Maytag MES5875BAF Use and Care Manual - Page 5

Surface Cooking Surface Controls Use to turn on the surface elements. An infinite choice of heat settings is available from Low to High. The knobs can be set on or between any of the settings. Setting the Controls 1. Place pan on surface element. 2. Push in and turn the knob in either direction to the desired heat setting. • The control panel is marked to identify which element the knob controls. For example, the graphic at right indicates Front left front element. 3. There is an element indicator light on the control panel. When any surface control knob is turned on, the light will turn on. The light will turn off when all the surface elements are turned off. When a control is turned on, a glow can be seen through the smoothtop surface. The element will cycle on and off to maintain the preset heat setting, even on High. 4. After cooking, turn knob to OFF. Remove pan. Suggested Heat Settings The size and type of cookware, type and amount of food being heated, and wattage of individual elements will determine where to set the knob for cooking operations. Some elements have a predetermined simmer and melt setting that will require only minor adjustment up or down depending on the food being prepared. The other elements have settings printed around the knobs that are also unique to those elements. Adjust the heat settings to the numbers that give the desired cooking results. For information on cookware and other factors affecting heat settings, refer to Cookware Recommendations on page 7. The following descriptions will aid in choosing the settings that will give optimum results. Hold or Warm: Food maintains a temperature above 140°F without continuing to cook. Food is initially hot and then heat is reduced. Never use a hold or warm setting to reheat cold food. Simmer: Food forms bubbles that barely break the surface. Foods are between 185°F and 200°F. A simmer setting can also be used to steam or poach foods or continue cooking covered foods. Slow Boil: Food forms bubbles at a moderate pace. A slow boil setting can also be used for most frying and for maintaining the cooking of large amounts of liquids. Boil: Liquid forms bubbles at a rapid pace. A fast boil setting can also be used to brown meat, stir fry, sauté, and heat oil for frying before turning to a lower setting. The highest 3 or 4 settings on the knob are used for these cooking operations. The highest setting is always used to bring water to a boil. Some elements offer an even higher speed for boiling liquids. Dual Element The cooking surface has a dual element located at the left front of the smoothtop. This allows you to change the size of the element. The small element is operated on the left side of the knob control. To operate the entire element, use the right side of the knob control. The control for both element sizes can be set anywhere between Low and High. Triple Element The cooking surface has one triple element located in the right front position. This element can be used for larger cooking utensils when the triple element is used, or for smaller pans when the single or dual settings are chosen. To select single, dual or triple settings, rotate the element selection knob. Flex-ChoiceTM Element (select models) The Flex-ChoiceTM element is a fully functioning element that provides an ultra low Melt heat setting for melting chocolate and butter. It is located in the left rear position The Melt setting is located between 2 and OFF. Heat settings outside of this area function as a normal element, with 2 (Low) to High settings. Note: When using the normal settings for preparing foods, it may take a few minutes for the cooking area to cool to the Melt heat setting. 4