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Among the kitchen appliances related to electric grills, the following varieties are distinguished in our time: pressure grill, open grill, raclette grill, shashlik grill, electric frying pan, pizza maker, grill oven, grill cutlet maker. Here is a more detailed description of each of these varieties:

— Contact grill (pressure grill). The classic, most common type of electric grill. The working part of such a device consists of two heated horizontal surfaces. To load the product, these surfaces open like a book, and when working in normal mode, the dish being cooked is clamped between them - this ensures tight contact between the product and the heater, contributing to the efficiency of heating and the speed of cooking. In fact, good speed and efficiency are the main advantages of contact grills. In addition, such devices are generally very versatile, and many of them also allow one-sided heating and / or operation in the open state (like a barbecue grill - see below). Among the disadvantages of this design, we can note noticeable limitations on the thickness of the product being cooked and the inability to check the condition of the dish without opening the grill. However, these points are not so often fund...amental: large pieces of food are rarely cooked on a contact grill, and the closed nature of many models is compensated by such features as a thermostat or auto-cooking (see "Functions").

— Open. Another name is a barbecue grill, and this term very clearly describes the main feature of such models. Unlike contact grills, barbecue grills use one working surface on which the products to be cooked are placed. On the one hand, this allows you to constantly monitor the cooking process, and the thickness of the fried product can be almost any. On the other hand, such a design does not provide such a tight contact with the heater as in closed grills, and heating is carried out only on one side, so the product has to be turned over. Because of this, such devices are less popular than contact models.
Also note that while barbecue grills may look similar to electric griddles in some ways, they are still different types of electrical appliances; see below for more details.

— Grill oven. A special caste of grills in the form factor of a small electric oven. Structurally, they consist of an oven with open access from the outside, in which an electric thermal grill is installed. Inside the grill oven, there are guides for baking sheets and grates, and the possibility of simultaneous cooking on several levels is often implemented. Such devices are intended for cooking juicy steaks, casseroles, grilled vegetables and even pizza.

— Raclette maker. Devices originally designed for cooking raclette — a Swiss national dish based on melted cheese. A mandatory element of the raclette maker’s equipment are small portioned frying pans, in which the cheese is melted. These frying pans are installed in special recesses, and above them there is a solid surface with a heater — vegetables, potatoes, ham and other products served with cheese are placed on it. Of course, the functionality of such devices is not limited to raclette: in most models, the upper part can function as a traditional open grill, and the frying pans can be used for other types of products, not just cheese.

— Shashlik maker. Specialized devices, most often used for cooking shashlik, but also suitable for other dishes - for example, grilled chicken, shawarma or fish. In a classic shashlik maker, skewers are arranged vertically, on a rotating stand; the rotating design is necessary for uniform frying, since the heater covers only one side of such a "tower". Another version of such a design is two rows of skewers with a heater between them; here, individual skewers can rotate. And some shashlik makers have a horizontal arrangement of skewers and a heater; such models, as a rule, are supplemented with a removable plate, allowing you to use the device as a barbecue grill (see above). On the other hand, they are more difficult to maintain and clean - fat and other liquids dripping from food get on the heater; so horizontal shashlik makers are produced significantly less often than vertical ones.

— Electric frying pan. Electric analogues of regular kitchen frying pans. In the classic version, such a device is a sauté pan (with high, even sides), supplemented with a built-in heater. However, in addition to this, this category includes some more specific types of kitchen appliances. Thus, some of these models are actually miniature electric stoves, supplied complete with small portioned frying pans or saucepans. The role of burners in such "electric stoves" is played by special recesses, where the complete cookware is placed; in some models, such recesses can also be used for cooking on their own - for example, for frying pancakes or fritters.

— Pizza maker. As the name suggests, these devices are primarily designed for making pizza. The characteristic features of pizza makers are a round work surface and a tightly closing cover on hinges, which also has a built-in heating element. In normal operation, this cover does not necessarily come into contact with the dish being prepared; however, additional heating ensures uniform baking of the contents and creates optimal conditions for making pizza. However, the capabilities of pizza makers are not limited to this dish; most of these devices can be used to make meat, omelettes, pies, cake layers, etc. At the same time, many models can also be used as a traditional contact grill (see above).

— Cutlet maker. A special type of electric grill for frying cutlets and making burgers. Such devices usually have molds with recesses that are the right size for cutlets and buns. The working surface of cutlet makers is often ribbed to give the food characteristic grill marks. They usually come with a special press mold that helps make cutlets of a perfect round shape and the right thickness.

Rated power of the device — that is, the maximum power consumed during normal operation. With a low intensity of heating, energy consumption may be lower, but it is worth focus on this indicator.

The larger the surface area of the electric grill, the more energy is required for its efficient operation. In addition, for different cooking tasks, the intensity of heating (and, accordingly, the required power) will also be different. Therefore, only devices of the same type (see above) with a similar size of the working surface (see below) can be compared by this indicator. And in such a comparison, it is worth proceeding from the fact that higher power provides faster heating and more stable temperatures, but significantly affects the cost of the device. In addition, appliances more than 2 kW can create problems for old, “weak” wiring.

However, more than 2 kW is a high power for modern electric grills. Most of them have power consumption of 1,5 – 2 kW, quite a few models are in the range of 1 – 1,5 kW, and in the most low-power devices, this figure does not exceed 1 kW at all. At the same time, it is worth emphasizing separately that low power in itself does not mean low efficiency — often it turns out to be quite sufficient, taking into account the type and capacity of the grill.

Additional features of the electric grill.

Features such as thermostat, off timer and < a href="/list/43/pr-21604/">auto-cooking, can be found in all types of grills (see “Type”); removable plates are also very popular, they are not found except in electric frying pans; and here is fixing the height of the top plate, opening 180° and separate temperature control are relevant mainly for pressure grills (with rare exceptions). Here's a more detailed description of each of these features:

— Thermostat. Regulator that allows to automatically maintain the set temperature of the working surface. To do this, a special sensor monitors the temperature of the grill, turning off the heating when it reaches the desired value and turning it on again when it cools down by a few degrees. This allows to maintain the required cooking mode without any extra effort. Thermostats are very simple in design and inexpensive, and therefore are found in most modern electric grills.

— Timer. The timer that turns off the heating after a specified time. This feature saves the user from having to keep track of time: it is enough to set the desired value on the timer. Among other things, due to this, the risk of overcooking or “burning” the cooked dish is significantly reduc...ed: such a nuisance can only occur if too much time was chosen for cooking. Note that the capabilities of the timer depend on the type of control (see "Control"): with mechanical control, the time, usually, is set quite approximately (sometimes with an accuracy of up to a minute or two), with electronic control — with an accuracy of up to a second.

— Autocook. The presence of auto-cooking programs in the grill — one or more. This feature differs from the timer described above in greater convenience and functionality. So, the user does not need to manually set the grill temperature for the operating time — usually, it is enough to select the type of product and the desired degree of roasting/warming up. A specific set of auto-cooking programs may be different, it should be specified separately; among the most popular options are “meat” (often with a choice of degree of roasting), “poultry”, “fish”, “burgers”, “sandwiches”, “sausages”, as well as a defrost mode.

— Removable plates. Possibility to remove the grill plate(s). The main purpose of this function is to make it easier to wash and clean the work surface after use. So, removable plates can be washed without problems in a kitchen sink, and often even in a dishwasher, while such features are not available for a non-removable design. In addition, some devices with this feature can be equipped with interchangeable plates of different types (see "Plates included"); and if the removable plate is damaged, it is enough to buy a similar part for a replacement — you do not need to change the entire grill or take it to repair.

— Plate height auto-adjustment. In grills with this feature, the top plate is mounted on a special hinge, which allows it to automatically adjust to the height of the food to be cooked. In this case, you do not need to make any additional settings — just lower the lid, and it, clinging to the contents, will itself take the optimal position. This height auto-adjustment differs from another similar function — manual height adjustment (see below). The disadvantages of this design, compared with the manual height adjustment, include the fact that the top plate must necessarily be in contact with the contents, there is no possibility to heat the products from above in a "non-contact" way. However, this moment is not so often critical; in addition, there are a fairly large number of models where the hinge is combined with manual adjustment.

— Fixation of the height of the plates. Possibility to manually adjust the height of the top plate. The user can select the position of the plate below which it should not fall. This complicates the setup somewhat, but provides some advantages and additional capabilities. First of all, this is the possibility of “contactless” cooking - when the top plate is not adjacent to the food, and heating from above occurs only due to thermal radiation.

— Opening 180°. A feature found primarily in contact pressure grills, as well as individual pizza makers (see “Type”). When the lid is opened 180 degrees, such a device actually turns into a barbecue grill with two separate working surfaces. Thus, this feature allows you to grill not only in a “closed” but also in an “open” way. And some similar models provide separate temperature control (see below), further expanding the functionality.

— Separate temperature control. In grills with this feature, the work surface is divided into two parts, and the temperature of each of them can be adjusted independently of the other. Most of these models are contact grills with the ability to open at 180° (see above) — they can separately adjust the temperature of the main surface and the lid. In the "open" format of work, this allows you to simultaneously cook dishes that require different temperature conditions; and when the grill is closed, due to separate adjustment, it is possible to provide different intensity of processing from above and below — for example, to brown the bottom half of the burger and only slightly heat the top. There are also open grills, in which the working surface is divided into two independent temperature zones; however, this possibility significantly complicates the design and increases its cost, so that very few such models are produced.

Electric grill control panel design.

— Control knob. Mechanical control is carried out using rotary knobs and switches. Most parameters in such devices are set and controlled manually. In this case, the control elements are connected to the working parts of the electric grill directly, without additional electronic circuits. This option is simple, reliable and low cost; however, it is only suitable for the most basic functions, but electric grills usually do not require more.

– Push-button. Push-button control is based on electronic circuits. Such systems are more accurate than mechanical ones (for example, the timer in such electric grills can usually be set with an accuracy of up to a few seconds), and more options and modes are provided. On the other hand, such control is more complex and more expensive than mechanical control.

– Touch. A type of electronic control with touch switches. Compared to push-button models, it provides a high level of comfort in operation, and looks more modern and aesthetically pleasing. Touch control is found mainly in top models of electric grills.

The size of the work surface installed in the grill — that is, the surface intended for the cooked products.

The amount of food that can be cooked directly depends on this indicator at a time. On the other hand, a large work surface requires high power, and also directly affects the overall dimensions of the grill. Therefore, when choosing according to this indicator, it is necessary to take into account the expected volumes of cooking and the amount of space available for installing the device first of all.

Note that this parameter is indicated by the length and width of the working surface, regardless of its shape. Therefore, the same dimensions — for example, 30x30 cm — can mean both a square and a round device, while the usable area in the first case will be noticeably larger than in the second. So in such cases, it will not prevent clarify the specific shape of the working surface.

The number of individual plates in the device delivery set.

For operating the contact grill (see "Type"), two plates are needed, for other types of grills, one is enough. So if the characteristics state more such parts (4 or more for contact models, 2 or more for the rest) — this means that the device has removable plates (see "Functions") and is equipped with several types of plates that can be changed to your discretion. Most often, such replacement parts differ in the shape of the surface (see "Surface of the plates"); in addition, the set may include specialized devices for waffles, for pancakes (see below), etc.

A separate case in this regard is represented by pizza makers (see "Type"): although they use two-sided heating, but only one complete plate can be indicated in the characteristics. In such cases, we are talking about a removable plate that is attached to the upper half of the device (lid): when this part is installed, the pizza maker actually turns into a contact grill, and without it there is free space under the lid, which is convenient for cooking pizza and other similar dishes.

The presence of plates for waffles in the grill delivery set.

Most often, such plates are intended for the preparation of Belgian waffles — we recall that they are distinguished by rather larger and deeper “cell” notches than most other types of waffles, as well as a rather significant thickness. The preparation of such a dish is not the main purpose of the electric grill, so waffle attachments are found exclusively as an additional accessory in models with removable plates (see "Functions"). Only contact grills are completed with such accessories (see "Type")

The presence of its own display in the design of the grill.

This function is found only in advanced models with electronic control (see "Control"). At the same time, both relatively simple and quite advanced displays can be installed in modern grills, in some models even colour ones. However, such equipment makes working with the grill more convenient and visual anyway: various useful data can be displayed on the screen (timer settings, selected temperature mode or programme, time until the end of cooking, etc.). Models with this function are expensive, but this is not due to the presence of a screen, but to the extensive functionality in general — there is no need to use displays in simpler devices.

The presence of a lid in the delivery set of the device.

First of all, we note that in this case we are talking about a completely separate lid that can be removed from the device; the upper half of the contact grill or pizza maker (see "Type") is not taken into account in this case. Most models with a separate lid included in the kit are electric frying pans and barbecue grills (see ibid.). The main function of this accessory is to keep heated air above the work surface, creating a kind of "greenhouse effect". Due to this effect, the cooked products are not only fried from the bottom, but also “steamed” quite evenly throughout the entire thickness. In addition, the lid protects the user and nearby objects from hot splashes, which often occur when cooking on a grill or electric frying pan.