Smooth top electric range-best choice for cookware

[HadEnuff]

Yes I know gas is better, but not an option in my new house.

The place came with a brand new smooth top (not induction) electric range.

Any recommendations for frying pans? Something that won't warp.

Is heavy guage better? Aluminum? Cast iron?

Opinions, please.

 

[iloveyoga]

I used Circulon skillets and my very old Revere Ware pots and lids.

 

[USGrant1962]

We use both cast iron and aluminum non-stick frying pans on the glass-top stove all the time with no problems. We just got some new Tramontina non-sticks and they are thicker than our old one so they take longer to heat up, but seem much sturdier and probably more even heat distribution.

 

[Telly]

We have several TFal aluminum, and DW's collection of old classic Revere Ware. All work fine. Yes, flatness is a concern if one does not make good contact. All of ours do. Somewhere we have a cast-iron fry pan, it hasn't been out for years, but no heating issues with it when we did. I'm just answering as an observer - DW is a great cook and fantastic baker. I can hold my own boiling water and melting ice

 

[Jerry1]

I think this article provides a good selection of frying pans. Of course there’s always the balance between high cost and lower cost. I doubt the eggs taste any different no matter what you spend. I had a glass cooktop for years and they don’t really require anything special. I had some pans that weren’t as flat as I would have liked, but they worked just fine. What issues I had were with them not being flat and nothing to do with the heat source. Any good pan today is going to work just fine on a glass top.

Personally, I’d go for a heavy duty stainless steel pan but most people like a nonstick pan.


https://www.foodnetwork.com/how-to/packages/shopping/product-reviews/best-nonstick-frying-pans

 

[Badger]

I use some old Calphalon and some new SS. I prefer some good SS. Definitely would not use cast iron on a glass/ceramic top stove. It is just too heavy for me to place down gently especially if it has food in it. I would be concerned with cracking the top. I only use cast iron in the oven occasionally when making bread or beans.

Most any frying pan will warp if it is not treated carefully while heating up. I do most of the cooking but when my wife puts a pan on the stove she tends to just turn the burner to the highest heat setting. Not good.
I also refuse to buy non-stick and have never had a problem with food sticking once I learned how to use the cookware properly. You may be more comfortable with non-sticking cookware. Some is better than others so i would research the brands.


Cheers!

 

[Bamaman]

I bought my wife a set of Cuisinart cookware recently, and highly recommend it. But I do not like stainless steel skillets because they stick. And unfortunately I can no longer use my many cast iron skillets (100 years old) on the glass top. I also no longer use any anodized aluminum cookware because it cannot go into the dishwasher.

I just bought my wife a pair of non-stick Cuisinart skillets for Christmas at Amazon, and we're now good.

 

[target2019]

Copper clad stainless steel works fine.

 

[cathy63]

... And unfortunately I can no longer use my many cast iron skillets (100 years old) on the glass top...

Cast iron works fine on a glass stove top as long as it's not the kind that has a raised ridge around the edge on the bottom.

 

[cathy63]

When we moved and ended up with a smooth top stove 18 years ago, the two pieces of cookware that couldn't make the transition were the traditionally shaped wok that sat on a metal ring over a gas burner; and the cast iron griddle that covered two stove burners. We donated the wok and got a flat bottomed one made for electric stoves. The griddle got relegated to the camping equipment where it still gets used.

 

[Bamaman]

Cast iron works fine on a glass stove top as long as it's not the kind that has a raised ridge around the edge on the bottom.

You're right. Most of my cast iron has the ridge and was inherited from my grandmother who bought it in 1913 from a local stove works.

We had to replace our cooktop recently, and my wife is so particular about that glass top. i have to use a glass cleaner on it nightly to keep it like new. I'd hate to put a scratch in it with cast iron.

The cast iron has been retired to the oven for cooking cornbread in. My wife's a cornbread artist--no sugar thank you.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

Would you consider carbon steel? It has a lot of the properties of cast iron, but is lighter, and is flat on the bottom. I love 'em.