Questions and Answers
1. May I can foods
and
greser;es on my cooktop?
A. Yes, but only use cookware
designed for canning purposes.
Check the manufacturer’s
instructions and recipes for
preserving foods. Be sure canner is
flat-bottomed and fits over the
center of the solid disk element.
Since canning generates large
amounts of steam, be careful to
avoid burns from steam or heat.
Q. Why does the solid disk
element smoke when I first turn
it on?
A. This initial smoking is both
normal and necessary. A rust
preventative is applied to each
element at the factory. When the
unit is turned on for the first time,
the coating will burn off the
element areas. This takes
approximately five minutes and
should be done without cookware
on the element; otherwise, the
– coating
will
stick to the cookware.
Q. Why is the cooktop hot to
the touch?
A. More heat is transferred to the
cooktop by the solid disk elements
than by conventional coil elements
because the solid disk elements are
clamped securely to the cooktop.
This, of course, eliminates
spillovers
from getting inside the
cooktop chassis. The secret to
keeping the cooktop comfortably
cooler is to turn the cooktop on
only after the cookware and its
contents are placed on the element.
More heat will then be transferred
to the cookware and the food
rather than the cooktop. The
cooktop temperature will not cause
damage to the cabinets,
countertops or cookware.
Q. Why am I overcooking my
food?
A. The solid disk elements are
very energy-efficient and retain
heat much longer than
conventional coil elements. Food
will continue to cook three to five
minutes after the controls are
turned off. We recommend that
you begin cooking at lower
settings than you have in the past
and gradually increase or decrease
heat as desired. The energy savings
are significant.
Q. Why does it take a long time
to cook my food?
A. The extra time it takes to cook
food on a solid disk element
compared to a conventional coil
element is measured in seconds,
not minutes. These few seconds
are due to the greater mass of the
solid disk element. If the food is
cooking slowly, it is because the
cookware is warped or has an
uneven bottom surface. If
flat-
bottomed cookware is used, the
cooking performance of solid disk
elements will closely parallel that
of conventional coil elements, but
with less energy consumption.
Q. Can I use special cooking
equipment like an oriental wok?
A. We recommend that you use
only a flat-bottomed wok. They are
available at your
local
retail store.
The bottom of the wok should
have the same diameter as the
element to ensure proper contact.
Do not use woks that have support
rings. This type of wok will not
heat on solid disk elements.
Q. Why is the porcelain enamel
finish on my cookware coming
off?
A. If you set your solid disk
element on a heat setting higher
than required for the cookware
material, and let the cookware sit
too long, the cookware’s finish
may smoke, crack, pop or burn,
depending on the pot or pan. Also,
cooking small amounts of dry food
may damage the cookware’s finish.
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