Surface Controls; How To Set The Controls - GE Self-Cleaning Electric Range Use And Care & Installation Manual

HOW DOES THIS COOKTOP COMPARE
Your new cooktop has electric coil surface units.
If you are used to cooking with gas burners or other
types of electric cooktops, you will notice some
differences when you use electric coils.
Type of Cooktop Description
Electric Coil Flattened metal
tubing containing
electric resistance
wire suspended
over a drip pan.
Radiant Electric coils
(Glass Cooktop) under a glass
cooktop.
Induction High frequency
induction coils
under a glass
surface.
Solid Disk Solid cast iron
disk sealed to the
cooktop surface.
Gas Burners Regular or sealed
gas burners use
either LP gas
or natural gas.

How to Set the Controls

Push the knob in and turn in
either direction to the heat
setting you want.
Be sure you turn control to
OFF when you finish cooking.
The surface unit "on" indicator light will glow
when ANY heat on any surface unit is on.
Cooking Guide for Using Heat Settings
HI—Used to begin cooking or to bring water to a
boil. Reduce heat setting after water boils.
Medium High—(Setting halfway between HI and
MED) Maintains a fast boil on large amounts of food.
MED—Sauté and brown; keeps food at a medium
boil or simmer.
Medium Low—(Setting halfway between MED and
LO) Cook after starting at HI; cooks with little water
in covered pan.
8
TO YOUR OLD ONE?
How it Works
Heats by direct contact with the pan and by heating the air under the pan. For best cooking
results, use good quality pans. Electric coils are more forgiving of warped pans than radiant
or solid disks. Heats up quickly but does not change heat settings as quickly as gas or
induction. Electric coils stay hot enough to continue cooking for a short time after they are
turned off.
Heat travels to the glass surface and then to the cookware, so pans must be flat on the
bottom for good cooking results. The glass cooktop stays hot enough to continue cooking
after it is turned off. Remove the pan from the surface unit if you want cooking to stop.
Pans must be made of ferrous metals (metal that attracts a magnet). Heat is produced by
a magnetic circuit between the coil and the pan. Heats up right away and changes heat
settings right away, like a gas cooktop. After turning the control off, the glass cooktop is
hot from the heat of the pan, but cooking stops right away.
Heats by direct contact with the pan, so pans must be flat on the bottom for good cooking
results. Heats up and cools down more slowly than electric coils. The disk stays hot
enough to continue cooking after it is turned off. Remove the pan from the solid disk if
you want the cooking to stop.
Flames heat the pans directly. Pan flatness is not critical to cooking results, but pans
should be well balanced. Gas burners heat the pan right away and change heat settings
right away. When you turn the control off, cooking stops right away.

SURFACE CONTROLS

Medium
Low
The best types of cookware to use, plus heat-up and
cool-down times, depend upon the type of burner or
surface unit you have.
The following chart will help you to understand the
differences between electric coil surface units and any
other type of cooktop you may have used in the past.
At both OFF and HI the control "clicks" into position.
You may hear slight "clicking" sounds during
cooking, indicating the control is keeping the unit at
the heat level or power level you set.
Switching heats to higher settings always shows a
quicker change than switching to a lower setting.
Medium
NOTE: The surface unit "on" indicator light may
glow between LO and OFF, but there is no power to
the surface units.
LO—Used for long
slow cooking
(simmering) to
tenderize and develop
High
flavors. Use this
setting to melt butter
and chocolate or to
keep foods warm.