Electric Cookers

Pre historic man did not have any simple method to cook food. Then fire was invented, the food was cooked by keeping pots on the fire. Later on, stoves were invented, which was convenient as compared to open fire. These used coal instead of wood, but the soot posed health hazards to mankind. Slowly, as man progressed, he made advances from stoves to gas cookers, this led to invention of electric cookers and electric range cookers.

With introduction of electric cookers, cooking became simpler and easier.

The following are the advantages of electric cookers:

• The following are the advantages of electric cookers:
• The time taken for cooking is greatly reduced as compared to before.
• It is possible to try various recipes and cooking methods such baking, grilling in addition to normal cooking.
• The cost of utility bills is reduced, resulting in more savings.
• Electric cookers are free standing type and can be fitted any where in the kitchen, whereas, rice cookers are compact in size and can be stored in a cabinet.
• These are safer as compared to gas cookers and are used in most parts of the world. In some of the rented apartments and villas in the Gulf, it is mandatory to use electric cookers. The gas cookers are disallowed due to the obvious danger of accidents.
• These have 4 to 5 coils, so you can cook 4 to 5 dishes at a time, thus saving your time and energy.
• This is the most simplest of all equipments and require no training or demonstration to operate it.

Thus, electric cookers are appliances that help us cook faster and with minimum efforts.

Rice cookers: As the name suggests, you can make rice or varieties of rice in the rice cooker. Some rice cookers contain an additional shelf on which you can steam vegetables as well.

Electric egg cookers: This is used to cook eggs and will give an alarm when the eggs are cooked.

Electric pressure cooker: Instead of traditional pressure cookers, where your physical presence is required to switch of the cooker, the electric pressure cooker comes with auto off. This is safer than the normal pressure cooker, as there is no chance of accidents as it some times happens in case of the normal cookers.

Freestanding Electric Cookers: Electric cookers are simple to operate, you just need to plug in to switch the cooker on. It takes some time for the coil to get heated, and before you can cook the food.

There are various brands of electric cooker. Some of them are mentioned below:

Zanussi Electric Cookers have a wide range in electric cookers available at a cheaper rate. They have cookers for all your needs. If you have a large family and have bulk cooking requirement, you can opt for double cooker. If you have no space constraint, you can opt for wide cookers. Wide cookers enable to use bigger pots to be kept on the coil. If your kitchen is small, you can opt for a narrow range of cooker. These cookers are available at a cheaper price. Zanussi Electric Cookers are available in attractive colors such as white, silver and stainless steel. The price ranges from £300 to £500.

Belling electric cookers are available in more than 10 varieties. These are priced from £275 to £675.

Hotpoint electric cookers offer maximum variety at minimum cost. There are over 25 models and the price range is from £260 to £550

AEG electric cooker: If you are want to buy an electric range cooker and cookers in the premium segment, then you can opt of AEG. The price at entry level is £750 upwards.

• When you choose to buy an electric cooker, you need to decide whether you want to buy an electric cooker or you want to go for dual fuel. In dual fuel, you have the option to use electricity as well as gas. Dual cookers are quite popular, as you have both the options. Gas option is particularly helpful for baking breads.
• Secondly, you need to keep your cooking requirements in mind. For a large family, you will need a double electric cooker, whereas for a family of 3 or 4 members, single electric cooker will suffice.
• Time required for cooking: The coils in the electric cooker take long to get heated. Whereas, the plates get heated fairly faster. There is an option of halogen hobs, which gets heated quickly.
• Cost: The option with coils is the cheapest option, but it is quite cumbersome to get the coils cleaned. Whereas, the hot plates are costly, but these are easier to clean.
• Certain electric cookers have auto cleaning feature. This helps in getting the cooker cleaned easily without human intervention.
• It is better to buy an electric cooler after weighing the pros and cons mentioned above.

Maintaining cleanliness in the kitchen is next to godliness. Keep your electric cooker clean by wiping the coils or the plates after it has cooled down.  The stains or the food particles should be cleaned immediately as fresh stains are always easier to clean as compared to old stains, which get stubborn with time.

Electric egg cookers, integrated dishwasher, gas cookers