Some days, cooking can bring on feelings of elation and joy. These are times when you create incredible culinary masterpieces – or just a delicious home-cooked meal for your family. Despite your love for cooking, you will surely encounter days when creating anything in the kitchen feels like a chore. 

For a little spark and a little inspiration – even on days you don’t feel like cooking – having the right appliances can help. In fact, it can take cooking to a whole new level. You may try new flavors and new recipes or experiment with new cooking methods. There are so many opportunities.

All you need is a stainless steel cooktop. 

Do you really notice a difference with a stainless steel cooktop? Can having one really enhance your cooking experience? We could give you the facts about your incredible experience with a stainless steel cooktop and let you be the judge. 

Or, we could tell you that yes – yes, your cooking experience is sure to be enhanced with a stainless steel cooktop. If you don’t have one, you need one. Just look at all the ways you can use it. 

Evaporation

Evaporation is used more often than you may think. It is when the liquid found in the food is good until it becomes a gas. As a result, you get a more concentrated finished product. It is more flavorful, too, since the water that diluted it has been removed.

You will commonly use evaporation methods when things like sauces, jams, syrups, gravies, etc. 

Blanching

It is not uncommon to find a recipe asking you to blanch something. Unfortunately, not everyone understands what that means. 

Blanching is a technique in which food is placed in hot water (or any type of liquid, including oil) for about 60 seconds or so – sometimes less – before being removed. It is important to know that the timeframe can vary from food to food. 

Blanching is easily done when using a stainless steel cooktop. And you can find it commonly used for veggies, such as sugar snap peas, carrots, green beans, broccoli, asparagus, and cauliflower. This helps to bring out the bright color of the veggie while still keeping the crunch. In the instance of a tomato, the blanching allows the skin to peel right off. 

Those who prepare food for storage and future consumption often use blanching. 

Boiling Water

That’s right – something as simple as boiling water can be a better experience when used on a stainless steel cooktop. 

How often have you sat and watched a pot of water boil? How often has it seemed to take forever?

When you can’t get dinner moving forward without boiling water, you need it to get boiling quickly. That is what happens when you have the right cooktop. Thanks to the high-intensity burners backed by a powerful heat source, you can just the right amount of heat to quickly get things moving. 

Simmering

Simmering is a cooking method used in many different recipes, from the most elegant to boxed meals. Essentially, it is a slow, low means of cooking – just below the boiling point. You don’t want the food to boil so it requires constant monitoring to be sure that it doesn’t. 

As mentioned, simmering is commonly used – and it can be beneficial in dishes such as soups, stocks, pastas, potatoes, rice, beans, and more. 

Poaching

Poaching is often used in relation to eggs, such as poached eggs, but it can be used to cook many different foods – chicken, fish, and fruit. 

With your stainless steel cooktop, you have the control to get the temperature just right. It needs low temperatures to poach. It isn’t the simmer you are looking for, but rather temperatures of 155 to 175 degrees Fahrenheit. That means lower temperatures than simmering. It takes the right cooktop to make this happen. 

Delicate foods are placed into the liquid to cook, whether water, wine, broth, or milk. The heat that cooks the food is sourced from the liquids and fat. 

Frying

To get the perfect fried crunch, you have to know how to properly fry food. Of course, you have to have the proper tools to do it, too, such as a pan with sides (the higher the sides, the better to prevent splashing) and a stainless steel cooktop.

Frying can be done by using enough oil to cover the food halfway and flipping to cook the other side. Or deep frying can be done in which the food is completely submerged in the oil to cook. 

While meats and veggies are most commonly used for frying, you can fry just about anything – macaroni and cheese, cookies and cakes, pickles, tacos, and even ice cream. 

Sauteing

Rather than using a whole pan full of oil to fry foods, sauteeing involves using just a little bit of oil. This keeps foods from sticking to the pain and helps with the conduction of heat. It leaves a nice golden brown on the surface of your cooking. 

It is common to saute vegetables and meats cut into small pieces. This allows the heat to penetrate it and cook it quickly without disrupting the texture and flavor – and without drying out the food. 

Other Stainless Steel Cooktop Enhancements

When you invest in a high-quality stainless steel cooktop, you can create many delicious dishes with various cooking methods, such as frying, poaching, blanching, and so forth. 

What most don’t stop to consider, however, is that you can keep food warm until it is time to eat and reheat leftovers so that they taste delicious. And, in times of an emergency when heat is needed – your gas stainless steel cooktop can become a heat source, too. 

If you don’t have one, then perhaps now is the time to invest in a stainless steel cooktop. Adding this drop-in unit to your countertop or island makes a wonderful addition to any kitchen.