Griddle

Griddle
Commercial gas-fired griddle
Classification	Cooking Equipment
Industry	Various
Application	Cooking
Fuel source	Natural Gas, Propane, Electric

A griddle is a cooking device consisting of a broad flat surface heated by gas, electricity, wood, or coal, with both residential and commercial applications. In industrialized countries, a griddle is most commonly a flat metal plate, elsewhere typically a brick slab or tablet.

In developed cultures a residential griddle may be composed of cast or wrought iron, aluminum, or carbon steel. The vast majority of commercial grade griddles are made from A36 steel, though some are stainless steel or composites of stainless and aluminum. Almost all residential and commercial griddles are heated directly or indirectly by flame or electrical elements.

Traditional griddles include a stone or brick slab or tablet, and a shallow platter filled with sand. The former are usually heated to cooking temperature before the food is placed on them, the latter heated after.

In Latin America one traditional style of griddle is a budare. Made from stone or clay, it is used to cook a variety of flatbreads, such as tortilla, arepa and casabe. Modern versions for commercial use are metal and called comals.

The metal griddle is usually made of aluminium, stainless steel or cast iron. Metal griddles originally were a flat metal surface for frying suspended from hooks over a campfire or fireplace. Later versions were sometimes integrated into the tops of wood-fired cookstoves as a removable iron plate, and later as a separate, typically handle-less plate covering one or more burners on a gas or electric stove.

The traditional Scottish griddle (or girdle), found also in the UK, has a flat wrought iron disk with an upturned rim to which a semicircular hoop handle is attached, allowing it to be suspended over the fire from a central chain and hook. Girdles are used for cooking scones, bannocks, pancakes and oatcakes.

The traditional Welsh griddle is similar, circular with a one-piece handle, typically cast iron, 1 cm (½ inch) in thickness. It is used to cook Welsh cakes, pikelets, and crepes.