How To Use Cast Iron On Glass Top?

Cast iron on glass top? Sounds like disaster waiting to happen.

There’s no doubt about it, the smooth surface of the glass top stove is much more sophisticated looking than the traditional stove with the coil element.

Both stoves use electric elements for cooking, however with the glass stove top the heating element is underneath the glass-ceramic surface instead of on top.

What’s the Appeal of the Glass Stove Top?

One of the big appeals of a glass stove top is its smooth surface that makes it easy to clean up.

The flat surface means there are no spaces between coils where food can spill.

Another advantage of the glass top stove over the coil stove is that the smooth surface is level, ensuring that heat is evenly distributed through induction.

When it comes to what cookware works best on a glass top stove, pots and pans that are medium to heavyweight and that have a flat bottom are highly recommended. Stainless steel is the most popular, followed closely by copper pans and aluminium.

So what do you do when some of your favorite cookware is cast iron or glass? Do you replace those pots and pans for stainless steel just because you have a new glass top stove?

Can You Use Cast Iron On a Glass Top Stove?

One of the biggest disadvantages of glass top stoves is that the surface is easily scratched by cookware. It’s recommended that some types of cookware not be used on a glass top stove, such as glass, stoneware, and cast iron stove top pans. Let’s look at why.

The Weight of Cast Iron Pans

When a stove has glass over the top, cast iron can easily scratch and damage the surface.

The main reason for this is the weight of the pan – cast iron is heavy. Add food to the pot, such as soups and stews, and the pot is even heavier.

And that’s a lot of weight resting on top of the glass cooktop. Cooking with Glass Top Stove using cast iron Of course glass cooktops are designed to handle a lot of weight. But if you even slightly drop that cast iron pan on the surface while you’re lifting it, the stovetop can easily crack, permanently damaging your glass top stove that now needs to be replaced.

Uneven Bottom of Cast Iron Cookware

The best cookware for glass top stoves are ones that have a flat bottom so that heat can be evenly distributed throughout the bottom surface of the pan.

Cast iron pans usually don’t have a perfectly flat bottom, but rather have rough spots and burrs on the bottom. This can easily scratch the glass top, sometimes leaving behind deep scratches that can cause discoloration in the stove surface.

The Size of Cast Iron Pots and Pans

Cooking with Glass Top Stove using cast iron Still another reason why glass stove top manufacturers steer you away from using cast iron cookware is the size. Many of the cast iron pots and skillets we use are larger than the burners on the stove.

For heat efficiency, the recommended cookware size for glass stove tops is that it be no more than one-inch bigger than the burner. If cast iron pans are too big, the heat won’t be distributed evenly across the bottom surface which can lead to food taking much longer to cook.

The large size of cast iron cookware can also damage or reduce the life of the heating element when it traps heat of long periods of time underneath its bottom surface.

The Surface Finish of Cast Iron

The surface finish of cast iron pans is rough rather than smooth. And this rough surface, along with an uneven bottom, can quickly scratch the glass top. One exception is if you purchase cast iron that is coated with a porcelain enamel, which makes the pan smooth with a more even finish.

How to Protect Glass Top Stove From Cast Iron?

Despite all the warnings about not cooking with cast iron on glass top stoves, there are some things that you can do to protect your stove and still cook with cast iron without damage or scratches.

Lift....... Don’t Slide!

If you’re going to use your favorite cast iron pan on your new glass top stove, you’ll have to get into the habit of lifting rather than sliding the pan. Even if you have to move the pan just slightly so it sits better over the element, lift the pan instead of sliding even half an inch. Also be careful not to drop the pan.

 As mentioned previously, cast iron gets very heavy when it’s filled with food and the pan is easier to drop than other cookware. Always lift with both hands to be sure you have a good grip – then set down carefully in one place so you don’t scratch.

Before Heating, Wash Cast Iron

Don’t just wash your cast iron cookware after you’ve finished using it, wash it again before you put it back onto the glass surface.

Cast iron pans collect more oil and small deposits of cooked on food than any other type of cookware. This means that when you heat up the cast iron pan the oil and deposits of food can start to carbonize and burn, leaving stains and smudges on the glass top surface.

And sometimes these stains can be difficult to remove from the glass top. Washing cast iron both after using and thoroughly again before cooking with it can prevent damage to the stove top.

Article source: https://article-realm.com/article/Politics/14409-How-To-Use-Cast-Iron-On-Glass-Top.html