Tell Me about your smooth top range.

[poohandwendy]

What about your pots? Do you have to use anything special?

No, I use all of my regular stuff.

We have the dinner here and I am not sure if I want my Stove messed up so quickly.

If it is only about the mess, don't worry. You will love how easy it is to clean.

But, as far as cooking I guess I would do it soon to get used to it or wait until after Thanksgiving. You will always have different cooking times/temp differences when you change stoves (electric, especially). Not sure I would want to deal with that right before hosting holiday meal.

 

[Mom2Ashli]

No, I use all of my regular stuff. If it is only about the mess, don't worry. You will love how easy it is to clean.

But, as far as cooking I guess I would do it soon to get used to it or wait until after Thanksgiving. You will always have different cooking times/temp differences when you change stoves (electric, especially). Not sure I would want to deal with that right before hosting holiday meal.

Yep you could be right. The oven that I have now is way off with temps. You can tell when you are cooking cookies and things.

I think we are going to look around tomorrow and see who has what.

 

[Mom2Ashli]

I did notice that some of the new ones have a warming section on the stove-top. That looks pretty cool.

 

[Kae]

I have been thinking about getting one when we build again. Of those of you who love them did you cook on gas before you got the smooth top?

kae

 

[graygables]

I have to chime in here with an opposing view! I bought a smooth top 10 years ago and it lasted until 2 months *after* the warranty before the top got a huge crack in it. It was cheaper to buy a new stove than replace the top. Also, when we married, I had reverware pots and pans (thin copper bottom) that I'd used for years and DDs were not allowed anywhere near our small galley kitchen when something was boiling. If the pans do not have a perfectly flat bottom, they can rock, spilling boiling liquid out on the cook. BTDT. I had to buy all new pots and pans with the "disk" bottoms to use on the cooktop. Also, there was more than one time that a control was bumped on when I was using it as "extra counter" and it's a miracle our house didn't burn down on more than one occasion! When it broke, DH insisted on a gas stove for economic reasons and I hate that almost as much. It is sooooo uneven baking, self-clean is a joke, and reaching over to the back for the controls is just a dumb idea, no matter whose stove it is.

I am asking for a new slide-in, ELECTRIC, and coil (gasp!) for Christmas. My mom has a Maytag and absolutely loves it...the drip pans go in the self-cleaning oven and look just fine and all the controls are on the front, so no burns reaching over pots. I already have the metal burner covers that match my dishes, so I'm hoping Santa is good to me!

Good luck making your decision...there is a LOT to choose from out there!

 

[JoBird]

I had a regular stove in my first house, hated it. I had a gas stove in my second house, hated it worse! I now have a ceramic top stove in my third house and I will never, never go back. I have found in the last few weeks that the absolute BEST thing to clean it with is a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser! I had tried soft scrub, Dawn Power dissolver, windex, the Cerama-Brite stuff ( I really didn't like this, felt like I was waxing a car)....the Magic Eraser is WONDERFUL! Takes off anything you get on it with one wipe! I even had rice overflow once and it came right up.
With all of that being said, do have to warn you about the top being hot, and the only way to know that it's hot after you've turned it off is to see the "hot" red light lit up. My DS6 not too long ago didn't realize I had just cooked something on the stove, and went into the refrigerator for some yogurt. He set it on top of the stove in order to get a spoon, and when the yogurt carton began melting, he grabbed it and received second degree burns all over his precious hand. It blistered immediately, and I rushed him to the ER... we thought at first it was worse than 2nd degree...he had to keep going back to the Dr for dressing changes but now he is fine with only a small scar. Just a warning to be careful, but the stove is a wonderful invention! Hope you get a good one!

 

[SueM in MN]

Sue - I think I remember reading that if anything boils over to leave it until the stove cools - except anything with a sugar content - those spills need to be cleaned when it happens. It never said why - but now I know!

We bought ours from an appliance store/showroom that just sells to builders. They actually had a piece of the ceramic stove top there that they had burnt some sugar on. It was pitted - lloked and felt sort of like shiny charcoal. Really made me want to not get any sugar stuff on it.

 

[SueM in MN]

If the pans do not have a perfectly flat bottom, they can rock, spilling boiling liquid out on the cook. BTDT. I had to buy all new pots and pans with the "disk" bottoms to use on the cooktop.

I had some old Calphalon pans that were warped so the bottom isn't flat (they do tell you not to put them in the dishwasher for a reason). They rocked on my old (coil) stove and they rock a bit worse on the flat top stove. I still use them though.

 

[luv2nascar]

I have the GE smooth top electric range. I love the way it looks and cooks. I hate the clean up. Things burn on it and it is very hard to clean. The induction ranges they have now look great. They will not burn stuff on the glass top because the top doesn't heat. I think they attract dust also. It is nice but not as great as I thought it would be.

 

[2angelsinheaven]

The place I am now has one, LOVE IT! Everything cooks so much faster as well. The only thing I'm still getting use to is remembering it's still hot when I turn it off, its so easy to put things there (not like a normal stove). Water boils in the blink of an eye.

 

[mcnuss]

I agree... i love mine and wont go back to a regular stove top EVER again!
If I ever sell my house. it goes with me... hehehe

I HATED mine and could not wait to get rid of it. Pots slide all over it and if you are trying to pour and whisk at the same time, it's dangerous. They take forever to cool down and I would never have one in the house with a child younger than 5 or 6. Too easy to get burned if they don't see that the elements are on or that the "hot" light is on.

The only advantage is the clean up. I went back to gas, but with a glass surface for the clean up. It's got an electric convection oven, and the controls are on the front. It's the best stove I have ever owned. (I do not comprehend why manufacturers still put controls on the back of a gas stove, there have been HUGE legal settlements after children were injured).

 

[poohbear1029]

The only thing I would recommend is not to put any unglazed pottery on it....such as the pampered chef stoneware. If put on it and moved around, it could scratch the surface. So, I have two ways of dealing with it. I have a glass cutting board next to the stove that I set things on....or I just place a towel on top of the stove, if it is cool and place the pampered chef stoneware there.

I am on my second....sold the last one with the last house....I find it can be a little work to keep clean...especially starchy spills....but it cooks well and looks great!

 

[moniot]

I have a Whirlpool Accusimmer flat surface (black) with the optional sizing on two of the burners. I love it. It always looks clean and cleans up wonderfully. I use Bar Keepers Friend cleanser. I used to have gas then electric coils. I had more problems with the electric coils staying hot and doing damage then I have had with this one.

 

[arminnie]

We have a GE Profile smooth top electric stove. We got it almost 2 years ago. I just love it. The smooth top is the best invention they came up with. It is easy to keep clean if you use the ceramabrite they sell for smooth top stoves. I simply wipe it up after dinner when I am cleaning everything else up. I use a wet paper towel and the cleaner. No scrubbing involved. It has stayed beautiful.

I used to hate trying to keep my old stoves clean. I was always buying new silver burner dishes because I couldn't get those things clean even with brillo. I highly recommend a smooth top, and GE is a brand we have always liked.

Ditto to all of the above. I do recommend black instead of white - not sure if they even sell the white anymore. The white has a tendency to stain.

My dad (who lives with me) fries something almost everyday. There was NO way to keep the burner type stove clean. Even when I've been gone, and it has a few days worth of grease burnt on it, I can still get the smooth top clean with just a little bit of scrubbing.

Also - the smooth tops have improved SO much from the ones 10-15 years ago. They heat up faster and are much better at simmering at low temperatures. I looked at them when I was remodeling in CA a decade ago and even the appliance salespeople told me that I didn't want one. No comparison to the ones today.

 

[Mom2Ashli]

So it seems like the biggest worry is SUGAR. And stoneware scratches.

 

[golfgal]

My flat top came with our house. It was bought in 1998, so it has been here for a while and it still looks new. I love it. I don't use any of the special cleaners. If something boils over I just let it cool and scrape it off. I didn't know that sugary stuff could hurt the stovetop. I wouldn't have any other type of stovetop ever again.