use. The 'Boost' feature generates high-powered heat for a short period of time, and is ideal for stir-frying, or bringing pans of water to the boil quickly. The hot hob light and automatic shutdown are useful safety features, too.
It's not as responsive as the other hobs in this test. It took nine presses to reach maximum temperature, in comparison to six or seven for other models. It takes a bit longer for the pan to respond to changes in temperature. It is possible to adjust the settings a few times to get the right temperature.
This model is 60cm long and comes with four cooking zones including a half-flex zone that two zones can be joined to accommodate larger pots and pans. It has a dual-ring design and can operate on both 'normal' and 'boost power levels. The Boost model is great for frying, searing meat or bringing water pans to a rapid boil.
It is fully integrated with the hOn app and includes 100's of recipes, guided cooking, and 30 unique programmes divided into different food categories and types of cooking. It has an intuitive multislider interface and a 'lockable' control panel, plus it is able to automatically detect the kind of pan you're using and set the proper cooking mode. It's also compatible with third-party hOn pan sets and has a range of security features, including a lockable control panel and boil-dry protection.
2. Smeg I-Flex Induction Hob
If you're working on your kitchen or simply searching for a substitute to gas induction hobs, they are becoming increasingly popular. Prices have plummeted in the last few years, with the simplest four-zone models starting at less than PS100. If you want all the bells and whistles that include induction, it's worth paying extra for the latest innovations.
This sleek model from Smeg features the latest induction tech to keep your cooking efficient and easy. The innovative Auto-pot detection system automatically detects the location of pots with a minimum diameter of 9cm, which allows you to select the correct zone without having to manually select it.
Smeg's focus on energy saving does not mean that they don't offer flexibility The hob is built to reduce power consumption by setting the maximum operating temperature of the zones to suit your cooking needs. Eco-Logic advanced mode lets you to save more energy, reducing the power output to as low as 2.4kW.
The user-friendly interface of this stove impressed testers, with its intuitive sliding controls that follow your pan along the edge of it. The control panel's colour scheme allows you to quickly determine the status of each zone, while the 'Flexi Duo' feature allows you to connect two zones together to accommodate larger pans. There are many useful features, including four cooking presets that automatically cook (melting boiling, melting slow cooking, and keeping warm) and a Power Boost for super-quick results.
The oven also comes with a FlameSensor which will alert you when there's a risk of a meal that's been burned or the possibility of a fire. There are several safety features like the residual heat sensor, as well as an automatic shut-off when the surface becomes too hot.
It also has an anti-corrosive CleanProtect coating to protect it from tough marks and stains from cooking. The stove is simple to install and has nine power levels, as well as a handy 'FlexiDuo' feature for catering to large pans. There are a few bonus features, such as control locks, as well as an emergency fuse to stop accidental button pushing.
3. Indesit I-Flex Induction Hob
They are powered by electricity, not gas, induction hobs use copper plates that create a magnetic field when the pan is set on the top. They are able to heat up faster than gas hobs, and they also use less energy because the cooking area only gets hot when you turn on your pan. They are generally less expensive to operate than gas, and they are also less difficult to clean.
Indesit's induction hob is full of features to allow you to be creative when cooking. It has two separate cooking zones that can be combined to form the Dual Zone for larger pans and an accelerated Booster zone to bring water to a boil quickly. For ovens , the Push&Go allows you to cook perfectly at the touch one button. And nine power modes that include a 'P boost setting that gives each zone maximum power for five minutes, can be easily selected with the controls, which move across the bottom of the hob to follow the pans.
The controls are simple to operate and the minimalist design is perfect for a modern kitchen. In our tests, it boiled pasta water in a flash and was quick to heat up once we placed a pan on the Booster zone. It took some time to cool down after we turned off the hob, and the testers had difficulty seeing the exact temperature on the control panel.
This Indesit hob also features a bridge function, which allows you to combine two cooking zones for larger pans. It also has an overheating and child lock block as well as an auto switch-off system that stops the appliance from working when it's overheated. Ceramic glass is easy to clean and has no flames visible. Our testers were impressed by the fact that there was no visible flame. Ventilated hobs unlike traditional extractors draw smoke and steam from the pan out of the room via a duct on the surface. The duct on this hob was easy to clean, however it took two people to take the filter out.
4. Induction Hob manufactured by GE
When selecting a hob think about how it will fit into your kitchen's design and layout, in addition to your cooking style and life. Induction hobs are a great choice if you cook with children or older people in mind. They have safety features like automatic shut-offs and a cool-to-touch surface. If you're looking for speed and efficiency, a ceramic glass fascia on an electric hob is the ideal option. For those who live in areas susceptible to load-shedding, the ability to use gas hobs in power outages could tilt the balance in favor of gas models.