Fast and bold: a review of the hob market

To make the process of selecting a cooker hob more constructive, it is worth paying attention to what the developers offer their customers new.

Miele KM 3034

Siemens ER326AB70E

GAS ON THE PLATE

Innovations in gas cooker hobs are connected with two points. The first is the flame power of large burners. Cooking requires certain temperatures, and nothing changes drastically in this respect. Therefore always put on the panel small burner for small dishes and very slow cooking, its power 0,7-1,0 kW, a pair of medium 1,6 kW, rarely 2,0 kW and one powerful burner of 2,7-3,0 kW for large-sized dishes and kettle. Just these big burners continue the race for power. In the course of this race, conventional burners are gaining more and more serious features. The Electrolux EGT7355NOK and Fornelli PG 60 Favorito IX have burners that work at 3.8 kW. Three-row Wok burner on Bosch PPQ718B91E, AEG HG5654421U, Candy PV 750 SN/1, Teka CGW LUX 60 4G AI is already 4 kW. Siemens models now have an ordinary burner with a capacity of 4.2 kW. On the Miele KM 2356, the burner operates at 4.5 kW, while the KM 3034 has already reached 4.7 kW.

The Neff T26R86N0 Wok burner has two rows of flames, which cook at 5 kW. At the same time, the burner circuits can be adjusted individually.

Wok burners have reached the value of 6 kW, and consequently the approach to cooking has changed – “fast” dishes first of all, we are talking about the oriental cuisine are now ready in a few minutes. Current models include Siemens ER326AB70E and Neff T69S86N0.

Stuffing and smart controls

The second direction of changes is in the control: the “stuffing” of devices, invisible to the eye, and, actually, the control unit, which has to be touched many times a day. Here the use of electronics is becoming more and more active. And maybe soon panels with the usual rotary knobs will be a thing of the past.

Kuppersbusch GKE 6840.0 M and Gorenje GT 7P2 also have touch control, but it works on the principle of more or less, that is, you have to press the button a few times to bring the flame to the desired level. With conventional glass-ceramic it’s familiar and appropriate, but with gas, where settings are made by feel, the system seems cumbersome.

In the past, child safety was very simple: The regulator only opened the gas supply when. Today we use systems similar to those used in electric cookers where it is possible to de-energize, i.e. to switch off the panel or protect existing settings by pushing the. For example, the Mainswitch button on the Bosch PRP626M70E allows you to open or lock the gas flow and turns off all the burners at once with one button press. But it’s already possible to protect the gas panel with touch buttons. Bosch PRP626F70E and Siemens ER626PF70E hobs are equipped with such buttons and light indicators.

Let’s repeat?

Very handy gas burner reignition function. It’s triggered when the flame goes out, the system activates the ignition to restore combustion of the element, usually in three attempts. If they are unable to reignite the burner, the gas control system goes off and shuts down the gas supply Bosch PRP626F70E, Neff T26R86N0, Miele KM 2356 .

The developers of gas cookers have found one vulnerability of these appliances. When the burners are in operation, that is, when the cookware is standing on them, it is not obvious what the power of the flame is, especially if the sauté pan or frying pan is of an impressive size. As a result, the AEG HG694340XB appliance has an LED power level indication, the panel knobs are illuminated so that the intensity of the flame is visible.

The speed ones are getting faster

A breakthrough is likely in store for those with Hi-Light elements. The new Miele KM 62 series has started to use the ExtraSpeed function. It is specific to only one element of the appliance and serves to heat foods, particularly liquids, more quickly. Three liters of water boil in 11 minutes for the ExtraSpeed cooking zone. 21 sec. A regular Hi-Light element will do it in 17 minutes. 28 sec, i.e. 30% longer. The heating effect is accelerated by the increased capacity of the heating zones for example, the KM 6230 has 3.4 kW and the use of more efficient temperature sensors. But the ExtraSpeed elements are more economical than usual, because they do their job faster. Another special feature: when heating begins at full power, the large dual-circuit heating element periodically shuts down the inner ring, while the outer ring operates almost continuously.

The new series uses an updated security system. The burner shuts off automatically if there is no food in the pot or pan, if the bottom of the cookware does not adhere well to the hob, if the cookware material has poor thermal conductivity, or if there is no cookware on the hob.

New as well as new. manufacturer’s panels, can communicate with the Miele@home and Con@ctivity smart home system. The Con@ctivity system automatically adjusts the speed of the extraction turbine, according to the intensity of cooking on the hob, which should ensure a pleasant cooking climate in the kitchen without human intervention.

For pleasant conversations

The touch controls for glass ceramic hobs are being perfected all the time. The AEG MaxiSight® touch display transmits information in color and makes it clearly visible. The higher the level of heating of a zone, the bigger its icon and the color is closer to red, when it cools down the icon will decrease and its color goes from orange to yellow.

Circular sliders are sometimes used to control the panel, it is as convenient and intuitive as the linear ones, but the movement of the finger goes on a more compact area. Try it on the Kuppersbusch EKE 8342.1 ED, Electrolux EHF 96747 FK.

AEG hobs e.g. HK955070XB help you save energy. The OptiHeat system monitors the residual heat level to make the most efficient use of it, as a result it helps to optimize energy consumption. Timer functions in the same way &Ouml ko. It uses the residual heat of the burner during the last minutes of the cooking process.

The Hi-Light frying sensor is located underneath the burner of Bosch induction plates e.g. PKV975N24D . It evaluates and, depending on the user’s settings, automatically regulates the frying temperature and controls the process by itself. The sensor allows you to achieve precisely the desired result. The system can operate within the existing automatic programs. One disadvantage: it is desirable to use a special frying pan, which you have to buy additionally.

Kuppersbusch EKI 9960.1 has three automatic settings: the melting stage at 42° C, the keep warm stage at 70° C and the pasta cooking stage at 94° C. The temperature is kept at the same level during cooking.

Let’s bring it into focus

The term “autofocus”, which has become commonplace, describes the enduring drive for innovation on the part of the developers of induction technology. Let me remind you that the autofocus, as applied to cookers, is the function by which the device determines the location and size of the dishes on its surface. Until recently, the achievements in this area could boast not all market players De Dietrich, AEG, Kuppersbusch, Gaggenau. This function is now even more affordable.

Bosch for example, PIV975N17E and Siemens EH675MV17E induction hobs use FlexInduction zones. They adapt to any shape and size of cookware, and they also offer the freedom to choose where you want your crockery “parked”: they heat but only within the zones wherever you put it. AEG MaxiSense hobs combine two large cooking zones into one extra wide MaxiZone burner. It offers the same flexible use of the surface, ensuring perfectly even cooking.

Hansa joined the theme of “freedom” on the hob at the end of 2013. She showed her new product – not two, like regular induction cookers, but six coils, so you can place dishes as you wish within the fields.

Another novelty – the Miele KM 6395 panel has one large field on which pots and pans can be placed at will. There are 36 induction coils. Model has 3 operating modes. Multi – use up to 5 pans, with individual settings for each. Solo mode offers you one setting for the entire range – you can cook on a large griddle or on several smaller ones. Mode for celebrations – one dish, many servings. Trio mode – three zones with their own settings. The panel is equipped with a display, which clearly shows the position of pans on the panel and shows the settings of each of them.

The design decides everything

But as important as the “guts” of our appliances are, we still have great demands on their appearance. Now there is a tendency to slightly enhance the overall perception of the device through the color, the contour of the burners, the placement of the control unit. That’s why many new products look more interesting and enticing than ever before.

The Bosch PIB679F17E, Electrolux EGT96342YX and Siemens EH679MB17E hobs are in stainless steel color. And thanks to the high-gloss surface of the glass ceramic, “steel” appears to be covered in a deep layer of lacquer. Practically flat surface of the AEG HG755420UM from beautifully polished steel has no frame, due to which it looks not only ascetic, but also very effective.

The Bosch PPQ718B91E, Whirlpool ACM 808/BA/S have an unusual and at the same time noble look. The color quartz will be more harmonious with stone countertops, especially in the color with a gray undertones of a richer shade. Siemens EC845XB90E hob combines three materials: polished stainless steel, black glass and cast iron. Glass on the control panel. And cast iron covers the burner type grill.

More and more white panels. They blend in well with other snow-white appliances, and there’s no need to constantly dust them off, with white omissions being less noticeable. For example Gorenje IT 641-ORA-W, Hansa BHIW67303, Zigmund&Shtain CNS 139.45 WX. Bosch PPP611B91E hob is made of white glass, and the burner and grid areas are made of cast iron.

The AEG HG694340XB stands out thanks to its mounting features. It’s flush-mounted to the countertop, but has a beautiful Promise XL steel frame.

Hansa has updated its series of models with print. For example, there are hobes VNC63500, VNC63502 and VNC63503 with fancy and floral print, wood cut print VNC63501 . Another example of non-trivial design are the Kaiser Avantgard series panels, in particular the KCT 3426 FI Avantgard. The appliance is literally littered with lettering I counted 7 of them!! , and in different font and in quite large letters.

The Fornelli PV 6012 FRESCO hob is printed with floating semi-transparent triangles. The idea applied on the PI 60 Magnete hob looks even more interesting and appropriate – the circles that indicate burners, seem to glow due to the color graduation from light to dark gray. This design has something in common with the solution implemented on the Gorenje ECT 680-ORA panel by designer Ora. The outlines of the Fornelli PV 60 MIRA GGIO heating zones are suggestive – they appear to be lit planets against a black sky.

The Sata company continues its experiments with outlines of burners, on one of new products T 604 the outline is given in the form of two connected “S” letters. The incomplete heating zone circles on the CATA TCDO 604 FVI BIS and other panels of the series still look interesting.

Most brands use a simple linear and “checkered” print, like Miele KM 6349, AEG HK884400FG, Smeg SI4631CBS. It makes the surface of the appliance more interesting, smoothes out the black sharpness a little. And you won’t have any problems with fitting into a kitchen, either. On the Fornelli PG 60 PERFEZIONE hob there is a grid of white crosses against a black background.

For large and small

For large kitchens, plates are available in a row. The housewife has equal access to each of them – and they look beautiful, too. Kuppersbusch GKS 11742. The 0-35F is equipped with two Wok burners and is 1.1 m wide. The width of the Teka IR 942 HS and the Siemens ET975MK21EHS is 900 mm.

Teca and Sata offer their new cloud-shaped panel for installation on the corner of the table. Teca VR TC 95 4I induction hob, with the possibility to combine two zones into one. And the Teka VR TC 95 and Cata TC 904 OR FVI with HighLight burners.

And for compact kitchens, it became popular to use the hobs with three zones of width about 44-51 cm PV 45 Delizia, Kőrting HG 455 CTGRN, KuppersbergFQ4TGW .

Gorenje GT 7P2

AEG HG694340XB

Miele KM 6230

Bosch PKV975N24D

Touch control

Siemens EH679MB17E

Miele KM 6395

Kuppersbusch GKS 11742. 0-35F

Kőrting HG 455 CTGRN

Hansa VNS63501