Questionsand Answers

Q. May I can foods and preserves on my solid disk surface units?

A. Yes, but ody 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 surface unit. Since canning generates large amounts of steam, be careful to avoid bums from steam or heat. Canning should only be done on the surface units. Follow our recommendations in the Home Canning Tips section.

Q. Why does the solid disk surface units smoke when I first turn it on?

A. This initial smoking is both normal and necessary. A rust preventative is applied to each surface unit at the factory. When the unit is turned on for the first time, the coating will bum off the surface unit areas. This takes approximately 5 minutes and should be done without any cookware on the surface unit. 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 surface units than by electric coil surface units because the surface units 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 surface unit. 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 with the new so~d disk surface units?

A. The solid disk surface units are very energy- efflcient and retain heat much longer than the coil surface units. Food will boil or fry 3 to 5 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.It doesn’t. The extra time it takes compared to the electric coil surface unit is measured in seconds, not minutes. These few seconds are due to the greater mass of the unit. If the food is cooking slowly, it is because the pots and pans are warped or have an uneven bottom surface. If flat-bottomed pots and pans are used, cooking performance of the solid disk surface unit closely parallels that of the coil surface unit with less energy consumption.

Q.Can I use special cooking equipment like an orienti wok, on my sotid disk surface units?

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 surface unit to ensure proper contact. Do not use woks that have support rings. This type of wok will not heat on solid disk surface units.

Q.Whyis the porcelainfinishon my cookware comingo~

A.If you set your solid disk surface unit 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 bum depending on the pot or pan. Also, cooking small amounts of dry food may damage the cookware’s finish.