I had a tough time finding enough stainless steel hobs to review. It looks like many users are moving to glass hobs - mainly because of the aesthetic appeal that it adds to the kitchen.
But stainless steel hobs are more rough and tough than glass hobs. There is no issue of cracking / breaking of stainless steel hobs - which could happen with glass hobs - but that’s most often due to improper use (placing hot items on glass, uneven use of burners, using vessels not intended to be used). In addition, you can use gas tandoors esp. the traditional gas tandoors, which is one of the main items that cannot be used in glass hobs.
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Ok now that we have discussed the obvious benefits of stainless steel hobs, let’s identify the best stainless steel hobs.
Size of stainless steel hobs
Most stainless steel hobs come in 2 sizes, 60 cm or 90 cm width. The 60 cm ones range from 10K to 20K in price while the 90cm ones can be fairly expensive - as currently only Bosch has that size. Kaff and Elica have 90cm stainless steel hobs but at the time of making this video - both were unavailable for review.
Burners of stainless steel hobs
Next thing to consider are the burners - the number of burners, flame size and type of burners. Typically 60cm versions have 3 or 4 burners and 90cm ones have 4-6 burners.
For the flame size - you need to determine these based on your type of cooking. If you cook more dishes in small quantities, you may need to buy one with smaller flames. If you cook in larger quantities you may want to buy a kitchen hob with larger flames. So take a judgement call based on your usage. I’ve shown on the screen how it is for each of these kitchen hobs. The large burners are almost always triple ring burners for more efficiency in cooking.
About the type of burners - Indian burners made of brass or aluminium are the fastest, have the best longevity and are ideal for Indian cooking. Italian burners are mainly useful for slow cooking. So if you prefer to do slow cooking or need extra boiling without things spilling over (like for tea) - then you may want to go for an Italian burner. These days, to suit Indian style cooking, these burners also come with a double or triple ring - which speeds up cooking. Most Indian households prefer the Indian burners or Italian burners with multiple rings - double or triple rings. Surprisingly - most stainless steel hobs come with Italian style burners - with double or triple rings. Some claim aluminium or aluminium burners, not brass - except for Hindware Athena.
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Type of vessels - stainless steel hobs
Since these are stainless steel hobs, there is no restriction on the type of vessels you can use - you can use cast iron pans, can use a gas tandoor as well - which is not possible with glass hobs.
Ignition is in general electric with the exception of Faber which almost always has a battery option. If you live in an area with frequent power fluctuations, you may want to go with the battery or manual ignition
Flame failure detection in stainless steel hobs
From a safety point of view, flame failure detection is a technology that turns off the gas supply if the burner is turned on but there is no fire. This is to avoid gas leakages. Amongst the models compared, only Bosch has it. Kaff does not publish it - but looking at their other models with glass hobs, they may not have it either.
Unlike in glass hobs, all these models can only be used as hobs. Not as hobs + cooktops. Except for Faber, all models come with a 2 year warranty. Faber comes with a 1 year warranty.
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Top stainless steel hobs in India
With this background, my recommendation for best stainless steel hobs are as follows:
If you are looking for a model with high safety features, then the Bosch Serie 4 60 cm model is ideal for you. Available at a price of about 21k, this model gives a 2 year warranty, a flame failure detection for safety, auto electric ignition and an Italian multi flame burner. It only has 3 burners though. 3 burners works for somebody like me, but if you are heavy on multi tasking in the kitchen, you may want to go for 4 burners.
At a budget option, I recommend the Faber hob. Available at a price of about 10K, it also comes with an Italian burner with 4 burners. With 1 large, 2 medium and 1 small burners, it is ideal for somebody who cooks in small to medium quantities on a frequent basis. It has a battery operated ignition - which is ideal if you stay in an area with power fluctuations. This is the only model that offers a 1 year warranty though - unlike others that offer a 2 year warranty.
For the 90 cm model- I would recommend the Kaff model at a reasonable price of about 29K. It has 6 Italian burners with aluminium, electric ignition with a 2 year warranty. It does not have flame failure detection. It has been out of stock for a while though, in which case the alternative is the Bosch Serie 6 at about 43K.
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