Glass surface cook stove

[DennisArrow]

Hey......I grew up with cooking on a wood stove then due to circumstances since then electric ranges. We are gonna try one of these new kind of glass surface cook stoves. Yes, we still heat with wood, though the house has 2 heat pumps. No smart mouths, not gonna cook on the wood heater except maybe a mess of chili from time to time or during a power outage. Anyway, I understand how fragile they can be and how one has to replace the whole high dollar thing if broken. Yes, they scratch by just moving a skillet wrong.

So, that is my question. Do they make any kind of "pad" to sit pans on while they cook? Or, when one is sitting down a cast iron type of pan one does tend to drag it slightly. Why can't a fella just make a round piece of tempered type glass to sit pans on that might scratch or mar the surface?????........God bless......Dennis

 

[Jeff F.]

Our glass top is holding up fine. It's about 14 years old. My wife uses glass top stove cleaner about every two months.

 

[JerryK]

I know folks that really like glass top ranges, and others that rue the day they bought them...

 

[crackerjack222]

We have had a glass top cook surface for 20 years. I don't think a cast iron skillet or pot will work well with that top. We use only stainless steel or aluminum pots and pans on ours.
They are easy to clean with a razor scraper and damp sponge. After 20 years, one burner (the one used most) is slightly darker now but still works well.

 

[aczlan]

Our house came with one. I make eggs on it several times a week with a cast iron skillet, no problems.

Aaron Z

 

[SSdoxie]

Wife uses cast iron on our glass top 50% of the time, no problems.

 

[westcliffe01]

The glass is not glass, it is ceramic. So forget about everything you know about glass, the ceramic top is very different. It is much stronger than glass and will not melt even if the entire house burns down around it. If it has any decorative patterns in it, those might eventually wear over time. For removing carbon, you need the appropriate stuff. Carb cleaner being an example. Trying to scrub carbon off with a scouring pad is a waste of time. Try one of the ceramic stove top cleaners made for the job and use gloves while using it.

 

[crackerjack222]

Here is a blurb on the subject:

"There is some difference of opinion on this topic.

General Electric does not recommend the use of cast iron pans on their glass or ceramic cooktops for several reasons. The obvious one is that if the pan bottom has a burr or rough spot, it can scratch the surface.

GE also says that the high heat capacity of cast iron cookware can result in a hot pan shutting down the burner when its thermal sensors think that the unit is too hot to operate safely.

GE does say that porcelain-coated cast iron can be used without fear of scratching, but that caution is still needed because of the heat capacity issue.

The Cookware Manufacturers Association, on the other hand, states that cast iron is safe to use on a glass-top stove--if you make sure that the bottom of the pan is smooth (file off any imperfections) and heat the pan no higher than medium, turning the heat off before cooking is done and allowing the residual heat to finish the job. (It's that heat capacity issue again.)

The CMA also recommends that the pan diameter be no smaller than the diameter of the burner, but that is a general recommendation on these types of stove.

In any case, it is important to lift the pan off the burner, not slide across the surface which can cause scratches. And of course, don't drop the heavy cast iron on to the glass surface (duh).

Experts aside, many home cooks report they have had no problems with cast iron pans on glass top stoves, especially if they use a heat diffuser (available at most cooking stores) of diameter equal to the vast iron pan between the pan bottom and the burner."

This came from here:
https://www.quora.com/Is-it-okay-to...ove-top-or-will-the-skillet-scratch-the-glass

 

[Gary Fowler]

The ceramic tops will scratch. We have used them for 20 years or so. The mfg. don't recommend using cast iron cookware on them but I don't really know the reason why. I don't cook with cast iron although I use the stove top to rest fresh from the oven cast iron cookware on. We do have a few scratches on our presently owned 5 year old ceramic stove top but they don't affect the performance.

One of the drawbacks to these stove tops is cleaning. It is virtually impossible to clean the top without leaving some kind of smear showing on the black surface. That said, it sure beats trying to clean the burners on a gas stove after a boil over.

 

[Ford850]

We've had one for 10 or 12 years, and it's still like new. We use smooth bottom pans, mainly stainless steel. We use one cast iron pan as a deep fryer, and it works fine. I think the older cast iron skillets with deep heat rings wouldn't work too well, since the ring would hold the pan's bottom raised and above the glass.
A nice benefit of the glass top... we use it as extra counter space for prepping food, when not in use.