Tips for Choosing the Best Gas Hob

Gas hobs are preferred by kitchen experts and professional chefs. If you're thinking of buying one, read our tips and advice first.

All kitchen experts and even amateur cooks prefer a gas hob over a ceramic hob. To make choosing the best gas hob easier for you, we’ve prepared a series of useful tips.

Have you noticed that chefs always have gas hobs in restaurant kitchens? This is no accident. In addition, if their use is continuous (as is the case with restaurants), gas hobs have a longer life. The reason is that they heat with greater power and speed.

Now you know the benefits, all you have to do is choose the one that best suits your needs.

Choosing the best gas hob: butane or natural?

One of the first decisions you’ll have to make when you’re choosing the best gas hob is if you want to use butane gas or natural gas. None of them is perfect, so we’ll give you the advantages and disadvantages of each one.

• Butane gas: this is cheaper and gives good results. In recent years, butane hobs have lost popularity due to the constant need to buy butane bottles. For many, it’s annoying to carry the bottle home or to wait in for delivery. If you opt for butane, don’t forget to follow the safety instructions and perform periodic checks to make sure that the entire system is in perfect condition.
• Natural gas: although we can find natural gas in a wide range of prices, a gas hob is more expensive than a butane one. The best benefit is that it’s not necessary to use a bottle, so using it is more convenient as you won’t have to concern yourself about when the bottle will run out. For this reason, practically all gas cookers installed today are natural gas.

What size and number of burners do I choose?

Another decision that you’ll have to make when you buy a gas hob is the number of burners you’ll need and their size. Normally, domestic gas hobs have between two to five burners, although the most common types have four and combine different sizes. To help you choose the number of burners, we recommend you take into account the following points:

• Number of members in your family. If you live alone and don’t usually cook for anyone else, maybe you can get by with a two-burner gas hob. They’re practical and take up very little space. Obviously, given their size, they’re also the cheapest.
• Number of people you cook for. If you’re one of those people who love entertaining, we recommend a gas hob with at least three burners. It should combine two small burners with one medium or large-sized burner. Don’t make the mistake of buying a large gas hob that then leaves little space for food preparation. Find the right proportion between both countertop space and the space that a gas hob needs.

Choosing the best gas hob: safety first

Unlike ceramic hobs, gas hobs have a visible flame. For some people, this proves too dangerous. On the other hand, for professional chefs, these are the best as they allow the temperature to be regulated with greater precision.

Either way, there’s always the fear that you’ll inadvertently leave the gas on. That’s why we recommend buying a gas hob with a safety system. These systems cut off the flow of gas when the flame goes out. If for any reason the flame goes out, the gas will automatically stop, removing all danger.

However, gas hobs with safety systems are generally more expensive. Despite this, don’t skimp on safety; make this your main priority. It’s worth spending a little more money and being able to cook with complete peace of mind.