Kitchen stove

A kitchen stove, often called simply a <a href="/facts/Stove/KlLJu3dz">stove</a> or a <a href="/facts/Cooker/q2WpnvqA">cooker</a>, is a <a href="/facts/Kitchen_appliance/JYKalzw6">kitchen appliance</a> designed for the purpose of <a href="/facts/Cooking/YWVfGWD1">cooking</a> food. Kitchen stoves rely on the application of <a href="/facts/Heat_transfer/1IV3WbFL">direct heat</a> for the cooking process and may also contain an <a href="/facts/Oven/podmX2S2">oven</a>, used for <a href="/facts/Baking/SU8Cb6Wa">baking</a>. "Cookstoves" (also called "cooking stoves" or "wood stoves") are heated by burning wood or charcoal; "gas stoves" are heated by gas; and "electric stoves" by electricity. A stove with a built-in <a href="/facts/Cooktop/ShtqTsLx">cooktop</a> is also called a range.
In the industrialized world, as <a href="/facts/Stove/KlLJu3dz">stoves</a> replaced open fires and <a href="/facts/Brazier/rpjVxovs">braziers</a> as a source of more efficient and reliable heating, models were developed that could also be used for cooking, and these came to be known as <a href="/facts/Kitchen/SexspB8I">kitchen</a> stoves. When homes began to be heated with <a href="/facts/Central_heating/GsYBDLmn">central heating</a> systems, there was less need for an appliance that served as both heat source and cooker and stand-alone cookers replaced them. Cooker and stove are often used interchangeably.
The fuel-burning stove is the most basic design of a kitchen stove. As of 2012, it was found that "Nearly half of the people in the world (mainly in the <a href="/facts/Developing_world/eTfS4kxl">developing world</a>), burn <a href="/facts/Biomass/4VHjaya3">biomass</a> (wood, charcoal, crop residues, and dung) and coal in rudimentary cookstoves or open fires to cook their food." More fuel-efficient and <a href="/facts/Environmentally_sound/cc9zhfHV">environmentally sound</a> <a href="/facts/Improved_cookstove/QD0w2Qht">biomass cookstoves</a> are being developed for use there.
<a href="/facts/Natural_gas/9MYQ7NAP">Natural gas</a> and <a href="/facts/Electric/hNC8D65W">electric</a> stoves are the most common today in western countries. Electricity may reduce environmental impact if generated from non-fossil sources. The choice between the two is mostly a matter of personal preference and availability of <a href="/facts/Public_utility/BzslJKc3">utilities</a>. <a href="/facts/Bottled_gas/Q0G4INL1">Bottled gas</a> ranges are used where utilities are unavailable.
Modern kitchen stoves often have a "stovetop" or "<a href="/facts/Cooktop/ShtqTsLx">cooktop</a>" in American English; known as the "<a href="/facts/Hob_(hearth)/nqxeXV2U">hob</a>" in British English as well as an oven. A "drop-in range" is a combination stovetop-and-oven unit that installs in a kitchen's lower cabinets flush with the countertop. Most modern stoves come in a unit with built-in <a href="/facts/Extractor_hood/RURYPYjt">extractor hoods</a>. Today's major brands offer both gas and electric stoves, and many also offer dual-fuel ranges combining a gas stovetop and an electric oven.

Kitchen stove open-in-new

Kitchen stove