Spec me a table top hob

[Zefan]

Hello you foody lot,

I have a bit of a problem with regards to cooking, I live in military accommodation where we're technically not allowed to cook in our rooms - the most we are allowed is a microwave (although mine is secretly a convection/grill jobby too ) Because of this I've been looking at table top hobs, as I can hide them when it comes round to inspection time! I'm thinking induction is the way to go, as I really hate standard electric hobs and the big one my parents have is brilliant.

Has anyone had any experience with these? Recommended brands/things to look out for will be much appreciated!

I would just go out and buy one from Argos or the like, but I've learned from my past experiences that it's always a good idea to ask OcUK

 

[Xelene]

We have a Japanese thing, takes gas canisters. I'll let you know the brand tomorrow as it's hidden away by the wife currently.

 

[Putty]

You could always try a baby belling - used to do the job for me, the pronto table top should do the job (one on a certain auction site).

 

[Xelene]

Apparently our Gas cooker is made by Firestone, a subsidiary of Bridgestone. You can't get them outside of Japan.

 

[kaffe]

Inductions are good, they heat up and cool down almost instantly. Even when it's not you could quite happily touch it with out getting any burns (heats up using a magnet so the heat will transfer THROUGH the glass. Dunno the science behind it... but it's true), so hiding it quickly will be easy

I'd probably suggest NEFF or Baumatic, both very good brands. Can be expensive but it depends on what series you buy (NEFF has 5 series and Baumatic has 4 (I think)). Not an awful lot of difference in the quality through the series, just extra bits and bobs you don't need (e.g. NEFF have two ovens which are almost identical. One is series two and the other series 5. There's about £200-300 difference. The series 5 has a soft close door. THAT IS ALL).

Depending on how much you want to cook, a domino hob is probably best, nice and small and easy to put away. But like I say, it depends on what you're cooking as there are only two zones on a domino.

 

[Zefan]

Yeah induction is looking like the best choice for sure, and you're right about it being cool straight away! I don't know how many times my parent's cats would've had very sore feet if they had electric still :\ It's actually very simple electronics, it's pretty much the same way radio signals are transmitted and re-chargeable toothbrushes work!

Thanks for the recommendations, but that's definitely more than I'm willing to spend! £100 is the most I'd like to stretch to to be honest, especially as one of the reasons I want to eat in my flat as opposed to paying for food in the mess is to save money!

 

[kaffe]

The cheapest one I could find is here. It's only a singular. Hopefully this will set you on the right tracks. If you really need more zones you could always buy more, still works out cheaper than buying a domino.

Happy cooking!

 

[Zefan]

How much is stuff from the mess? I would have assumed it'd be pretty cheap, but I guess not!

It is pretty cheap yeah. It's recently changed to a pay as you dine system, instead of ~£120 coming out of my wages each month (regardless of whether I choose to eat there) it's now a case of paying in cash each time. This works out to be £4.25 a day if you eat the "Core" choice, of which there is only one... however there are other options that cost £2.50 each. It also doesn't help that there's no cash machine on station

Cost isn't the only reason I'm looking at this. I work shifts, and the mess doesn't accommodate for the strange hours so I end up missing meals or buying microwaveable stuff - another cost factor! Another reason is that it's hard to measure what you're getting from the mess, whereas if I cook my own I know the exact nutrients/calories etc so I can match it up to what I'm doing in the gym etc.

The cheapest one I could find is here. It's only a singular. Hopefully this will set you on the right tracks. If you really need more zones you could always buy more, still works out cheaper than buying a domino.

Happy cooking!

Cheers. I should only need one, for now....

 

[4MIT]

For some of the cookery classes we run, we use ones very similar to the judges ones linked above, they are great! However they do sometimes struggle with maintaining a low heat and can burn things if not watched carefully, its important to get decent pans too, there are many that work with induction hobs, but make sure they have a heavier base as possible.

 

[flinco]

It is pretty cheap yeah. It's recently changed to a pay as you dine system, instead of ~£120 coming out of my wages each month (regardless of whether I choose to eat there) it's now a case of paying in cash each time. This works out to be £4.25 a day if you eat the "Core" choice, of which there is only one... however there are other options that cost £2.50 each. It also doesn't help that there's no cash machine on station

Cost isn't the only reason I'm looking at this. I work shifts, and the mess doesn't accommodate for the strange hours so I end up missing meals or buying microwaveable stuff - another cost factor! Another reason is that it's hard to measure what you're getting from the mess, whereas if I cook my own I know the exact nutrients/calories etc so I can match it up to what I'm doing in the gym etc.



Cheers. I should only need one, for now....

Whats the food like?

 

[Jonny69]

What about one of those camping stoves that packs into a small case? They are great for cooking on and the gas is dead cheap. One of these