Smooth top kitchen stoves?

[sherry7]

Hello DIS'ers. My son is buying his first house. He needs to buy an electric stove, refrigerator, and a counter top style microwave.

We've been looking at appliances online (Lowes, Home Depot, Best Buy, Sears, etc) and he's been getting an idea of what he wants. He doesn't want to pay the extra price for stainless steel, even though he likes the look of it. He likes black, but a friend told me that it is horrendous to keep looking clean. So, I suppose he's choosing white by default. Now he's trying to decide if he wants a traditional electric range, or the type with the smooth ceramic top. I have a gas range, so I'm not very familiar with the electric variety.

Do any of you have the ceramic top electric range? How do you like it? Do you have to use special pots and pans? (He's getting a hand-me-down set of almost new Revere Ware with the aluminum disks on the bottom.) Is it harder to keep clean than the traditional burners, or easier? Keep in mind that he's a 25 year old guy, so cleaning isn't high on his priority list. Thanks for your input.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

How does he figure that black is harder to keep clean than white? No way!

I have a smooth top glass cooktop. It's super easy to clean; you do need to use a special cleaner. My only complaint is the glass can get scratched. You don't have to use any special pans, although the bottoms should be flat to have good contact.

 

[Monykalyn]

I have smooth too in this house (previous house had gas). While it is easy to clean it takes some effort to make it shiny and streak free -not hard work just extra effort; I sprinkle baking soda over the top and spritz heavily with vinegar and let sit while rest of kitchen cleaned up- then wipe up and polish with soft towel, gets even spills up. However I cook a lot and dispose with a white got passion electric stoves! Give me gas range anyway (our house doesn't have gas line -yet- but it's coming soon). I use my regular aluminum clad cookware on it without a problem. We are kinda rough on the top and no cracks or Scratches in 5 years.

 

[disney world dreamer]

first he should go with black vs white.
idk what his friend is talking about.
black is very easy to keep clean especially vs white!
white appliances look very dingy after a short period of time.

we have a glass top electric stove and we love it.
we use any kind of pot/pan on it just fine.
sure its not instant heat like gas but we still love it.
and it gives us an even place to set things that were in the oven such as cookie sheets, casserole dishes....
plus we can prep food on it. for example i'll take stuff out of the fridge to make a sandwich with and set it on the stove top and make my sandwich.

 

[afan]

My parents have one and I hate it. If your pot boils over it'll burn right away and it can be hard to clean off. With traditional you can replace parts, whether it's the tray or the coil.

You can't use cast iron with the ceramic, so if that's something he'll ever want to do I would get a regular stove.

I think it heats up faster than a regular stove.

The one thing I do like is that the two front burners have two different sizes, so you have more options for the pot size. You just need to make sure you turn on the single or the dual burner that matches the size of the pan/pot.

 

[maleficent32]

My parents have one and I hate it. If your pot boils over it'll burn right away and it can be hard to clean off. With traditional you can replace parts, whether it's the tray or the coil.

You can't use cast iron with the ceramic, so if that's something he'll ever want to do I would get a regular stove.

I think it heats up faster than a regular stove.

The one thing I do like is that the two front burners have two different sizes, so you have more options for the pot size. You just need to make sure you turn on the single or the dual burner that matches the size of the pan/pot.

I use my cast iron pans on my glass top all the time.

I would go with black over white, besides the cooktop on a white glass top will be black.
You do have to be careful with spill overs especially with sugary or starchy water, it can cause pitting of the glass. I have spilled over both of those and I have yet to get pitting. When something spills over I just take a wet paper towel and wipe quickly where the spill was.
To be honest I'm not a huge fan of my stove, the glass tops don't cool down real fast, but I guess that would be true of a coil stove too.
It looks nice in my kitchen though, and since I can't have gas I went with what looked the best (and it was definitely black appliances .)

 

[JessM]

I used to sell appliances and by default cleaned them a lot haha. I'd go with black, just as easy to keep clean as white and much more modern.

I'd get a glass top stove, you need special cleaner but it's easier to clean than the old style burners. You also don't need to replace the pans like you do on the old style. I've had both type of stoves and used the same pans on both.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

We have a smooth top drop in black stove. Not a big fan of the black - it does show dirt easily - even when you salt something in the pan, you can see it on the stove if you miss.
Someone mentioned making a sandwich on it - can't do that if it's black unless you want to see the bread crumbs all over it. LOL

But we didn't have much choice since even white had a black top.

I definitely prefer a smooth top over a coil stove. I have a set of pans that are flat on the bottom that work perfectly on the stove.
I had some old pans that weren't quite as flat that I gave away because they didn't work on the smooth top stove.

 

[smokeyblue]

I've had gas, coil and flat top in my adult life. For cleaning purposes, I would say I like the flat top the best. My gas range almost as easy to clean, but my ceramic coated pots and pans got ruined. All in all, I think coil stoves are a big pain to clean and its worth the little bit extra to get the flat top. Flat tops also look classier in my opinion.

Personally, I just don't like the look of black appliances, unless you have really dark cabinets and dark walls. I prefer white in most kitchens, but that's just me! If he can afford the extra, I would go for the bottom freezer. Just got mine last summer and I love it!

 

[Ranger111]

If son wants to join the modern world, he should think about getting an induction black cooktop.

I have a GE induction cooktop I have had for about 8 years. Love it. It cooks much faster than regular electric, etal.

I am not going to waste my time stating the advantages and disadvantages, you can google them.

Just know that for eight years, I have been using regular blue Windex on the glass induction cooktop -- despite the free bottle of "special cleaner" that GE included with the cooktop -- and the Windex has kept it looking as good as the day I installed it (and I DID install myself).

 

[afan]

I use my cast iron pans on my glass top all the time.

The manual for ours said not to use them and to only use flat bottom/flat side pots and pans. Maybe it's different depending on the manufacturer or maybe it really is ok, but we've always followed the manual.

If he knows anyone with the type of stove he wants I would have him see if they'll let him cook on it. I wanted a ceramic stove top until I cooked on one. I think it's similar to gas, you need to cook on it to see if you like it and some love it and others don't. Or at least make sure he can return whatever he gets if he decides he doesn't like it.

 

[North of Mouse]

Do any of you have the ceramic top electric range? How do you like it? Do you have to use special pots and pans? (He's getting a hand-me-down set of almost new Revere Ware with the aluminum disks on the bottom.) Is it harder to keep clean than the traditional burners, or easier? Keep in mind that he's a 25 year old guy, so cleaning isn't high on his priority list. Thanks for your input.

Have had a glass smooth top for 14 years and would have no other kind. Had gas burners when we were growing up - hated it - then had regular coil electric burners when renting. Both were very hard to clean. I'm a neat nik in the kitchen and invariably I'd occasionally let something boil over!!

No certain pots have to be used, just remember not to slide them around - I even use my cast iron skillets, but I am 'very' careful with them.

Now, I just wipe them clean after every use - cleaning is a breeze - no stains or anything after all these years - still looks new! I do occasionally (about once every 6 months) wipe it with a ceramic top cleaner, but that's just to make sure I don't miss any grease spots. Mine is white, but really don't think black is harder to clean - I just don't like that color personally - like the bright look!!

 

[IDigDug]

I have a smooth top electric range. I clean it with a razor blade, to scrape off the stuck on stuff and Barkeeper's friend. When we first got it, it came with some special cleaner. I find it's not necessary. Barkeeper's Friend or even Soft Scrub work fine and haven't left any scratches. Our range is probably about 14 years old now.

I also use a big cast iron frying pan on it, though I think that might not be recommended.

 

[whatname]

We have had a flat top for over 12 years. I would prefer gas, but this was in the house when we moved in. I like it over a coil stove. I think it has better control over the heat. I use cast iron on mine. My biggest fear is dropping it on the top. Otherwise, no problems. I even use a canner on it. I have Revereware with the disk bottoms (I don't know what they are called). It works fine. I use soft scrub to clean it. It has worked fine. Yes, if you have a boil over or spill, it is a pain to clean. Otherwise, it is o.k.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

My parents have one and I hate it. If your pot boils over it'll burn right away and it can be hard to clean off. With traditional you can replace parts, whether it's the tray or the coil.

You can't use cast iron with the ceramic, so if that's something he'll ever want to do I would get a regular stove.

.....

Not true; there's no issue using cast iron on a glass cooktop. I do it all the time.

Burned on food is easily removed with a razor blade scraper.

 

[rdevine10]

I will be the lone voice here. When we moved into our current house it had a coil top stove. I was going to replace it right away, but I quickly discovered it cooks SO much faster than my flat top stoves I have had before. Almost 2/3 time less. Its crazy.

Also, I had a black cook top before and found it to be a HUGE pain to keep clean. I think its much easier to keep the coils clean- and I can scrub it with a regular sponge and cleaner (not the special cooktop cleaner).

So 2 1/2 years later I am still using the same stove- when it dies I will replace it (and FWIW I do not love the way the coils look but I MUCH prefer the way it cooks).

 

[MSLRAC]

Not true; there's no issue using cast iron on a glass cooktop. I do it all the time. Burned on food is easily removed with a razor blade scraper.

I think that may depend on the brand. We have a Whirlpool and the cooktop shattered last weekend while I was cooking. Our landlord had Whirlpool replace it and the tech said absolutely no cast iron because it can etch the glass and cause it to shatter. He thinks that is what happened to ours.

 

[maleficent32]

You can use cast iron on glass top stoves. There is a potential for damage so the manufacturers are going to say not to so they aren't liable for the damage.

http://www.ehow.com/about_5415543_can-used-glass-top-stove.html

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I'm happy with ours. We have a black top. We got it 2 years ago.

It replaced an old coil stove that I hated.

 

[kymom99]

I bought a flat top about 16 years ago for my old house. It was okay. It still works fine. I moved to my parents' house 4 years ago. (Bought the house when they died.) They had a GE range with coil burners. We figured it was at least 20 years old. The oven burner went out last year and I decided to get a whole new one instead of trying to repair the old one. I replaced it with an almost identical model. The kitchen is not stylish in the least and a basic appliance was just fine with me.

I do not miss the flat top. You have to be kind of careful with it.