To cook food on plates or grills is essential that the heat is distributed throughout the board alike. This allows you to cook meat or fish perfectly. If heat is concentrated in only one part, portions of the food or food that will be more exposed to heat will cook.
People often speak of fry-tops and irons. The difference between a fry-top and an iron is mainly the thickness of plate on which it is cooked. The heat is distributed over the plate thicker, the better the food cooking. It is usually considered iron plate up to 1 cm thick, and Fry-top for plates above 1 cm thick.
Similarly, when a continuous operation is performed, the greater the thickness of the plate, and higher heat builds soon cools, so case but discontinuous repetitive use less electricity or gas will be spent in the iron reheating or fry -top.
Moreover the thickness, must take into consideration the material of the plate. The most basic are iron, and the more sophisticated the hard chrome.
- The iron plates gas are the most common and the cheapest of all the alternatives.
- Hard chrome plates provide high hardness, high abrasion resistance, corrosion resistance, non-stick, but at the same time are very delicate. These plates are actually steel but with a chromium plating bath so that any sharp object can damage the chromium bath and scratching the plate. Hard chrome plates are cleaned with ice and heating the plate to loosen the dirt with the temperature difference.
- Gas plates and grinding rolled steel. The rolling and grinding refers to the manufacturing process of the plate and surface finish of the steel plate. Such irons often turn differentiated by the thickness or plate thickness. They are the cheapest models domestically or small volumes (thickness of about 5 mm), for normal use (between 8 and 12 mm thick) and a more intensive use in restaurants and bars (12 mm onwards). Plates of rolled steel grinding are cleaned with lemon or vinegar and soap, or even a pumice stone.
Another feature that often vary depending on the model of plate chosen is the valve. There are mainly two types:
- Manual valve. The plate temperature is not controlled accurately. They generally have a maximum, minimum or intermediate position. This defect is offset by its low price.
- Thermostatic valve. Provides greater control of the temperature of the iron to function as a thermostat. Gas flow is controlled depending on the temperature you have in every moment. Maintain a constant temperature throughout the time the plate is on.
