Halogen hobs.

[Snowy Owl]

Please can someone enlighten me as to the subtle difference between ceramic and halogen hobs? I know that halogen ones produce instant heat and you should not look directly at the heat source. Beyond that....??????

[Ethel]

strictly speaking they are both ceramic hobs - ceramic referring to the toughened ceramic glass that you put your pots and pans on.

The difference is underneath the glass:

Ceramic hobs have a coiled element - like the ones in an electric kettle - that heat up. When ceramic hobs first came out, they all had this type of element, and they are still called ceramic hobs.

Halogen are lamps that get hot.