Good Tool: Burner Plate for Low-Heat Simmering

Emma Christensen
Emma Christensen
Emma is a former editor for The Kitchn and a graduate of the Cambridge School for Culinary Arts. She is the author of True Brews and Brew Better Beer. Check out her website for more cooking stories
published Jan 28, 2010
pinterest
comments
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Post Image
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

We prefer the control and flexibility of cooking on a gas stove, over an electric. There is one disadvantage to gas stoves, though — it can be hard to get the heat low enough for things like simmering a delicate sauce or slow-cooking a braise. The solution is using a burner plate!

Burner plates, also called simmer plates, fit right over the burner and help to diffuse the heat. This gives you a wider range of temperature control and also helps prevent hot spots in your pan.

The best burner plates we’ve used are fairly thick and made of either cast-iron or steel. Plates made of thin aluminum are cheaper, but we find they don’t do as good a job of taming the heat. In a pinch, you could use a cast-iron skillet as a heat diffuser and set your cooking pot inside.

You can find burner plates at most stores that carry kitchen supplies or on the web:

• Nordic Ware Heat Tamer, $11.95 on Amazon
• IMCG Simmer Mat Diffuser, $14.99 on Amazon
• Ilsa Cast Iron Heat Diffuser, $19.99 on Amazon

Do you use a burner plate?

Related: Top Ten Most Useful Kitchen Gadgets

(Image: Amazon.com)

Filed in:
cookware
Kitchen Gadgets
Product Review