I've been looking up the difference between
la stufa and
il fornello and I see that there is a lot of confusion about the words used for cooking appliances. In reference to cooking, we tend to use the word
stove to refer to the appliance you use in cooking.
A
stove can be the appliance pictured, with an
oven below (it's officially called a
range), or it can be a separate appliance that is built into the countertop, without an
oven. In that case, it is a
cooktop. We would say
Put the pot on the stove whether it is a
cooktop or a
stove with an
oven. You would not say,
Put the pot on the cooktop. That would sound awkward. You also would not say
Put the pot on the range. You would say
I bought a new range, meaning the combined
stovetop and
oven. Or, you could say, We remodeled our kitchen and bought a cooktop with 6 burners.
This brings up another word:
burners. Burners are the individual cooking units on the stovetop. They can be gas, electric or induction. There are usually 4-6 burners on a stove. But we do not say
Put the pot on the burner. It would not be incorrect, and the meaning would be clear. I've just never heard anyone say that. We would say,
Put the pot on the stove and cook on medium heat.
Ovens are the self-contained units for baking or broiling. They can be in the appliance combined with a
stove (the
range, shown below
), or they can be built into the wall. Most people use their
ovens for baking.
Put the cake in the oven at 350º and bake for 40 minutes (we use Fº here in the US.)
There are lots of other ways these words can be used, but it gets really confusing. For example, there are
camping stoves, wood-burning stoves (for heating rooms). There are also things like
toaster ovens, which are small, portable units that can toast bread or bake or broil things. People with small living spaces might use a toaster oven.
If you would like to delve further into all the ins-and-outs of these confusing words, you can go to this site:
Oven, Stove, Range—What’s The Difference, Anyway?
I lifted my photo from this site so I should give them the photo credit.
Please keep in mind that this is an explanation of American usage. Brits have their own words, like
hob. I think a
hob is a stovetop, but I'll leave that to the Brits to explain. I just hear it on
The Great British Bake Off.
Cheers! Happy cooking on your stove!