Seattle - Cooks at the Northern Lights Dining Room - 1952

A flattop grill is a

cooking Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to prepare food for consumption. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric stoves, to baking in vari ...

appliance that resembles a griddle but performs differently because the heating element is circular rather than straight (side to side). This heating technology creates an extremely hot and even

surface, as heat spreads in a radial fashion over the surface. Flattop grills have been around for hundreds of years in various forms and evolved in a number of cultures.

History

The first flattop grills originated in the 19th century in Mexico and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

for cooking corn dough. These flattop grills were made of clay. With the arrival of Spaniards, the griddles were manufactured of metal materials. Spaniards adopted these grills with the name ''plancha'', which means "metal plate". Food that is cooked ''a la plancha'' means “grilled on a metal plate”. For example, ''filetes a la plancha'' translates as “grilled beef fillets”.

Description

The flattop grill is a versatile platform for many cooking techniques such as sautéing, toasting, simmering, shallow frying,

stir frying Stir frying () is a cooking technique in which ingredients are fried in a small amount of very hot oil while being stirred or tossed in a wok. The technique originated in China and in recent centuries has spread into other parts of Asia and ...

, pan frying, browning, blackening, grilling, baking, braising, and roasting, and can also be used for flambéing. In addition, pots and pans can be placed directly on the cook surface, giving more cooking flexibility. In most cases, the steel cooking surface seasons like

cast iron cookware Heavy-duty cookware made of cast iron is valued for its heat retention, durability, ability to maintain high temperatures for longer time duration, and non-stick cooking when properly seasoned. Seasoning is also used to protect bare cast iron fr ...

, providing a natural non-stick surface. Almost any type of food can be cooked on this type of appliance. In addition to standard barbecue fare like hamburgers, hot dogs and sausages, more delicate items can be cooked on a flattop grill. Omelettes, crepes, paninis, yakisoba noodles,

tacos A taco (, , ) is a traditional Mexican food consisting of a small hand-sized corn- or wheat-based tortilla topped with a filling. The tortilla is then folded around the filling and eaten by hand. A taco can be made with a variety of filli ...

, quesadillas, grilled steak, flatbread, pizza, jerk chicken, crab cakes and sautéed

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems ...

s are just a few examples of the wide range of foods that can be prepared on a flattop grill. Flattop grills, as the name implies, is typically a flat piece of steel but some are slightly convex or crowned in the center which allows excess juices or grease to flow to the outside to be captured and disposed of. Many are powered by

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon ...

propane Propane () is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula . It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as ...

, but there are electric models as well. In addition, there are models made for indoor or outdoor cooking that can be fixed (built-in) or portable (wheeled or free-standing). Flattop grills can be contrasted with open-flame grills, which cook food over a grate with direct or indirect flame. Flattop grills avoid the problem of smaller or delicate food falling through the grate like open-flame grills. In addition, closed-flame flattop grills are more energy efficient because they capture the heat under the steel cook surface rather than letting it escape through the grates into the atmosphere. This design also requires less time to heat up and uses less fuel to cook a meal. Also, flattop grills release less smoke and

particulates Particulates – also known as atmospheric aerosol particles, atmospheric particulate matter, particulate matter (PM) or suspended particulate matter (SPM) – are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. The ...

into the atmosphere because foods and juices are prevented from dropping directly onto burner elements, eliminating flare-ups and reducing smoke.

Use

Flattop grills are an equipment of choice for seafood restaurants because of temperature consistency, flexibility and capacity. In Cuban cuisine, the Cuban sandwich (ham, roasted pork, Swiss cheese and pickles) is traditionally grilled à la plancha. In Chilean cuisine, restaurants grill beef à la plancha and have a long history of cooking seafood on flattop grills. Flattop grills also share some characteristics with Asian cooking, including teppanyaki and Mongolian barbecue. Flatbreads from India ( dosa, paratha, roti and chapati), the Middle East ( pita), Africa (

injera Injera (, ; om, Biddeena; ) is a sour fermented pancake-like flatbread with a slightly spongy texture, traditionally made of teff flour. In Ethiopia, Eritrea, and some parts of Sudan, injera is the staple. Injera is central to the dining ...

) and Jamaica ( bammy) are traditionally cooked on flattop grills.

Front-of-house cooking

In restaurants, flattop grills are sometimes used for display, or “front-of-house” cooking,In the foodservice industry, front of house can refer to the area where the general public eat, where diners can see, hear and smell the food being cooked in front of them. Unlike butane burners or induction hobs which require additional equipment, the flattop grill can be used as a standalone cooking platform. Display cooking is a notable trend in commercial foodservice, where open kitchens are becoming part of the dining experience, and watching a meal being prepared live-action has become entertainment.

French tops

A French top stove is similar to a flattop grill, except that it is only used with pots and pans. A large flame underneath the metal plate serves as its heat source, and is directly covered by concentric metal rings. The French top's temperature is usually not changed by its user, instead the user moves his pot or pan to a side or edge of the hot plate for slower cooking.

References

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History

Description

Use

Front-of-house cooking

French tops

See also

References