It is approximately the energy needed to heat one pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit. 1 BTU = 1,055 joules, 252 calories, 0.293 watt-hour or the energy released by burning one match. 1 watt is approximately 3.412 BTU per hour. BTU is often used as a point of.
Decoding BTUs: How Much Cooking Power Do You Really Need? - Remodelista Icon - Arrow Left An icon we use to indicate a rightwards action. Icon - Arrow Right An icon we use to indicate a leftwards action. Icon - External Link An icon we use to indicate a button link is external. Icon - Message The icon we use to represent an email action.
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The last time I bought a new gas range was over a decade ago. I was lured (and somewhat intimidated) by the upper echelon of professional-style ranges with their 12,000 BTUs of cooking power. Fast forward to today, and those would be considered training wheels for the new generation of high-powered stoves with burners that boast upward of 25,000 BTUs of heat output. What do these higher BTUs really mean?
Do home cooks benefit from more cooking power in the kitchen, or are we suffering from BTU creep? Read our BTU primer to find out. Above: A offers high-level cooking power in a Los Angeles kitchen. Since Viking was purchased by the Middleby Corporation (the largest food-service equipment manufacturer in the world), it has upped its BTUs and other professional cooking-like features.
For more, see. Photograph by for Remodelista. What is a BTU?A BTU (British thermal unit) is a measure of heat output and applies to the power generated by gas stovetops and ovens. Technically speaking, one BTU is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. The capacity of gas burners is measured in BTU per hour.
Pro-style ranges for the home typically offer high-output burners varying from 15,000 to 25,000 BTUs. Above: The open burners of the offer a 23,000 BTU output with a low-level setting that provides a 145 degree simmer. Photograph via. When it comes to stoves, are more BTUs better?The higher the BTU capacity of a gas burner, the hotter the burner can get; the hotter the burner, typically the faster the cooking times. But while BTU measures heat production, it doesn’t necessarily translate into better cooking performance. Other factors come into play, such as efficiency of heat transfer. If your pan is not sized correctly for the burner, the high BTUs can heat the room more than the contents of the pan (an argument many make for the induction cooktop, but that’s a topic for another post). Some manufacturers tout burners that are specially designed to direct all heat upward for more efficient heating.Stoves with high BTUs come with some trade-offs, including higher price tags, greater consumption of gas, higher ventilation requirements, and difficulty consistently generating low heat.While there tends to be a focus on the high end of the burner power, a range’s ability to generate low heat is equally, if not more, important.
Low-heat cooking and simmering can be problematic. Some ranges “cycle” heat for low-temperature cooking. This means that they alternate between low heat and turning off, but the clicking can be annoying and the heat is not continual. Manufacturers are addressing this issue and many have recently introduced low-BTU heat burners that offer more consistency. Above: have dual-stacked sealed gas burners with two tiers of flames: One delivers high heat, the other comes on for low-heat settings. Julie likes “the super firepower and the fact that it’s easy to adjust the flame to a slow simmer” on her Wolf range. Read our recent debate.
Photograph via. How many BTUs do I need?A cooktop with high BTUs does not a professional chef make. Be realistic about your home cooking practices and needs. The super-high BTUs in professional kitchens are designed for high-speed and high-volume cooking, not typically the situation at home, even when entertaining. Yes, it might be nice to have one very powerful burner to get that water boiling quickly, but beyond that, flexibility is often more important. Look for ranges with a collection of burners with different levels of power and consider which you’re apt to use most.Is there a sweet spot for burner strength for the home cook? The jury is out on that question.
For most users, one power burner (12,000 BTUs or higher) is more than adequate—especially when paired with two medium-strength burners and one low burner for simmering. If you do a lot of cooking that requires quick high heat, such as stir-frying or searing, you may want to push the power up.
The good news is that stove companies have heard the cry for better performance at lower heat, so getting an appliance that can do it all is easier than it used to be. Above: feature wok-ready burners with up to 25,000 BTU searing power. By removing the top ring grate on the burner, the wok sits directly in the flame for maximum heat.