Ceramic glass burners and pots/Opinions on this cookware (MERGED)

[Michael in FtW]

My aunt just got a new range and my grandmother and I aren't familiar with that kind (ceramic glass). We didn't want to ask my aunt what can be used with it because we thought we might tip her off as to what she's getting for Christmas.

There are basically three different kinds of heat sources for ceramic-glass top stoves: electric coil, infrared, and induction. Aluminum, Pyrex, ceramic, copper and most stainless-steel will not work on an induction stove. Some SS will if it is made from magnetic SS (All-Clad and some others make this type of SS cookware - they willl specify if it is). Some electric coil and infrared even warn against using Pyrex/ceramic cookware on the stovetop.

Call your aunt, or have your grandma call her, with a story like - one of you has a friend that is thinking of getting a ceramic-glass top stove and you/she mentioned your aunt just got one and she was wonder which kind she got - she is confused about the different types (electric coil, infrared and induction) and how does she like it. Or, even just make and model and you can look that information up. Then you will know about the cookware you need to look for.

I cook with a skillet that isn't perfectly flat (ridges) and it works fine.

LOL - the operative word here is some, as in "some have restrictions on the surface of the bottom of the pot (it must be perfectly flat - so those double-burner reversable grill/griddles and some cast iron are out)" .... I never said all. Or maybe I should have been specific that I was talking about the outside bottom edge of the pot?

Some cookware with "ridges" on the bottom will work just fine on most stovetops (I'm thinking about T-Fal that has shallow concentric grooves that they claim help prevent warping - at least I think it's T-Fal that I'm thinking about ) - it depends on the ridges (depth, width and shape - square wave shape vs sine wave shape) while other cookware with deeper and wider ridges can have/cause problems. I have a blue enameled-steel tamale pot that has deep-wide ridges on the bottom (like on the bottom of my water canner pot) and came with a warning to not use it on ceramic-glass stovetops to prevent overheating and damage to the heating element.

Now, about my comments about the reversable cast iron grill/griddle - we had a discussion here a year or two ago about the "ridge" around the outside bottom of some (usually older) cast iron skillets/pots and why the ceramic-glass stovetop instructions (for the stovetop the user had) said not to use them. (See photos of what I am talking about here)

So, I dug around and found an answer. The purpose of the "heat ring" was primarily for the use on the old wood/coal stoves to raise the bottom up off the flat stovetop (metal plate) surface to help more evenly distribute the heat. However, on ceramic-glass stovetops, it generally causes less even heating and in some cases it actually throws off the sensors and can cause element overheating and failure.

Now, since the lip around the edge of a reversable grill/griddle would behave the same as the "heat ring" on a skillet/pot ...

 

[Michael in FtW]

lbb87 - I looked at that cookware a few minutes ago when I was at WalMart - and although I didn't match stock numbers I did match brands and prices.

IMHO - stay away from that $17 set - I've seen tin cans thicker than that! And - while the $35 Tramontina set was better as far as thickness (about 3-4 times as thick) the ones I saw had the same problem as the $17 set - really crappy handles - or perhaps I should say the way the handles are attached ... thin aluminum connectors attached with cheap small-diameter pop rivits and Bakelite handles that don't appear to have a way to tighten them up when they become loose from heating and cooling (expansion and contration) of the aluminum pots/pans, rivits and connectors. From what I saw - that $50 Farberware set is the only one worth the money - and may actually last more than a year or two.

I hope this helps.