It's a gas! Cooking's a breeze with these cooktops.(TEST: Gas cooktops)(Product/Service Evaluation)

Publication: Choice (Chippendale, Australia)

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COPYRIGHT 2005 Australian Consumers' Association

These cooktops look pretty flash with their shiny stainless steel surfaces, five burners and cast iron or enamel trivets. They look like they're straight out of a commercial kitchen or Jamie Oliver's abode--and most cook as well as they look.

All the cooktops did reasonably well at cooking up a feast of beef and vegie stir-fly, rice and white sauce. And if you have problems when cooking, you can often make adjustments to improve the result.

On the other hand, you can't do much about a cooktop's layout or design--and some of those on test weren't great. Ideally you'd want both the simmer and wok burners at the front of the cooktop, so it's easier to stir a sauce or stir-fry, for example. The ELECTROLUX CHEF, WESTINGHOUSE, and MIELE models have the simmer burner behind the wok burner, making them harder to reach. The KLEENMAID and FISHER & PAYKEL have the best layouts; see What about the rest?, page 44, for more.

CAST IRON OR ENAMEL TRIVETS?

Cast iron trivets are heavier than enamel trivets, so they move around less when you're cooking and stirring--it's also easier to slide pots over them. But they're more likely to scratch the stainless steel hob surface so you'll have to be extra careful.

ANYONE FOR BBQ?

Six tested models have a fish/BBQ burner (see the table, page 44). It's an elongated multi-purpose burner that's great for poaching whole fish and for char-grilling steaks and vegies on a griddle plate placed on top.

We cooked fatty steaks on a griddle plate to see how well and evenly the burners cook. Grease splashed over the entire cooktop and controls, making them difficult and time-consuming to clean. They also produced lots of smoke so a good rangehood is a must.

Although most cooktops cooked the steaks well, using an outdoor BBQ for greasy foods is a better and less messy option. Stick to char-grilling vegies, lean cuts of meat and poaching fish instead.

All the griddle plates (see the table for which models have one) are cast iron except the one supplied with the/AEG. This is a relatively lightweight Teflon-coated griddle that didn't seem to get hot enough, which resulted in a low score for the AEG for cooking steaks....

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