Smooth top kitchen stoves?

[fbb]

I'm glad my mom's friends didn't set the default for my appliance selection when I bought my first house.

 

[bcwife76]

We have stainless steel appliances (honestly not hard to keep them clean) and a smooth top glass range. I just use windex to clean up any grease or spills, but my husband also bought a special cleaner (that came with a scraper) and we use that every few months to give it a deep clean and make it shiny again The only issue I've had is that two of my pots have copper bottoms and it takes forever for water to boil in them (don't have this issue with any other pots) so now I'm in the market for a new big pot for boiling pasta water etc. 40+ minutes is too long for boiling water

 

[sherry7]

I'm glad my mom's friends didn't set the default for my appliance selection when I bought my first house.

I might be missing the possible sarcasm here. My friend voiced her opinion on black appliances, which is exactly why I asked my DIS board friends, since my son asked me for advice.

Thanks everyone for your opinions. My son read them over, and since he really did want black appliances, he thinks he will get them now since everyone is saying they're not horrendous to keep clean. I think he's still up in the air about the smooth top stove vs. coil burners. We've always had gas stoves (and so does almost everyone we know), so he's not familiar with electric stoves at all. The house actually does have natural gas heat, but for unknown reasons, the previous owners only did electric hookups for the stove, dryer, and water heater.

 

[mom*three]

I put in a GE induction (smooth glass) cooktop years ago, and it is fabulous. I have cooked on electric coils, flat tops, and gas, and think the induction is the best by far. It adjusts temperatures super fast, is easy to clean with water or Windex, and also doesn't stay as hot after cooking as a regular glass top. Research the pros and cons. My mom and other family members are amazed at how much better it is than their regular smooth glass cooktops.

 

[KKB]

It has a black top. I do NOT use any special cleaners (soft scrub) & it is very easy to keep streak free. I just wipe with a damp cloth & dry immediately.

ONE VIP TIP--NEVER hit anything on the top. I used to smack tubes of crescents against the corner of the stove--DO NOT DO THIS. It will crack the ceramic (and you will be unable to use one or more burners) And it is not much more to buy a new stove than to replace the top. So learn from my foolish ways

I grew up w/ a coil top stove, and had one in our first few houses. PAIN to keep clean, imo. And I do not notice any difference in heating.

 

[Tink9295]

I have a 20 year old black cooktop range. I swear it was one of the first on the market. I can honestly say I would only buy black or stainless steel.

The cooktop still looks great. I clean it and if anything gets stuck on I'll spray it and let it sit. Comes right off.

Also I use cast iron on it all the time. It heats evenly and cooks faster. I also have traditional cookware and ceramic pots. Everything cooks evenly as long as your pots and pans are in good shape.

If he ever has to resell the stainless and black stoves are going to be a buyers preference.

 

[abolanwoski]

He's 25, presumably single (no mention of a wife or GF in this conversation) and not into cleaning. He should therefore buy the cheapest coil stove (and other appliances) that he can find in a color that suits his taste. Any money not spent now should be saved for when he moves in with a woman, who will immediately know exactly what she wants (in stainless, no doubt) and will insist on an upgrade! LOL

Although I'm being funny, it's probably not inaccurate. If he's anything like most 25 year old guys (social, has friends, will throw parties in his awesome new house) his glass top will be scratched to **** within a week. Coils are cheaper and all he's going to be doing is boiling water for pasta and making the occasional hangover eggs.

 

[LJSquishy]

He should choose the color he thinks will look best in his kitchen. I happen to love all colors of appliances (well, except that dirty almond/bisque color!) but it really depends on the specific kitchen as to which color looks best.

I've had both a white stovetop and a black one and I don't think one looks cleaner than the other in terms of messes showing. They will both show splatters and crumbs! If I had to pick a color that would camouflage messes the best, I think I would choose black -- but it does show streaks/water spots more so than white so it's a trade off. I would consider black appliances slightly more modern and updated than white.

In terms of smooth top vs electric coil, I've only ever had an electric coil stovetop so I can't comment too much on that, although my parents and my in-laws have smooth tops and they both complain about the way the heating works. According to them, it clicks on, gets to temp, then clicks off, cools off some, then clicks back on, etc. The result is a somewhat uneven temperature that is harder to regulate. I'm pretty sure electric coil tops work the same way, but I think the coils hold the temperature better so it's a more even temp. My in-laws' smooth top is probably 20 years old (so surely they've improved since then), and my parents' is around 10 years old I think. For someone who doesn't do a lot of from-scratch cooking, any stove is probably fine, smooth top or coil. For someone who spends a lot of time in the kitchen, I'm not sure a smooth top would be the best choice (or electric for that matter). My mom has adjusted her cooking style to accommodate for the way her smooth top regulates temperature, but my mother-in-law says hers is really difficult to make candy on because of the change in temp. She instead uses a portable induction burner for her candy making (not relevant to your son's decision making, but just an example).

If I had to choose for him, I'd probably choose a coil top.

 

[ajwolfe]

Interesting how many folks use cast iron on their glass tops...I've been told repeatedly not to do this and even have some Food Network brand dutch ovens that came with an insert saying may not be suited for glass tops (had before we built a new house and got new appliances). I did try it once but wasn't sure it was worth the risk of potentially cracking the top of the stove just for that so I haven't done it again.

Anywho, I do like the look of the glass top stoves but I think they are a bit of a pain to keep clean especially if something burns over.

 

[Ranger111]

Interesting how many folks use cast iron on their glass tops...I've been told repeatedly not to do this and even have some Food Network brand dutch ovens that came with an insert saying may not be suited for glass tops (had before we built a new house and got new appliances). I did try it once but wasn't sure it was worth the risk of potentially cracking the top of the stove just for that so I haven't done it again.

Anywho, I do like the look of the glass top stoves but I think they are a bit of a pain to keep clean especially if something burns over.

Well, if you go with an induction glasstop, you have to use cast iron or stainless steel (something magnetic). You just have to be careful....but not THAT careful.

Induction heat up immediately, cook quickly and keep constant temperatures. Have you noticed on the newer cooking shows that the chefs not using gas are using induction?

Also "sips" energy and does not require that "giant" power cable to feed the cooktop.

Finally, Windex and water is the only thing I have ever used to clean my induction and it seriously looks new and it is several years old and the veteran of many boilovers, spatter overs, etc.

But the one poster who mentioned going with a cheap coil for this particular guy is probably right....some woman somewhere along the line will probably want to change whatever he decides....LOL

 

[figment3258]

i have a glass back top and ugh its never clean it always looks like a shiny spot somewhere its a pain and i wish i went with the good old coil top instead

 

[pixiemama91]

I prefer gas but sadly our street doesn't have any gas lines so electric it is. We have the glass top. It does burn easily but as long as you clean it right away its not a problem. Ours is black, which would not be our choice but it was in the house when we bought it. It shows dust and fingerprints very easily. Its not so noticeable if the sun isn't shining but as soon as the sun comes through the windows, you can see the dust. It's not from lack of cleaning as it gets wiped down after each use.

 

[Narnia_girl]

I have had a smooth top for about 15 years.
We have a house rule that whenever a burner is turned off the tea kettle gets put on it. That is because I have burned towels, cutting boards and cookbooks from smooth burners that no longer look hot. My fear is that a child (or myself) would put a hand on a still hot burner.

Yes, the cooktop will have a "hot" indicator light, but it's easy for that to get covered up when you are cooking a lot of things at once. So to be safe, we always put the tea kettle on when we turn the burner off.

 

[frank430316]

I put in a GE induction (smooth glass) cooktop years ago, and it is fabulous. I have cooked on electric coils, flat tops, and gas, and think the induction is the best by far. It adjusts temperatures super fast, is easy to clean with water or Windex, and also doesn't stay as hot after cooking as a regular glass top. Research the pros and cons. My mom and other family members are amazed at how much better it is than their regular smooth glass cooktops.

Induction cooktops have all the advantages of a gas stove plus the easy cleanup of a flattop. Just set the temperature, and the pan reaches it almost instantly - and then cools down almost as quickly. If you do a lot of cooking, they are a must have!

 

[arminnie]

I am on my third glass top electric stove top - not because they have gone bad but because I have two homes and have moved.

The white tops will get stained. Seems to happen to everyone so I don't think they even make them anymore. I've had no problem keeping the black ones clean. I hated the coils - impossible to keep clean. I have cooked with cast iron a lot. on the smooth top with no problem.

I am currently buying a new home. Any home with coils I know that I will have to spend the money to get rid of them.

The home we currently have an offer on has gas. The only gas stoves I've had in the past 40 years were ancient so I am looking forward to one where I don't have to light a match to start the burner.

I just hope the gas is not a pain the in the rear to clean..

 

[Ranger111]

Induction cooktops have all the advantages of a gas stove plus the easy cleanup of a flattop. Just set the temperature, and the pan reaches it almost instantly - and then cools down almost as quickly. If you do a lot of cooking, they are a must have!

They do not have all the pluses of gas.

You cannot get down to the "minute" adjustment...that is super fine,,and you do not have "I can see" the amount of heat going to the pan.

But, as I said in a few earlier posts, induction is far superior to any other electric option and the actual cooktop is far more "better looking" than gas" or if I did not phrase it that way, I am now.

Thing is, most people still don't know about induction and the large majority ignore the new for 20 years or so and will still keep going with the "old" methods....

 

[scrapquitler]

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.

I have a smooth top stove, I've had it for 10 years. I use crema brite to clean it, no big deal, its easy to keep clean. I don't have any scratches on the surface, and I'm not particularly careful, and neither are the other members of my family. I use regular cookware (I have some t-fal, some cheap stuff from Walmart, some cuisinart and I even use cast iron frying pans on it). You don't need anything special.

Another note, if he doesn't clean frequently and the burners get that burnt build up stuff on them, he can scrape it gently with a razor blade to get the stuff off.

 

[Debkearsch]

Love my flattop, won't ever go back. Had it over 6 years now. I'm a very sloppy cook, but it cleans up beautifully, even boil overs, with a little Barkeepers Friend and a scrubber. Barkeepers Friend will leave a streaky haze if you don't get it all wiped off, but a clean, damp rag solves that problem and it looks like new!

 

[minnierocks]

I have had all three...gas, coil electric and a flat top electric. I would never buy anything other than a flat top electric. It is super easy to clean with a ceramic cleaner and I have used everything from stainless pots to cast iron on it. I have cooked stuff for canning all day...I have had no issues with it. My kids used it to cook on so it is durable. I didn't buy a high dollar one...it was purchased at Lowes over 15 years ago. I highly recommend it...coil electric is horrible to clean. The flat top looks much better in my opinion.

 

[SUSIEQ]

I have had all three...gas, coil electric and a flat top electric. I would never buy anything other than a flat top electric.

Same here!