Stovetop won't simmer low enough
February 28, 2019 5:26 PM
What can I use to lower the temperature on my gas stovetop?
I take simmering seriously and it doesn't mean low boil. It means barely a bubble.
But I can't turn my gas range down low enough to achieve that. I use workarounds -- an iron skillet or trivet below my cookpot, for example. But there must be a perfecter solution.
I'm finding plenty of heat diffusers. And maybe that's what I need, although I'm not so much looking to diffuse the heat as lower it. Any thoughts?
I take simmering seriously and it doesn't mean low boil. It means barely a bubble.
But I can't turn my gas range down low enough to achieve that. I use workarounds -- an iron skillet or trivet below my cookpot, for example. But there must be a perfecter solution.
I'm finding plenty of heat diffusers. And maybe that's what I need, although I'm not so much looking to diffuse the heat as lower it. Any thoughts?
I can tell you that this heat diffuser absolutely did not solve the problem, when I got it to try to solve this problem at a vacation house. Beans still burned on the bottom of the heavy enameled cast iron soup pot, even with this heat diffuser, on the smallest gas burner, on the lowest possible heat setting. Same recipe that never sticks on my very low gas burner at home. Rice still boils over, with the heat diffuser, at the vacation house.
posted by chromium at 6:01 PM on February 28, 2019
posted by chromium at 6:01 PM on February 28, 2019
There will either be an adjustment on the back of the stove, or on the inside of the stem for each burner controller. (You'll have to take the knob off). "Gas regulator" is the search term you want, along with the make/model of your stove.
Note: You may need an impossibly long and skinny flat head screwdriver -- longer, and perhaps skinnier, than the kind that is sold with eyeglass repair kits. (Ask me how I know!)
posted by mudpuppie at 6:03 PM on February 28, 2019
Note: You may need an impossibly long and skinny flat head screwdriver -- longer, and perhaps skinnier, than the kind that is sold with eyeglass repair kits. (Ask me how I know!)
posted by mudpuppie at 6:03 PM on February 28, 2019
PS: The link that finally helped me fix my raging burners.
posted by mudpuppie at 6:05 PM on February 28, 2019
posted by mudpuppie at 6:05 PM on February 28, 2019
I use a heat diffuser successfully, but I also move the hot pot, no matter it's diameter, to the smallest burner for the simmering process. Using the diffuser modifies the heat so it doesn't concentrate in one spot and burn things, like tomato sauce or rice. In other words, the mismatch between the burner and pot sizes seems to be mitigated by the diffuser. It's certainly worth a try.
Also, you need to use a really heavy pot. Thin pots will always have hot spots that will cause burning.
posted by citygirl at 6:08 PM on February 28, 2019
Also, you need to use a really heavy pot. Thin pots will always have hot spots that will cause burning.
posted by citygirl at 6:08 PM on February 28, 2019
Use pots and pans that aren't as good at conducting heat like stainless steel, iron and titanium
posted by OnefortheLast at 6:27 PM on February 28, 2019
posted by OnefortheLast at 6:27 PM on February 28, 2019
When we bought our new gas range it took a little fiddling to get the minimum flame levels set to practical levels but by following similar steps to what mudpuppie suggests and some trial and error we figured it out. I did have to go to three different hardware stores to find screwdrivers both long and thin enough to reach the adjustment socket! Hopefully you can find your stove’s manual and it will tell you the exact size driver you need to do the job.
posted by padraigin at 7:11 PM on February 28, 2019
posted by padraigin at 7:11 PM on February 28, 2019
Most heat diffusers are shitty and thin, but there are good ones that will do what you need! Run from the brand HIC that tends to come up as the first result for “heat diffuser” in stores as it’s cheap garbage (sorry chromium! We carried that brand at the kitchen store I worked for and I actually used to help return that exact same heat diffuser to the manufacturer when people returned it, which most rightfully did.) You can get copper or iron, the latter being cheaper and better suited for what you need.
Your hack of using a trivet or skillet is right on. I used the first one on this list and it was perfect on an overzealous gas stove I had.
A ceramic cookware like La Chamba (very reasonable prices) or Emile Henry Flameware ($$, but fantastic) are great for simmering, more so than cast iron. They’re more durable than you’d expect, much lighter than cast iron, and beautiful.
As with any cookware AND with pots on top of diffusers, heat your pan up at the absolute lowest heat with nothing in it, then gradually increase the heat before adding your ingredients. Slower than you think you need to, bit by bit. This helps with hot spots (and keeps you from burning oil if you add it to a cold pan, which causes food to stick) that can persist even after you’ve lowered the heat to simmer. This one technique will benefit essentially everything you do on the stovetop.
posted by the thorn bushes have roses at 7:57 PM on February 28, 2019
Your hack of using a trivet or skillet is right on. I used the first one on this list and it was perfect on an overzealous gas stove I had.
A ceramic cookware like La Chamba (very reasonable prices) or Emile Henry Flameware ($$, but fantastic) are great for simmering, more so than cast iron. They’re more durable than you’d expect, much lighter than cast iron, and beautiful.
As with any cookware AND with pots on top of diffusers, heat your pan up at the absolute lowest heat with nothing in it, then gradually increase the heat before adding your ingredients. Slower than you think you need to, bit by bit. This helps with hot spots (and keeps you from burning oil if you add it to a cold pan, which causes food to stick) that can persist even after you’ve lowered the heat to simmer. This one technique will benefit essentially everything you do on the stovetop.
posted by the thorn bushes have roses at 7:57 PM on February 28, 2019
I didn't know I had a problem, till I saw mudpuppie's answer. Thanks!
posted by ouke at 10:49 PM on February 28, 2019
posted by ouke at 10:49 PM on February 28, 2019
If you really like to simmer, then my slightly more radical advice would be to consider getting an induction hob to replace your gas one. This allows you to have access to a range of heating levels that go from less than you would have with any gas flame - to higher than a domestic gas burner will allow. The hob also heats the entirety of the bottom of the vessel evenly. The various pros and cons of induction summarised here
posted by rongorongo at 11:39 PM on February 28, 2019
posted by rongorongo at 11:39 PM on February 28, 2019
Here, it is not legal to adjust the flame. You have to have an authorized person to do it, and they won't go low enough for a simmer, or high enough for a wok.
So I have a stove with a double ring in the middle, for the wok (which is legal, but a bit of a pain to find), and then I use a heat diffuser for simmering. I think it works perfectly. It's true that the best effect is when using a cast-iron pot.
Because of this question, I recently fell into a fox-warren of vintage cookbooks, and in one of them, the author advised using the oven on low in this situation. It seems to have been a common problem during the transition from coal to gas stoves. I tried it, and I prefer the heat diffusor, but YMMV, my oven is very unreliable. Another suggestion I've seen, maybe here on the green, is to buy a separate single induction burner plate. They aren't expensive, and they can be set to extremely low. I might be tempted to do just that, since I've come back to simmering after some years of pressure-cooking everything.
posted by mumimor at 1:33 AM on March 1, 2019
So I have a stove with a double ring in the middle, for the wok (which is legal, but a bit of a pain to find), and then I use a heat diffuser for simmering. I think it works perfectly. It's true that the best effect is when using a cast-iron pot.
Because of this question, I recently fell into a fox-warren of vintage cookbooks, and in one of them, the author advised using the oven on low in this situation. It seems to have been a common problem during the transition from coal to gas stoves. I tried it, and I prefer the heat diffusor, but YMMV, my oven is very unreliable. Another suggestion I've seen, maybe here on the green, is to buy a separate single induction burner plate. They aren't expensive, and they can be set to extremely low. I might be tempted to do just that, since I've come back to simmering after some years of pressure-cooking everything.
posted by mumimor at 1:33 AM on March 1, 2019
you can try to raise the pot from the flame by using aluminum foil in a ring shape and see if the extra elevation helps at all.
posted by alchemist at 3:14 AM on March 1, 2019
posted by alchemist at 3:14 AM on March 1, 2019
I have in the past cheated by starting the flame and then instead of turning it from the start setting through high down to low, turning it gently back towards off. I've found that for most (though not quite all) burners, I can find a spot where the electric starter is no longer engaged but there is still gas flow, and I'm close enough to off that I'm getting a much lower flame than my low setting.
mudpuppie's solution looks like way less hassle in the long run, though.
posted by solotoro at 5:04 AM on March 1, 2019
mudpuppie's solution looks like way less hassle in the long run, though.
posted by solotoro at 5:04 AM on March 1, 2019
Huh, I guess I’m the odd man out. I slide the pan over so only half the flame or so is hitting it and the rest is going into heating the kitchen. Along with aluminum pans, which have excellent conductivity to spread the heat from the edge I get along, even with a fairly high “low” setting on our range. A diffuser would probably be a thing, though. Maybe I’ll pick one up.
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 8:11 AM on March 1, 2019
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 8:11 AM on March 1, 2019
you can try to raise the pot from the flame by
...stacking an additional grate (the thing the pot or pan rests on) from an unused burner on top of the burner you're using. Maybe even use two more (so there's three total, between pan and flame).
posted by Rash at 9:23 AM on March 1, 2019
...stacking an additional grate (the thing the pot or pan rests on) from an unused burner on top of the burner you're using. Maybe even use two more (so there's three total, between pan and flame).
posted by Rash at 9:23 AM on March 1, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
I don't know if it's the intended purpose of the doohickey, but I do know that on my stove if I have it rotated too far in a particular way it inhibits the gas flow and the flame is lower.
posted by phunniemee at 5:30 PM on February 28, 2019