A flattop grill is a cooking

Cooking

Cooking is the process of preparing food by use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions. Cooks themselves also vary widely in skill and training...

 appliance that resembles a griddle

Griddle

A griddle is a cooking device consisting of a broad flat surface that can be heated using a variety of means, and is used in both residential and commercial applications for a variety of cooking operations. Most commonly, the griddle consists of a flat metal plate, but in the non-industrialized...

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

Cooking

Cooking is the process of preparing food by use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions. Cooks themselves also vary widely in skill and training...

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

History

The first flattop grills originated in Mexico and Central America for cooking corn dough. These flatop 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 à la plancha translates as “grilled beef fillets”.

Description

The flattop grill is a versatile platform for many cooking techniques such as sautéing

Sautéing

Sautéing is a method of cooking food, that uses a small amount of fat in a shallow pan over relatively high heat. Ingredients are usually cut into pieces or thinly sliced to facilitate fast cooking. The primary mode of heat transfer during sautéing is conduction between the pan and the food being...

, toast

Toast

Toast is bread that has been browned by exposure to radiant heat. This browning reaction is known as the Maillard reaction. Toasting warms the bread and makes it firmer, so it holds toppings more securely...

ing, simmering

Simmering

Simmering is a food preparation technique in which foods are cooked in hot liquids kept at or just below the boiling point of water , but higher than poaching temperature...

, stir frying

Stir frying

Stir frying is an umbrella term used to describe two Chinese cooking techniques for preparing food in a wok: chǎo and bào . The term stir-fry was introduced into the English language by Buwei Yang Chao, in her book How to Cook and Eat in Chinese, to describe the chǎo technique...

, browning

Browning (partial cooking)

Browning is the process of partially cooking the surface of meat to help remove excessive fat and to give the meat a brown color crust and flavor through various browning reactions. Ground meat will frequently be browned prior to adding other ingredients and completing the cooking process...

, blackening, grilling

Grilling

Grilling is a form of cooking that involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above or below.Grilling usually involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat, and tends to be used for cooking meat quickly and meat that has already been cut into slices...

, baking

Baking

Baking is the technique of prolonged cooking of food by dry heat acting by convection, and not by radiation, normally in an oven, but also in hot ashes, or on hot stones. It is primarily used for the preparation of bread, cakes, pastries and pies, tarts, quiches, cookies and crackers. Such items...

, braising

Braising

Braising , is a combination cooking method using both moist and dry heat; typically the food is first seared at a high temperature and then finished in a covered pot with a variable amount of liquid, resulting in a particular flavour...

, and roasting

Roasting

Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat, whether an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting usually causes caramelization or Maillard browning of the surface of the food, which is considered by some as a flavor enhancement. Roasting uses more indirect, diffused heat , and is...

, and can also be used for flambé

Flambé

Flambé is a cooking procedure in which alcohol is added to a hot pan to create a burst of flames. The word means flamed in French ....

ing. In addition, pots and pans can be placed directly on the cook surface, giving more cooking flexibility. In most cases, the steel cooksurface seasons like cast iron cookware

Cast iron cookware

Cast iron is used for cookware because it has excellent heat retention properties and can be produced and formed with a relatively low level of technology. Seasoning is used to protect bare cast iron from rust and to create a non-stick surface.-History:...

, providing a natural non-stick surface. Almost any type of food can be cooked on this type of appliance. In addition to standard barbecue

Barbecue

Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...

 fare like hamburgers, hot dogs and sausages, more delicate items can be cooked on a flattop grill. Omelette

Omelette

In cuisine, an omelette or omelet is a dish made from beaten eggs quickly cooked with butter or oil in a frying pan, sometimes folded around a filling such as cheese, vegetables, meat , or some combination of the above...

s, crepe

Crêpe

A crêpe or crepe , is a type of very thin pancake, usually made from wheat flour or buckwheat flour . The word is of French origin, deriving from the Latin crispa, meaning "curled". While crêpes originate from Brittany, a region in the northwest of France, their consumption is widespread in France...

s, paninis, yakisoba

Yakisoba

', literally "fried noodles", is a dish often sold at festivals in Japan, but originates in China. The dish was derived by the Chinese from the traditional chow mein, but has been more heavily integrated into Japanese cuisine like ramen...

 noodles, Greek gyros, fish tacos, quesadillas, grilled steak

Steak

A steak is a cut of meat . Most are cut perpendicular to the muscle fibers, improving the perceived tenderness of the meat. In North America, steaks are typically served grilled, pan-fried, or broiled. The more tender cuts from the loin and rib are cooked quickly, using dry heat, and served whole...

, flatbread, pizza

Pizza

Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings.Originating in Italy, from the Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria"...

, jerk chicken, crab cakes and sautéed vegetable

Vegetable

The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....

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

Steel

Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

 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

Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...

 or propane

Propane

Propane is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula , normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as a fuel for engines, oxy-gas torches, barbecues, portable stoves, and residential central...

, 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

Smoke

Smoke is a collection of airborne solid and liquid particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-product of fires , but may also be used for pest...

 and particulates

Particulates

Particulates – also known as particulate matter , suspended particulate matter , fine particles, and soot – are tiny subdivisions of solid matter suspended in a gas or liquid. In contrast, aerosol refers to particles and/or liquid droplets and the gas together. Sources of particulate matter can be...

 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

Seafood

Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...

 restaurants because of temperature consistency, flexibility and capacity.

In Cuban cuisine

Cuban cuisine

Cuban cuisine is a fusion of Spanish, African and Caribbean cuisines. Cuban recipes share spices and techniques with Spanish and African cooking, with some Caribbean influence in spice and flavor. This results in a unique, interesting and flavorful blend of the several different cultural influences...

, the famous 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 are closely related to French top stoves, where chefs begin cooking food in the hot center and then move it out for final cooking. Flattop grills also share some characteristics with Asian cooking, including teppanyaki

Teppanyaki

is a style of Japanese cuisine that uses an iron griddle to cook food. The word teppanyaki is derived from teppan , which means iron plate, and yaki , which means grilled, broiled or pan-fried...

 and Mongolian barbecue

Mongolian barbecue

Mongolian barbecue is a stir fried dish that was developed in Taiwanese restaurants in the 1970s. Meat and vegetables are cooked in large, round, solid iron griddles at temperatures of up to 300 °C...

. Flatbreads from India (dosa

Dosa

Dosa or Dhosai is a fermented crepe or pancake made from rice batter and black lentils. It is indigenous to and is a staple dish in the southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, as well as being popular in Sri Lanka...

, parati, roti and chapati), the Middle East (pita

Pita

Pita or pitta is a round pocket bread widely consumed in many Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and Balkan cuisines. It is prevalent in Greece, the Balkans the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula and Turkey. The "pocket" in pita bread is created by steam, which puffs up the dough...

), Africa (injera

Injera

Injera is a yeast-risen flatbread with a unique, slightly spongy texture. Traditionally made out of teff flour, it is a national dish in Ethiopia and Eritrea...

) 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, where diners can see, hear and smell the food being cooked in front of them. Unlike butane

Butane

Butane is a gas with the formula C4H10 that is an alkane with four carbon atoms. The term may refer to any of two structural isomers, or to a mixture of them: in the IUPAC nomenclature, however, butane refers only to the unbranched n-butane isomer; the other one being called "methylpropane" or...

 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

Foodservice

Food Service or catering industry defines those businesses, institutions, and companies responsible for any meal prepared outside the home...

, where open kitchens are becoming part of the dining experience, and watching a meal being prepared live-action has become entertainment.