When it comes to buying kitchen hobs there are several factors to consider:
Fuel type: gas, electric and induction
Number of cooking zones: 4, 5 or 6
Size: 60mm or 90mm
Then if that wasn’t enough to start you thinking, if you are going down the electric hob route, do you go with a solid plate hob, ceramic or induction? If you fancy gas are you going stainless steel, glass or black? Oh and did someone mention air venting hobs?
So, as you can see there are several factors to consider when buying a hob, but that’s okay as we are the experts in hob reviews and have unearthed what we think are the best hobs for you to buy now and for all budgets.
Best portable induction cooktops. Handy to have!
When it comes to researching a hob it’s a good idea to have an understanding of some of the more popular features they have to offer. Knowing what features are available and a little insight into what they do and why they might be helpful to you will really help you when you are reading hob reviews and making your short list of desired hobs.
For example, depending where you are in your life a child-safety lock may be an essential feature for you, but not a feature that everyone would want or need.
A relatively new feature on hobs. They can help you to maintain control of your cooking. Some will turn off at the time you set it or beep to let you know when you set it up. Personally this is a feature on my induction hob, but one that I have never used and I am not sure why I would need this feature.
The power boost feature lets you boost the power and is great for bringing pans of water very quickly or for dishes that require a really high heat such as when you want to sear a steak or stir-fry.
Commonly found on induction and some ceramic hobs. Their purpose is to stop children from changing the settings when the hob is in use.
Found on induction hobs. This is a feature that I really like and use when I have a particularly large pan of food on the go. I can set my hob to cook using both hobs on the same side to aid even cooking.
Dual Zones are found on ceramic hobs and similar to flexible cooking zones found on induction hobs. They are a smaller cooking zone inside a larger cooking zone and are great when you are using many zones and have a pan that is large and needs more space.
Wok burners have several names, you will also see them as ‘ultra-rapid burners”, “boosters” and even “triple crown burners” on gas hobs. Their purpose is to create an intense & high power heat fast. As the name suggests “wok burner” they are idea for stir fries but also if you want to boil water fast.
Only to be found on gas hobs, automatic ignitions are there to ignite the burners when you push down and turn the dial. Those who have or have used older gas hobs will know that they use to be made with an additional button that you held down to spark the flame.
Yes, an odd one to add to the bottom of our list and not a feature, however, are you aware the with an induction hob you may not be able to use your regular pans? You may need to purchase a specific set compatible with induction hobs or special heat diffusers for induction hobs.
If you are still looking for further information on hobs we have the following guides available to help you:
Hob Guide
How to Clean an Induction Hob
Is it Worth Getting an Induction Hob?
Are Gas Hobs a Standard Size?