In a kitchen the hob is a projection, shelf, grate or bench for holding food or utensils at the back or side of a
hearth
A hearth () is the place in a home where a fire is or was traditionally kept for home heating and for cooking, usually constituted by at least a horizontal hearthstone and often enclosed to varying degrees by any combination of reredos (a low, ...
(
fireplace
A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the desig ...
) to keep them warm, or an internal chimney-corner. In modern
British English
British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...
usage, the word refers to a
cooktop or
hotplate, as distinguished from an
oven
upA double oven
A ceramic oven
An oven is a tool which is used to expose materials to a hot environment. Ovens contain a hollow chamber and provide a means of heating the chamber in a controlled way. In use since antiquity, they have been use ...
.
Etymology
The word is a noun meaning approximately "holder", derived from the
Old English verb ''habban'' "to have, hold". The word ''hub'' "support of a disk or wheel" is apparently from the same source.
Merriam Webster Online
/ref>
Gallery
Image:BurgBoetzelaer06.jpg , A fireplace in a German castle showing a brick hob.
Image:Muljava odprto ognjisce.jpg , Hearth and hob in a traditional Slovenian kitchen.
Image:Kueche Augsburg Fuggerei.jpg , Reconstructed hearth and hob in the Fuggerei
The Fuggerei is the world's oldest public housing complex still in use. It is a walled enclave within the city of Augsburg, Bavaria. It takes its name from the Fugger family and was founded in 1516 by Jakob Fugger the Younger (known as "Jakob F ...
.
Image:Spinninginthecolonialkitchen.jpg , Colonial kitchen with a pitcher on the hob.
File:Ceranfeld.jpg, A cooktop is called a ''hob'' in modern British English
British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...
.
See also
* Hob (disambiguation)
* Cooktop
* '' Buttumak''
References
Fireplaces