Problem with hob temperature

Merlin5

Merlin5

Merlin5

Soldato
Joined
17 Aug 2009
Posts
18,357
Location
Finchley, London
I made some welsh cakes today, meant to be fried at medium low heat, but when I tried frying some pieces on my hob setting of 4, I couldn't get them fully cooked on the inside without the outside going too dark, almost burnt. The temperature for what I'm frying is meant to be about 350 to 375 F, cooked 3 to 4 minutes per side. After less than 3 minutes, the outside looked perfect, but when I broke a piece open, a fair bit of the dough was raw.

My electric hob does 1 to 9. I've been testing with my IR thermometer pointed at the frying pan. On 2 it goes to about 276F which is too low. I tried cooking on 2 and after 4 minutes, it hadn't toasted one side at all. And on 3 it goes to over 420 F which is too high. Bringing it back to 2, it will obviously eventually hit 350 on its way down, but that surely isn't ideal.


So how might I go about getting the temperature I need where I can fry slowly but that it cooks properly inside while not blackening the outside?
 
That's the problem with electric hobs, the temperature doesn't drop as quickly as you need it to like a gas hob. And there's no graduation of temperature settings, it's one or the other, nothing between.
 
That might work but not really the answer I'm looking for to be honest. I don't think you've ever posted in La Cuisine, so instead of patronising me, perhaps you can just run along back to Motors and GD and I'll wait for a La Cuisine regular like myself that might either agree with you or give me a more solid solution.


edit: Well I've just tried frying on 2 again. Hmm, I think I can make this work. It's taking a good 10 to 15 minutes per side, way longer than all the recipes say, but it seems to be cooking the inside and outside as I want them, and the texture doesn't seem to be suffering. I know that for instance, pancakes cooked on too low a temperature can end up being tough.
 
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What kind of hob is it? Is it truly an electric ring hob, is it halogen or induction? And what kind of pan are you using? Stainless or aluminium? Does it have a thick or a thin base?
 
It's a Baumatic hob, not induction, just a regular halogen I think. Two large and two small rings. The pan is an Ikea 365+ I've used for ages, non stick with I believe a layer of aluminium between two layers of stainless steel. The base has an extra round piece of metal stuck to it.
 
Merlin5 said:
It's a Baumatic hob, not induction, just a regular halogen I think. Two large and two small rings. The pan is an Ikea 365+ I've used for ages, non stick with I believe a layer of aluminium between two layers of stainless steel. The base has an extra round piece of metal stuck to it.
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Is it making good contact with the hob, or has it maybe distorted over time so it rocks about on its base?

I think you might be running into the limitations of those kinds of electric hobs, but maybe different pans with different characteristics might be better. Maybe an aluminium non-stick pan would heat up faster and shed heat quicker when you change the temperature?
 
Steampunk said:
Is it making good contact with the hob, or has it maybe distorted over time so it rocks about on its base?
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Nope, absolutely flush, it's in excellent condition. I've used it a lot, though never done extreme high temps in it. I'm wondering if a cast iron pan or an electric griddle would be better?
 
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Merlin5 said:
The pan is an Ikea 365+
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as you say ... it's not a cast iron griddle, which I had thought was important for dumping heat, fast, uniformly, into that type of food stuff, also,
maybe giving infra-red radiation to get inside (not sure about last point though).
... also not sure how reliable a gun is, pointed at a (somewhat reflective) non-stick pan surface ... they will not show heat-capacity of the pan.

as I said in another thread, have given up using a cast iron wok and griddle since moved into a place with a halogen top, uncontrollable/on-off heat and it can't deliver the btu.... (like induction can't either)
could make them on a metal plate under grill or in oven ?
 
Merlin5 said:
I don't think you've ever posted in La Cuisine, so instead of patronising me, perhaps you can just run along back to Motors and GD and I'll wait for a La Cuisine regular like myself that might either agree with you or give me a more solid solution.
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Wow. You were offered a helpful comment and gave that as a response? I didn't realise you needed a be a La Cuisine regular before being able to try and help answer a question.

Anyway. I had similar problems making muffins on our old electric hob so what I did was have 2 hobs on, one at the higher temperature and the other at the lower. At the right time I'd move the pan from the high hob to the low hob and turn the high hob off. Not idea but it was about the only way I could make it work.
 
I shouldn't have to be juggling hob rings like that though. Like I said, I can get the outside of the dough looking right, but unless there's a consistent temperature of 350 to 375F, the inside won't cook properly. And last night after cooking some on lower heat for considerably longer, they were cooked through but became too hard, like biscuits. I tend to agree with Steampunk that my ceramic hob is probably just not very good. and/or I need to consider a different type of pan.

the-evaluator said:
Wow. You were offered a helpful comment and gave that as a response? I didn't realise you needed a be a La Cuisine regular before being able to try and help answer a question.
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Well sorry, but it didn't actually come across particularly helpful imo, it was a little flippant. I've always found people in La Cuisine very helpful and I contribute myself a fair bit to it.

When someone who never posts in here says "World of issues your life" I find that quite patronising and sarcastic, the kind of response I see all the time from people that mostly frequent Motors and GD, not La Cuisine. Besides, La Cuisine is for hobbyists into cooking, baking, and anything to do with food or equipment. I don't see why any question should be seen as stupid or makes someone appear to have nothing but issues.
 
I apologize, it meant in jest.

I am no master chef, but it just did not seem that complicated, if you are limited by the temps on the hob, and one is too cold and one is too hot, there are only so many things you can do to solve the problem, and you did give me a giggle when you said you had been temp probing it, thinking how long people have been cooking them for, without checking the temp
 
Haze said:
I apologize, it meant in jest.
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No worries. :)

jpaul said:
.. remembering ... you have a dutch oven .. that base, on the hob's, the way to do it
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That might work! On setting 3, the frying pan was hitting over 420F. Maybe my dutch oven, which is either a ceramic or white painted glass bowl, might only conduct the temperature I need, around 350F. Here's mine,



However, apparently it might crack? https://www.quora.com/Can-I-use-a-c...ers-are-not-Whats-the-difference-between-them
 
It's a pot my mum gave me that I think she made casseroles in. I just looked at Wiki and it says that dutch ovens are usually made from seasoned cast iron but that some are made from aluminium or ceramic. Pity mine isn't cast iron. Maybe if I bought a cast iron frying pan, would that be as good?
 
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