When I write recipes I tend to put things like "put on a medium to high heat" or "low as it will go". I've just been experimenting with another easy version sauce (tartare) which I made on direct heat in the pan up full on my ceramic hob. Now its got me thinking, if I had written up the recipe (I've only done it once and didn't measure anything).. and put "put on high heat and work quickly" would a high heat on lets say a gas burner be much hotter than a ceramic hob or vice versa ?

When you consider people may be cooking on -

Normal Gas oven

Gas oven connected to bottled gas

Aga

old type spiral ring electric element

Halogen hobs

ceramic hobs (semi halogen)

metal hobs

wok burners

and probably a few other things, are they all a similar temperature or could there be some real differences that should be addressed when putting a recipe together ?

(the sauce as it came out worked very well -

http://s7.postimage.org/te1h698xn/DSC_1928.jpg )

Steve

you cook tartare sauce? Are you sure?

How do you make hot tartare sauce Steve, a new version?

I guess the temperatures reached would be similar on gas and electric hobs, but it is the amount of time reached to get there and controllability that will vary I think. I have not seen chefs (on TV) using electric hobs, they all seem to use gas ones. The oven on the other hand would be a different matter. Not sure which will heat faster, but the end result will be same, I think.

PS I was surprised but found a few hot Tartare Sauce recipes on the web;

http://www.bestrecipes.com.au/recipe/Hot-Tartare-Sauce-L12557.html

Having grown up with a phurnacite powered Aga I can see there could be so much variance between different hobs that recipes are best written on outcome rather than output - i.e. gentle simmer, rolling, boiling etc.

I have metal hobs which are a real nuisance, level 4 barely maintains a simmer, level 5 is a frantic boil!

Winton

I adadpted the hollandaise sauce I did the other week... :-) (didn't involve adding mayo like the recipe link you have posted)

I suppose the heat of the rings can vary as much as the pans you are using... very difficult to make an accurate timing/heat setting that will be correct for everyone !

Steve