Tag Archives: Cooktops

How To Clean Stove Drip Pans

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Cleaning your stove top is like making the bed: even if you do it today, you’re still going to have to do it tomorrow, too.

If you have an electric coil stove you have drip pans, which – by name – catch drips. Even if you clean your range top often, it’s a mess the next time you cook. Make cleaning drip pans easier with these methods.

How To Clean Stove Drip Pans Fast

The fastest, easiest – and perhaps even most effective way to clean the surface – is with Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, or a generic version of this melamine foam sponge.

It looks like an ordinary sponge, but because it’s melamine, it actually has little microscrubbers that can remove discoloration and baked on mess with minimal elbow grease.

That being said, it is abrasive in nature so it can scratch or dull surfaces if you’re not careful. Let’s save this cleaning method for Why didn’t you tell me you’re mother was visiting? times.

How To Spot Clean Stove Drip Pans

For day to day drips and stains, make sure the burner’s completely cooled and pull it up and out from the stove top. Wet the drip pan and sprinkle on a liberal amount of Bar Keeper’s Friend. Use a rag to work the cleaner into a paste and polish off the mess. Rinse and dry thoroughly before replacing the pans.

How To Deep Clean Stove Drip Pans

Pick a time when you don’t need to use your sink or stove for several hours, like right before bed or work. Again, wait until the stove is cool and remove the burners. Put each burner pan in separate gallon plastic bags. Add 1/4 cup of ammonia to each and fill the remainder with hot tap water. Close the bags and let them sit overnight (or for several hours).

Then, drain the bags and scrub off the loosened mess. Rinse well before applying any other cleaners, as ammonia can create toxic fumes when mixed. Rinse and dry thoroughly before replacing.

Bonus: Clean drip pans for your electric stove don’t just serve cosmetic purposes; keeping the surface reflective ensures the most efficient use of heat, meaning you’ll use less energy when you keep your burners and drip pans clean.

How do you keep your stove drip pans clean? Tell us in the comments!

DCS 36 Gas Cooktop

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DCS gas cooktop

DCS gas cooktop

DCS Appliances is trying hard to be the go-to brand for people who cook. (You might have seen them in action on America’s Test Kitchen.)

DCS was purchased by the (probably better-known) New Zealand brand, Fisher & Paykel but inherited its focus on performance from the commercial DCS products, so “home chefs” are likely to be pleased.

Especially with the DCS gas cooktops.

Of course faster boil times are great, but you don’t want to screw up delicate sauces when you’re trying to simmer. Sealed Dual Flow Burners, unique to DCS appliances, provide the control you need.

DCS 36 gas cooktop

On the 36 inch gas cooktop (CDU-365), the powerful center burner can roar at 17,500 BTUs on the 36 inch gas cooktop.

This 5 burner gas cooktop can hover at a gentle 140 degree simmer on ANY burner — so you won’t scorch your five pots of chocolate. (Hey, you never know, right?)

Sealed burners and a sleek design mean no more hard-to-reach spills. And heavy duty grates cover the entire stainless steel cooking surface to make sliding larger pots and pans easy (hello, canners!).

Big, distinctive knobs are easy to use and offer visible confirmation of cooktop temperatures.

There’s also a 4 burner 30 inch gas cooktop, which like the 36 inch cooktop can drop into any kitchen counter. And a one-touch downdraft vent can be added to both the 30 in and 36 in models.

What Is An Induction Cooktop?

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Gas or electric? Home cooks everywhere debate this age old question. They like the speed of electric, but the control and responsiveness of gas. But what if you could get all the good qualities of gas and electric cooking in one? Well you can. It’s called induction.

How Does Induction Work?

Instead of using an electric or gas-heated element, induction cooktops use electric currents to heat pots and pans directly through magnetic induction. If you want to get more technical, the electric current passes through a coiled copper wire under the cooking surface, creating the magnetic current. This only works with magnetic cookware, such as cast iron or stainless steel. To know if your cookware would work with induction, try sticking a magnet to the bottom.

Induction Cooktop Benefits

What do you lose with induction? All the wasteful energy loss. Cooking with induction is 70% more efficient than gas and 20% more efficient than electric. Because the heat is direct, your pots and pans heat up quicker. In fact, boiling is 50 percent faster with induction than electric cooktops. Home cooks appreciate the precise temperature control induction provides.

Cleanup is easier  because spills don’t burn onto the surface. You can stick a hundred-dollar bill between an induction burner element and a pot of boiling water without worry. This also makes induction cooktops popular choices for kid- and pet-safe kitchens.

Due to its recent rise in popularity (induction has been around since the ’70s but only took off recently), brands now make induction ranges in addition to induction cooktops. We can’t wait to see more people delight in the ability to cook like they’re using gas without the cost and hassle of switching from electric.

Featured image via Frigidaire