The most obvious difference between traditional cooktops and the ones of today is modular additions. Built-in steamers, woks, barbecue grills, griddles, and deep fryers allow home cooks to customize their cooktops to the way they prepare food.

Buying a professional appliance gives your kitchen more than just a hip, stainless-steel look. For the money, a professional cook top comes with professional heat, measured in Btu. Btu stands for British thermal unit; one Btu is what it takes to heat one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit.

Jenn-Air is the last manufacturer to still make an induction cooktop. Their most popular induction model has two induction burners and two standard radiant burners.The first radiant cooktops didn’t heat up quickly.

There are three basic types of cooktops— gas, electric coil, and smooth-tops. The old coil burner, normally the least expensive way to go, is still a fine choice. The coils should be about the same size as the bottoms of the pots, although some coils offer dual element options.

Everybody has an opinion about cooktops, based on some combination of cooking style and past experience. These days, it’s possible to disagree about far more than simply preferring electric coils over gas, or vice versa.