We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Delighted Cooking

Advertiser Disclosure

Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.

How We Make Money

We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently from our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Kitchen

What Is a Cooking Range?

By M. Kayo
Updated May 16, 2024
Our promise to you
DelightedCooking is dedicated to creating trustworthy, high-quality content that always prioritizes transparency, integrity, and inclusivity above all else. Our ensure that our content creation and review process includes rigorous fact-checking, evidence-based, and continual updates to ensure accuracy and reliability.

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

Editorial Standards

At DelightedCooking, we are committed to creating content that you can trust. Our editorial process is designed to ensure that every piece of content we publish is accurate, reliable, and informative.

Our team of experienced writers and editors follows a strict set of guidelines to ensure the highest quality content. We conduct thorough research, fact-check all information, and rely on credible sources to back up our claims. Our content is reviewed by subject matter experts to ensure accuracy and clarity.

We believe in transparency and maintain editorial independence from our advertisers. Our team does not receive direct compensation from advertisers, allowing us to create unbiased content that prioritizes your interests.

A cooking range is a stove with room for cooking several different things at one time. Technically, only the top section of what most people call a stove can be defined as a cooking range. This flat section of the stove usually contains a number of flat heating elements or cooking surfaces, either gas or electric. Ranges may be combined with ovens or configured separately. Some manufacturers consider the cook top and oven to be two separate units, but others will refer to the entire combination of cooking stove top and oven as a range.

The heating elements on a stove use electric or natural gas heating elements. Electric heating elements, sometimes referred to as coil-type burners, are made of a heat resistant alloy comprised of nickel, chromium, and steel wire, coated with a high temperature magnesium oxide (MGO) powder and a stainless steel sheath. Some electric cook tops consist of a smooth layer of tempered glass that covers the electric heating elements. Gas-powered ranges use separate, sealed gas-fired burners under iron grates to hold pots and pans.

Some high-end and professional stoves and commercial cooking ranges also offer other options for the cooking range surface, like a griddle, charbroiler, or a French top. A griddle is a flat, iron plate that is heated and used for cooking or frying foods like pancakes, bacon, and eggs. The charbroiler is a grilling surface with raised edges and a heating element below. It produces the dark, straight lines seen on grilled foods. The French top is a heavy, flat, steel plate on the range top, typically measuring about 24 inches (about 61 cm) square, with a gas burner underneath.

Ranges are available in just about any configuration from single electric coil-type or gas burners all the way up to a commercial cooking range with eight or more burners combined with a griddle, charbroiler, French top, or ovens. The range may be attached to a stove and sold as a single unit, combining oven and range. Some are built into a countertop. A portable range is a stand-alone stovetop unit which can be powered by gas or electricity.

DelightedCooking is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.
See our Editorial Process Share Feedback

Related Articles

Discussion Comments

By AnswerMan — On Dec 18, 2014

I have a portable cooking range that I carry out to the pool deck if I want to prepare hot snacks for a party. Sometimes I don't feel like firing up an outside gas grill, so a cooking range is a more convenient option. It has four burners and a flat top grill pan, so I can cook a lot of things at the same time. It's great for frying hamburgers on the flat top and deep frying french fries on one of the burners.

I would love to get a commercial cooking range for my church. The men like to host a breakfast once a month, and a professional cooking range would make their job much easier. They could cook pancakes on a grill attachment and still make sausage and hash browns and other foods on the other burners.

By Cageybird — On Dec 17, 2014

I lived in an apartment that only had a cooking range, and I eventually got used to the idea of doing everything on burners. I found I could still cook a lot of foods by boiling or pan frying or deep frying them. I used a small toaster oven for the few things I couldn't accomplish with a cooking range, like slow-roasted meats.

DelightedCooking, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

DelightedCooking, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.