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Surface CooHng
foods and preserves
Q. May I can
on my solid disk elements?
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 solid disk element. Since
canning generates large amounts
of steam, be careful to avoid burns
from steam or heat. Canning
should only be done on surface
units. Follow our recommendations
in the Home Canning Tips section.
Why
Q.
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 any cookware on the
element. Otherwise, the coating
will stick to the pan.
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 coils because
the 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 with the new solid disk
elements?
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 tike a long time
to cook my food?
A. It doesn't. The extra time it
takes compared to the conventional
coil element is measured in seconds,
not minutes. These few seconds are
due to the greater mass of the element.
If the food is cooking slowly, it is
because the pok and pans are warped
or have an uneven bottom surface.
If flat bottom pots and pans are
used, cooking performance of the
solid disk element closely parallels
that of the coil element with less
energy consumption.
Q. Can I use special cooking
equipment, like an orientil wok,
on my solid disk elements?
A. Cookware without flat surfaces
is not recommended. The life of
your solid disk elements can be
shortened and the range cooktop
can be damaged from the high heat
needed for this type of cooking.
Q. Why is the porcelain finish on
my cookware coming ofR
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 finish.
11
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