How to Choose the Best Hob

There are lots of factors to take into consideration when selecting the ideal hob, ranging from price to energy efficiency. Therefore, deciding which features are important is essential.

A basic ceramic electric hob costs as little as PS100. However you'll have to pay more for one with many features. Gas hobs, which are popular and offer great temperature control, but are expensive, are a different alternative.

1. Haier I-Flex Induction Hob

This Haier hob has four cooking zones with three "Push&Go" functions and can assist you in making quick meals. It was also one of the quickest tested to boil water, taking less than four minutes. It has an child lock and an pause feature, so you can stop the process quickly without having to mess with controls.

Its style is sleek and contemporary and blends well with modern kitchens. It's usually made from glass (shatterproof and heatproof) or ceramic, and has controls that are in the same place as the worktop for ease of use.

The controls are easy to operate and we loved the clear display which tells you the current power setting and which of the five zones are active. The 'Boost' feature produces high-powered heat for just a short duration, and is ideal for stir-frying or bringing pans of water to a boil fast. Safety features like the hot hob light or automatic shutdown are also useful.

It's not as responsive as other hobs tested in this test. We observed that it took nine presses on the control to reach the highest temperature, in contrast to six or seven on other models. It takes longer to respond when you alter the cooking temperature, so you may have to change settings several times before the pan is ready to cook at the proper temperature.

This model is 60cm long and has four cooking zones. One of it is a half-flex zone that allows two zones to easily be joined to accommodate larger pots or pans. It has a dual-ring design and can operate on both 'normal' and 'boost power levels. The Boost is ideal for cooking meat while searing it or bring water to a fast boiling.

It is fully connected through the hOn App, and offers hundreds of recipes, a guide to cooking, and 30 special programs divided into various food categories and types of preparation. It has a multislider control panel that has a lockable interface' that detects the type pan you are using to set the proper cooking mode. It is also compatible with hOn cookware from third-party manufacturers and comes with various security features, including a lockable panel as well as boil-dry prevention.

2. Smeg I-Flex Induction Hob

Induction hobs are increasingly popular, whether renovating your kitchen or looking for a gas-free alternative. Prices have plummeted over the past few years, with basic four-zone models costing less than PS100. If you are looking for the most modern induction technology, it's worth paying a little more.

This sleek model from Smeg comes with the most modern induction tech to keep your cooking energy efficient and convenient. The innovative Auto-pot detection system automatically detects the location of pots with a minimum diameter of 9cm, which allows you to activate the appropriate zone without having to manually select it.

Smeg's primary focus is on energy efficiency but it doesn't forget flexibility - this hob can be adjusted to save power based on the maximum operating temperatures of the zones. There are options to save even more energy using the Eco-Logic advance mode which moderates the power output from 11.1 kW to as little as 2.4 4 kW.

The user-friendly interface of this stove impressed testers, with its intuitive sliding controls that follow your pan along the edges of it. The control panel's colour-coded scheme makes it easy to determine the status of each zone. The "Flexi duo" function allows the connection of two zones to accommodate larger pans. There are numerous useful functions, including four automated cooking presets: melting, boiling, slow-cooking, and keeping warm.

The hob also has a FlameSensor which will alert you in the event of a food item being burned or an igniting fire. There are a variety of safety features like the residual heat sensor, as well as an automatic switch-off when the surface is too hot.

It is also resistant to tough stains and features a protective coating of CleanProtect. This hob has nine power levels, the FlexiDuo feature to accommodate large pans and is easy to put in. There are several bonus features, such as control locks, as well as a safety fuse to prevent accidental pressing of buttons.

3. Indesit I-Flex Induction Hob

They are powered by electricity, not gas, induction hobs use copper plates that create an electric field when the pan is set on the top. They heat up faster than gas hobs and they use less energy because the cooking zone is only hot when you turn on the pan. They're generally less expensive than gas website and are easier to wipe clean too making them an extremely popular option.

Indesit's induction stove is packed full of features to allow you to be creative when cooking. It has two cooking zones that can be combined to form an Integrated Zone for larger pots and an accelerated Booster zone to bring water to a boiling point quickly. For instance, the Push&Go lets you cook flawlessly at the touch one button. The controls are easy to operate and allow you to choose nine power modes, including a P boost setting which gives the highest power to each zone for five minutes.

The controls are also easy to use and have an elegant, minimalist design that's perfect for a modern kitchen. In our tests, it quickly heated up a pan once we put it on the Booster Zone, and boiling pasta water. However, it took an extended time to cool off after it was turned off from the hob and our testers were unable to determine the precise temperature on the control panel.

This Indesit hob also comes with the bridge function, which allows you to connect two cooking zones for larger pans. It has a child lock and an overheating block as well as an automatic switch-off system which stops the hob from working if it gets too hot. Our test participants were impressed that there were no messy, visible flames and the ceramic glass is easy to clean. Ventilated hobs unlike traditional extractors draw steam and smoke from the pan out of the room by a duct on the surface. Our experts thought the duct of this hob was simple to clean, though it took two people to take the filter to change it.

4. GE Induction Hob

When selecting a kitchen appliance, consider how it fits to your kitchen's style and layout, and also your cooking style and life. For instance, if you often cook with small children or elderly people in mind, security features such as automatic shut-off and an icy to the touch surface could make an induction stove the best choice. If you value speed and efficiency, an electric stove with a wipe-clean ceramic glass fascia is ideal. For those living in regions prone to load-shedding, the capability to use gas hobs during power outages may make the difference in favor of gas models.