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John Hagan

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new stove/ glass ceramic issues?

by John Hagan » Thu Nov 17, 2011 10:18 am

The in laws bought a pretty nice stove a couple of years back and now they handed it down to us. They were used to gas and bought an electric glass/ceramic top convection oven. They couldn't get used to it and handed it down to us. Its a huge upgrade to us, but were not used to the smooth top surface. We cook with a lot of cast iron, both enameled and not. I have read about the importance of smooth bottom pots pans for this type of range, and realize it can be pretty easy to crack these tops.What Im looking at now is getting some type of heat diffuser to put on the burners to make them a little safer and forgiving for our style of cooking. The best ones I can see online are these copper units http://bellacopper.stores.yahoo.net/copheatdif.html
While not cheap it seems almost like an insurance policy when pricing out a replacement top for the stove.Anybody have any thoughts on the issue?
The tall one wants white toast, dry, with nothin' on it.
And the short one wants four whole fried chickens, and a Coke.
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Deb Hall

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Re: new stove/ glass ceramic issues?

by Deb Hall » Thu Nov 17, 2011 10:39 am

John,

We had a glass top at the store ( gas at home), but it was induction which heats differently. This link had some good suggestions on how to test your pans for use on your new stovetop: http://askville.amazon.com/kind-cookwar ... tId=434099
http://www.ehow.com/about_5272659_types ... toves.html

The biggest issue with castiron is breakage ( unlikely unless you smash pans down) and scratching- which will happen when you slide pots about. But I found that we don't slide cast iron about like you do with a saute pan. I guess it's up to the way you cook. These copper diffusers look like a good idea, but do they work for ceramic tops? The pictures look like electric? I also wonder how well they would stay in place or if they'd slide on a smooth glass surface.

Congrats on your new addition!
Deb.
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Re: new stove/ glass ceramic issues?

by John Hagan » Thu Nov 17, 2011 10:44 am

Thanks Deb, yes these are ok for ceramic(according to the site at least). I also wondered about the sliding, but I guess they are heavy enough they dont move around.
Thanks for the links.
Edit to add...I said the top was ceramic..but reading the manual its described as ceramic glass. Same thing I assume?
The tall one wants white toast, dry, with nothin' on it.
And the short one wants four whole fried chickens, and a Coke.
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Deb Hall

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Re: new stove/ glass ceramic issues?

by Deb Hall » Thu Nov 17, 2011 11:26 am

John Hagan wrote:Thanks Deb, yes these are ok for ceramic(according to the site at least). I also wondered about the sliding, but I guess they are heavy enough they dont move around.
Thanks for the links.
Edit to add...I said the top was ceramic..but reading the manual its described as ceramic glass. Same thing I assume?

Yep- same thing.

:D
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Lois Mauk

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Re: new stove/ glass ceramic issues?

by Lois Mauk » Thu Nov 17, 2011 6:42 pm

You might as well accept the fact that you are going to scratch your glass cooktop with cast iron pots and skillets, especially if you tend to slide them around. BUT, we've had glass cooktops for 15+ years now and use cast iron all the time without any "issues".
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Re: new stove/ glass ceramic issues?

by John Hagan » Fri Nov 18, 2011 9:42 am

Yeah, I was kinda thinking some scratching would be inevitable. Maybe Ive just read a bit too much on these units, but I was becoming a bit paranoid of how easy they might crack due to uneven pan/pot bottoms or rough surface cast iron. After looking over our stock theres only a couple of pieces that dont seem to sit exactly flat on the cook top surface so it probably wont be a huge issue as far as were concerned. As most things go online...the reviews/testimonials Ive read on glass tops are pretty polarized. While I expect there to be some learning curve here, I think its going to be harder for me to wrap my head around the whole "convection" oven. Maybe it will be time try making bread again, something Anne and I have left to the pros until now.
BTW Lois...I know its been a while...but I have to say I was relived to see you were not the "Lois" that was reported to have been in an accident some time back.
The tall one wants white toast, dry, with nothin' on it.
And the short one wants four whole fried chickens, and a Coke.
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Re: new stove/ glass ceramic issues?

by Deb Hall » Fri Nov 18, 2011 11:40 am

Depending on your oven, convection can be great! The thing to remember is that there are two types- for baking and for roasting. Ovens vary, but for baking mine lowers the temp by 25 degrees and cooks at the same time, but things finish more evenly, rise more evenly ( great for that bread you want to try. My oven automatically drops the temp down 25 degrees for the baking mode- depending on model you may need to enter a lower temp.

For roasting, no temperature adjustment but it cooks meats faster ( in my case 25% faster) and keeps them moist with even browning. (With a big turkey this can mean 1hour or more less cook time) Have fun playing with your new toy!

Deb
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Lois Mauk

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Re: new stove/ glass ceramic issues?

by Lois Mauk » Fri Nov 18, 2011 9:01 pm

John Hagan wrote:BTW Lois...I know its been a while...but I have to say I was relived to see you were not the "Lois" that was reported to have been in an accident some time back.


Thanks, John. I was relieved too. :D It was a crazy day!

Enjoy your new stove. I love mine. Bought another one for the church a number of years ago when we built a Fellowship Hall (our first kitchen). It's really nice that we don't have to clean drip pans.
Make a fast friend . . . Adopt a retired racer from Greyhound Pets of America!
http://www.GPALouisville.org

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