My quirky (=dangerous) cooktop

Here's one I wrote quite some time ago, back in August last year. I thought I'd finally post it, and then have a bit of a think about what I'm going to write for my fiftieth post. Fifty posts since October 2009 probably isn't particularly conducive to developing a solid reader base, but I've had a lot on my plate.

I learnt to cook on gas, so imagine my horror at the fact that the last three houses I have lived (including this one) have had an electric stove and cooktop.

The electric oven thing I got used to – the first two houses, well you didn’t really have to adjust the temperature by 20oC to allow for the fan forced, possibly because the ovens were a little older and more sluggish. Every time I adjusted it, I would have to cook something for half an hour longer. The oven at the new house, though, needs you to do that. I think. I probably haven’t done quite enough baking to say that for sure, but I get the feeling that I’m right, judging by how quickly the Anzacs I baked the other day browned. But that’s okay, I can deal with that (although I may need to hunt down a third shelf for the oven, because there’s only 2, and I suspect I’ll need a third one at some point).

(Note: I have done quite a bit of baking since then, and yes, you do have to adjust the temperature. And so far, I haven't had a burning need for a third shelf. Yet.)

What I can’t deal with, though, is the electric cooktop. Not only is it electric (fail!) and therefore notoriously difficult to get the heat right, but there’s also what I take to be quite a serious electrical flaw in it.

The reason I think that it’s serious is because my cooktop has a retro-fitted override switch.

Doesn’t seem right, does it.

But it gets worse.

It would seem that flicking this switch gives the front right-hand element a licence to turn on, even if the knob on the cooktop is off. No matter which other element you use, it is ALWAYS on, and I could be wrong, but I think it might be an “all or nothing” situation – there can be no adjusting of the heat of this particular element. This leads to either cooking everything on this element on high (which can work okay because it’s a smaller element, unless you’re melting butter – DON’T DO IT!!!), or just making sure you don’t put your hand/plastic/utensils/pot handles/tea towels on it.

Secretly I’m a little bit glad, though – because now I can more easily justify the purchase of a gas cooktop. Whoohoo!