A cauldron is a cast metal boiler, traditional for Asian countries, with a special semicircular bottom. Thanks to this design, food heats up faster and stays hot longer, and thick walls prevent the burning of food. If you have a stove made for a single cauldron for a small family, then there is no need for a stove. But if many relatives and guests often gather at your dacha or in a country house, then for cooking classic oriental dishes you will need several different boilers. In this case, the question arises of acquiring a gas or electric stove for a cauldron.
Gas burners and stoves
The optimal source of heating for cooking in a cauldron is gas, since it does not require kindling, does not smoke the boiler, and does not generate smoke. Now in stores you can choose a special gas burner for a cauldron with high power and with an adjustable flame.
You should not buy burners without a ring for stable support of the cauldron and you should immediately take care of protecting the structure from the wind.
Gas furnaces under a cauldron are bulky and high in price. But compared to burners, they are more reliable, heat-saving and are ideal protection from the wind.
Cast iron stove
Advantages and disadvantages
It so happened that the most common material for stoves has long been gray cast iron. This is primarily due to its cheapness. Very high-quality cauldrons have been produced by the Balezinsky LMZ for more than sixty years. (foundry-mechanical plant).
Cast iron undoubtedly has a number of advantages in application.
- High heat dissipation. With the help of such a stove you can not only cook food in a cauldron, but also heat the room.
- Strength. Cast iron is resistant to various physical damage and deformation.Such panels are not susceptible to corrosion, since during the manufacturing process the cast-iron surface is coated with a special rust preventative.
- Resistance to temperature extremes. Due to this important property, the cast iron stove retains its original appearance for a long time.
- Long term of operation. Gray cast iron has a very long life compared to other metals.
The disadvantages of a cast-iron plate include its defenselessness before strong blows. Special care must be taken during installation and transport.
Design features
The cast-iron plate for a cauldron happens integral and combined. The first is a continuous cast iron sheet without burners or with one or two burners of a fixed diameter.
A prefabricated cast iron stove with removable rings is very convenient in that it makes it easy to combine the size of the burners with the dimensions of the boiler. This type of plate is less deformed and damaged during use and transportation. In addition, a prefabricated stove may have stiffeners that withstand heating to very high temperatures, speeding up cooking and heating a large area of a room.
Electric panel
If you decide to use an electric stove when cooking oriental dishes in a cauldron, keep in mind that a cast-iron cauldron of a classic semicircular shape will not work for it. An ideal option for an electric stove would be a boiler made of aluminum and having a flat bottom. Also ethe volume should not be more than 8 liters, otherwise it will warm up badly.
It should be noted that aluminum is able to quickly heat up, but also to cool quickly, so the food in the aluminum cauldron will not “languish” and as a result will lose its unique taste.
Useful Tips
In order not to spoil the prepared dish and not to disappoint relatives and friends, carefully read the recommendations of experienced chefs.
- When purchasing a cauldron, carefully inspect its inner surface. It should not have roughness, notches, chips or cracks.
- Before the first use, the cast iron boiler must be well calcined.
- The amount of carbon in cast iron should not be more than 2 percent.
- The cast-iron panel must not be placed end-to-end in the brick oven, since, when heated, the cast iron can expand and damage the brickwork.
- For rooms with a small area, a cast-iron stove with a size of 520 x 520 is suitable, and for large rooms - a stove measuring 600 x 600.
- The burner or stove is connected to the gas cylinder in the same way as a conventional stove.
- Cauldrons, having a volume of 12 liters, require a gas burner power of 5 to 8.5 kW, and for a 40-liter - 20 kW.
- The diameter of the bottom of the boiler on an electric stove must exactly match the size of the burner.
- Remember that splashing liquid onto a hot plate may result in a short circuit.
A cauldron is an ideal dish for preparing such oriental dishes as shurpa, chanakhs, pilaf, lagman. In Russia, these boilers often cook ear and porridge.
To make all these dishes turn out to be tasty and healthy, it’s very important to approach the choice of a suitable plate for a cauldron, taking into account all the advantages and disadvantages of specific models.
Video review of the slab under the cauldron, see the next video.
