topic Re: Pros and Cons of glass cooktops? in Kitchen

Pros and Cons of glass cooktops?

house_cat — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 17:41:29 GMT

I've been researching electric ranges for days, and I'm only getting more confused. If you have a glass cooktop, please share the pros and cons - I'd really appreciate it.

Thank you.

Re: Pros and Cons of glass cooktops?

Kachina624 — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 17:54:55 GMT

I got a glass cook top because I'm really short on counterspace and I can use it for chores other than cooking. Mine is black and looks like new, however, I've noticed many light colored ones always look dirty. They seem to be permanently stained. I like mine.

Re: Pros and Cons of glass cooktops?

author — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 18:01:25 GMT

Because I have a terrible sensitivity to natural gas fumes, even the slightest amount, I had to switch to an electric range. At first I had the traditional coil burners which I hated, so hard to clean, things tipped off, boilovers and spills a mess to clean, just didn't like them.

I replaced that range with a GE Profile stainless steel/black glass cooktop about 14 years ago (that's a guess) and I love some things and other things I still grumble about.

It looks gorgeous in your kitchen, provides a nice flat top that doubles as extra counter space, or a place to put a hot pan quickly.

It is very easy to clean, mine looks like new. I use a damp microfiber cloth with a bit of foamy dish soap I make in a dispenser, polish it clean with a miracle cloth that I got here or one of the Campanelli puppy fur cloths. Easy.

It has fairly fast heat but not as fast as those narrow electric coils, so there is a wait time for it to get to the set temp. It also responds to temp changes more slowly so you have to get on to adjusting the temp before it gets away from you.

It stays hot a long time after it is turned off so you can save energy by using that heat for the final few minutes of cooking or just keeping food warm for awhile before serving.

If pots boil over it's an easy cleanup.

I can get a great sear on pan-fried steaks, meats, fish, chicken, all that very easily, great heat available. I couldn't ever get it quite that nice and hot with my gas range. It seems to provide more even heat in the pan too.

There is one burner that cycles on and off during cooking and I don't know if it is a defect or it is made that way, but not good for pan frying things as it cools then heats, etc.

The oven is a convection oven and is fine but I prefer my Oster countertop one, get faster, better results at a nice convenient height for the two of us.

Since I bought mine there are probably improvements in how the burners work, but I like mine, just have to give them time to heat up before I try and start cooking something.

Would I buy another one? Probably would.

Re: Pros and Cons of glass cooktops?

millieshops — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 18:02:33 GMT

@house_cat In my ideal kitchen I’d have gas but that’s not happening.

in my condo I bought glass. It did take me some time to get used to it, but it’s so much easier to care for that it’s worth that aggravation. I’ve had my glass for maybe 7 years with no troubles ( It’s by Kenmore - not sure I’d buy it again but just because I’m leary whether sears will survive.

in my apartment, I cook on an old electric with coils. I find it every bit as annoying to regulate the temperature I want as fast as I want it and I can’t wait until I move and no longer have to mess with cleaning. Seems as if the burner pans get more costly to buy yet poorer quality all the time. If I had known when I moved here in hat I would still be in place for so many years, I would have bought a new glass top

Re: Pros and Cons of glass cooktops?

Janey2 — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 18:06:48 GMT

I love a glass top. It is easy to clean and always shines. I have one that is a year old and I find it cools down very fast, much faster than my previous one. I have nothing negative to say about it.

Re: Pros and Cons of glass cooktops?

Carmie — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 18:09:01 GMT

My first choice would be a gas cooktop with an electric oven, but I do not have gas in my home and do not want to do propane.

I have to have electric, but thankfully no longer have the coil electric burners. They were difficult to keep clean and if you had a boil over, that mess was almost impossible to clean up.

Glass tops are easier to keep clean, you can use the top as counter space. The newer ones have great features.

I have one turbo burner that will heat a pot of water in minutes. One of my burners can also be used as a warmer. The burners are adjustable for the pot size. I can put a small pan on a large burner and only heat a portion of it that is under the pan.

The con...you have to remember to lift up pots and pans and not slide them or your glass top will scratch.

Re: Pros and Cons of glass cooktops?

Etoile308 — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 18:12:23 GMT

I love mine. As others have said, easy to clean and extra work space.

Re: Pros and Cons of glass cooktops?

Still Raining — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 18:16:01 GMT

Did you know that if someone places a hot, steamy lid face down on the glass surface that the suction needed to lift it when cool will cause the glass to crack?? Yes indeed.

Re: Pros and Cons of glass cooktops?

SilleeMee — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 18:18:45 GMT

I have a regular electric glass top stove. If I could buy another glass-top then it would be an induction type. Glass makes it easy to clean plus it makes for an extra counter space.

I want an induction glass top b/c they don't get hot and food doesn't get burned onto the surface so it's a snap to clean.

Re: Pros and Cons of glass cooktops?

MildredM — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 18:19:03 GMT

Standard glass cooktops are hard to clean and to keep clean. The glass gets hot enough to burn spills (etc.) onto the surface. Induction cooktops remain cool and spills (etc.) do not burn onto the surface of the glass. Clean up on an induction cooktop is quick and easily done with a simple wipe down.

Standard glass cooktops can be a fire hazard if items should be left on them accidentally such as dish towels or plastic storage containers while still hot. Induction only heats up magnetic surfaces so a paper towel left on the cooktop surface while turned on will not burn.

Having had both I would say that induction cooks the most similar to a gas cooktop. It heats up fast and cools down fast. Very easy to control.

Induction needs cookware where a magnet will stick to the bottom. My old cookware needed to be replaced. This may be an additional expense to calculate into the budget.

Induction cooktops have a low hum when in use. I was worried about this because of my tinnitus but I found that it didn't bother it.

Induction (not sure about regular electric) depending on the make/model, may need a higher amp rating then your fusebox may have. My home is older and I needed to look at the lower amp induction cooktops.

Induction cooktops are more expensive and we expanded the budget slightly because I wanted one with knobs.

It has been several years now using the induction and I remain happy with the choice.

Re: Pros and Cons of glass cooktops?

Scooby Doo — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 18:25:30 GMT

I have a GE glass top and a double oven. I like it better than the coil top. I disliked cleaning those pans under the coils and they never looked good. I have more work space with the glass top. One front burner is a turbo burner and heats up very quickly and I can select the small or larger size on it. The back middle burner is warming burner. The other two back are small and there's another front large burner. It does take a little more elbow grease to keep it clean and sometimes I use a razor blade to get off boil overs. I've used my cast iron on it. You really need to keep the bottom of your pans clean so it doesn't dirty the glass top. I don't use my canner on it; don't trust it. I would buy it again over the coil type.

I love the double oven feature. I always use the small top oven and store my extra pans in the large bottom oven. I only use the big oven for turkeys or when cooking a big dinner, maybe once or twice a year.

I think I've had mine 8 years without any issues.

Re: Pros and Cons of glass cooktops?

Nonametoday — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 18:27:12 GMT

@MildredM wrote:
Standard glass cooktops are hard to clean and to keep clean. The glass gets hot enough to burn spills (etc.) onto the surface. Induction cooktops remain cool and spills (etc.) do not burn onto the surface of the glass. Clean up on an induction cooktop is quick and easily done with a simple wipe down.

Standard glass cooktops can be a fire hazard if items should be left on them accidentally such as dish towels or plastic storage containers while still hot. Induction only heats up magnetic surfaces so a paper towel left on the cooktop surface while turned on will not burn.

Having had both I would say that induction cooks the most similar to a gas cooktop. It heats up fast and cools down fast. Very easy to control.

Induction needs cookware where a magnet will stick to the bottom. My old cookware needed to be replaced. This may be an additional expense to calculate into the budget.

Induction cooktops have a low hum when in use. I was worried about this because of my tinnitus but I found that it didn't bother it.

Induction (not sure about regular electric) depending on the make/model, may need a higher amp rating then your fusebox may have. My home is older and I needed to look at the lower amp induction cooktops.

Induction cooktops are more expensive and we expanded the budget slightly because I wanted one with knobs.

It has been several years now using the induction and I remain happy with the choice.

@house_cat

I posted on this before and my post was removed that I would never buy another electric glass top. They are dangerous and difficult to keep clean and prevent scratching. If I had my "druthers" I prefer gas stovetop and electric oven but our home was not amenable to that.

Re: Pros and Cons of glass cooktops?

Sammijo10 — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 18:27:31 GMT

@house_cat ,I have a six burner glass cooktop and I love it. There is a bit of a learning curve to cooking on electric as opposed to a gas burner, but I quickly adapted. I have two induction burners which I use 90% of the time because they are quick on (boil water in about 90 seconds) and quick off and the burners themselves don't get hot (the hot pan radiates heat back to the cooktop, but the heat is not from the burners - hard to explain!) If induction is within your budget, I totally recommend going that way. It has the benefit of being the most energy efficient of all the types of stove surface.

The best part of all is the clean up. A squirt of windex and the thing looks like new. Once a week or so I use one of the specialized glass top cleaners and I can see myself in the surface. It's a beautiful thing!

Cons: you need to be careful with any cast iron cookware - which works beautifully on the induction burners, BTW - don't drag them or the cooktop gets scratched. If you're a fying pan shaker, it will scratch the surface also. I've never been a pan shaker, so it works for me. You do need to hold a pan with one hand an stir with the other as lighter weight pans will slide if stirring too vigorously. Some glass cooktops say not to even use cast iron because the residual heat from the pot could crack the glass, so if you use cast iron, make sure the one you choose can handle the heat.

If you get induction, your cookware needs to be 'magnetic'. Aluminum, copper and some stainless are NOT magnetic and won't heat up on an induction burner. Just test your favorite pans with a small magnet to see if they'll work.

In short, I love mine. The easy clean up and quick heating changed my snobbish attachment to a gas stove.

I hope this helps!

Re: Pros and Cons of glass cooktops?

Nonametoday — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 18:36:49 GMT

@Sammijo10 wrote:
@house_cat ,I have a six burner glass cooktop and I love it. There is a bit of a learning curve to cooking on electric as opposed to a gas burner, but I quickly adapted. I have two induction burners which I use 90% of the time because they are quick on (boil water in about 90 seconds) and quick off and the burners themselves don't get hot (the hot pan radiates heat back to the cooktop, but the heat is not from the burners - hard to explain!) If induction is within your budget, I totally recommend going that way. It has the benefit of being the most energy efficient of all the types of stove surface.

The best part of all is the clean up. A squirt of windex and the thing looks like new. Once a week or so I use one of the specialized glass top cleaners and I can see myself in the surface. It's a beautiful thing!

Cons: you need to be careful with any cast iron cookware - which works beautifully on the induction burners, BTW - don't drag them or the cooktop gets scratched. If you're a fying pan shaker, it will scratch the surface also. I've never been a pan shaker, so it works for me. You do need to hold a pan with one hand an stir with the other as lighter weight pans will slide if stirring too vigorously. Some glass cooktops say not to even use cast iron because the residual heat from the pot could crack the glass, so if you use cast iron, make sure the one you choose can handle the heat.

If you get induction, your cookware needs to be 'magnetic'. Aluminum, copper and some stainless are NOT magnetic and won't heat up on an induction burner. Just test your favorite pans with a small magnet to see if they'll work.

In short, I love mine. The easy clean up and quick heating changed my snobbish attachment to a gas stove.

I hope this helps!

@Sammijo10 I have Corning Ware which I love to use and I am unable to use it except in my oven. I notice nowadays Corning Ware prices are through the ceiling. I proababy have 35-40 pieces. I love mine and I am going to keep it for my children. They like me to use it because I always used it when they were growing up and it's a fond memory for them. Of course, I had regular electric stoves and gas stoves during that time and it served me well. I do use it in the oven for casseroles, etc., and warm up in the microwave using Corning Ware.

Re: Pros and Cons of glass cooktops?

Carmie — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 18:43:30 GMT

@Scooby Doo I think we have the same appliance. I love mine too.

Re: Pros and Cons of glass cooktops?

jlkz — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 18:46:13 GMT

@author

That going up and down burner: may very well be that the pan or pot on it isn't perfectly flat. I had that problem.

Re: Pros and Cons of glass cooktops?

Xivambala — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 18:57:11 GMT

When I purchased my condo 2 years ago, it came with a Kenmore electric oven with a glass cooktop. The only negative is I always worry that my cat will step on the top during a burner cool down. He usually stays away if I'm not in the kitchen, so I stay away after cooking. It's easy to clean and gives me extra "counter" space when needed in my smallish kitchen.

Re: Pros and Cons of glass cooktops?

Meowingkitty — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 19:03:24 GMT

I have a GE Profile glass top with touch screen (no knobs), no back panel so that it's flat. It is induction and black. Easy to clean but it can streak but I really like it.

Re: Pros and Cons of glass cooktops?

Puppy Lips — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 19:15:34 GMT

We have a black glasstop stove and I find it is difficult to keep clean. The burner we use the most has a dirty ring around it. If I really work at it, some of it comes off. Maybe someone here has a suggestion for the best cleaner they have found. Not sure I would get it again if I had a choice.

Re: Pros and Cons of glass cooktops?

geezerette — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 19:21:41 GMT

@Still Raining wrote:
Did you know that if someone places a hot, steamy lid face down on the glass surface that the suction needed to lift it when cool will cause the glass to crack?? Yes indeed.

Also, you have you be careful not to drop anything heavy on them or they'll crack.

I was taking a whole pork loin out of the top freezer of my frig and it slipped out of my hands while trying to put it on the counter and it landed on the glass top stove. It cracked the glass top.