Choosing cookware for your glass ceramic hob (standard and induction)
No matter how rugged, beautiful and functional your ceramic glass cooktop is, if you use the wrong cookware, it can. It can:
- Stains may become hard to remove or stain permanently;
- Cooking slower, and therefore increase energy consumption;
- Scratch.
To avoid unnecessary problems and cleaning hassles, make sure you’re using the right pots and pans.
What’s not good for vitrified clay
Glass ceramic cookware can cover two types of heating elements: a regular heating element or an induction coil. All flat-bottomed pots can be used on conventional electric stoves. The main thing is that the bottom should be in tight contact with the surface, and what kind of cookware you prefer to use is not too important.
Tableware with a rough, jagged bottom is not suitable for vitrified clay pans. For one thing, it has a poor contact surface, so efficiency is markedly reduced and energy waste is increased. Secondly, such cookware will quickly scratch the smooth ceramic glass surface. Scratches not only spoil the look of your glass ceramic hob, but also have a negative effect on its strength and durability.
Round-bottomed cauldrons are not suitable for vitrified clay pans due to their small contact area. If you like woks, you need to look for pans that have a base that is not quite round, or the pan will not get warm at all.
What kind of cookware is needed for the ceramic stove?? What cookware is suitable for the glass ceramic hob?
Today there are more and more kinds of stoves and, in particular, one of the varieties is gaining popularity. glass ceramic hob or glass ceramic cooktop. Ceramic glass cooktop is a kind of electric stoves with a special glass ceramic surface. This surface is mirrored, smooth, burners quickly heat up and also cool down. The material is quite durable, aesthetically pleasing, resistant to mechanical damage, as well as to liquids, but if you previously actively exploited the gas stove and now decided to change the kitchen appliances, the dishes will have to change too.
What are the disadvantages and are they?
What demands are placed on the cookware material?
For conventional glass ceramic stoves. Since the whole surface is heated, it is unacceptable to use pots and pans made of soft metals: copper, aluminum without special coating on such a stove.
Traces left by such cookware on the panel are virtually impossible to remove, and this affects not only the appearance of the appliance, but also its functionality.
For induction glass ceramic hobs do not fit objects whose bottoms do not have ferromagnetic properties.
Some stove hobs recognize the wrong cookware: they simply refuse to turn on.
Below is a list of materials, the use of which in dishes for induction hobs is absolutely useless:
On a side note: the easiest and most convenient way to determine if the cookware is suitable for an induction-type panel is to check the properties of its bottom with an ordinary magnet. Going to the store, it is better to bring with you this useful item.
It’s worth noting that not all steel or cast iron items in the kitchen have the right properties: there are also non-magnetic alloys.
However, you should not rush to get rid of aluminum pans either. Perhaps their bottom is covered with a special coating that allows you to cook on an induction stove.
What cookware to use for the glass ceramic hob
Recently, in connection with the rapid penetration in our kitchens stoves with glass ceramic hobs, customers are increasingly faced with the question of choosing cookware suitable for use on them. This article focuses on the main points to pay attention to when choosing cookware for glass ceramic stoves.
As for materials, surface manufacturers recommend using cookware that is made of metal and meets the following requirements:
Cookware must have a flat and level base that is as close as possible to the cooking surface. This requirement is dictated by the fact that such a base ensures the best heat transfer from the stove hob to the cookware. With low heat transfer the heat from the burner is not removed sufficiently, it overheats and shortens the lifetime of the cookware.
Any gaps, i.e. air s between the hob surface and the base of the cookware, significantly reduce the heat transfer. Negatively affected by raised patterns and general roughness of the bottom surface.
It is desirable to have a bottom with a minimum reflection coefficient, that is, matte and dark, since it is known that light colors reflect heat to a greater extent than dark ones, the same with glossy surfaces.
The base of the cookware must be thick enough to prevent temperature deformation (sagging), which reduces the tightness of the bottom to the hob.
It is recommended that there should be a slight concavity on the cold bottom to make it flat when heated, but this recommendation is, to say the least, questionable, since different temperature ranges can produce different deflections.
To avoid overheating the diameter of the base must be at least as large as the diameter of the burner. heat is very poorly dissipated when the base is uncovered. in the case of a considerably larger diameter than the burner, the base may not have enough power to heat up the cookware fully.
cookware with an uncoated aluminum or copper base must not be used since, being much harder, these metals react with the stove hob surface and leave marks on it that affect the life and appearance of the hob. Aluminum and copper cookware must have a painted or steel-clad bottom.
Most of the glass-ceramic surfaces used in stoves of known manufacturers in our country are produced by two companies: Shcott (trademark “Ceran”) and Corning. (brand name “EuroCera”). The above requirements are based on the recommendations and requirements of these manufacturers.
To give you an example, here is a recommendation from the Schott website:
The bottoms of pots and pans should have a slight concavity at room temperature, t.к. They expand slightly when heated. This ensures a snug fit on the cooktop and therefore efficient use of heat. Please make sure that the bottom of the cookware is the same size as the cooking zone.
Ceramic glassware is not suitable for use on the cooking surface because of poor heat transfer and the risk of scratching the cooking surface.
Avoid aluminum! Pots and pans with copper or aluminum bases are not suitable because they are not as hard as the CERAN cooking surface and leave particles on them that are difficult to remove. If such traces were not immediately removed with a special agent, they can burn and spoil the surface.
The base of each pan must be clean, dry and free of relief so that it does not stick to the cooking surface. This also prevents scratches and other damage or deposits on the cooktop.
The situation is such that the use of unsuitable cookware will not lead to an immediate failure of the stove, but will only significantly affect the speed and uniformity of heating. Immediately, and not always, there may be traces of aluminum. But constant neglect of the rules will lead to rapid burnout of heating elements and reduce the life of your hob more than twice!
Nowadays there are many brands of cookware in the stores which are presented to the consumer as suitable for glass ceramic cooking tops. Among this mass, unfortunately, only a small fraction meets the above requirements. Both suppliers of foreign cookware and domestic manufacturers are guilty of.
We hope that this article will help consumers not to be deceived by advertising slogans and choose exactly the cookware they need.
Cookware made of the following materials is suitable for an electric glass ceramic hob:
Ceramic- or Teflon-coated aluminum or steel bottom.
Certain types of cookware can cause a number of problems when using a glass-ceramic surface:
leave marks on the glass surface: aluminum, copper, enameled cookware;
pots and pans made of aluminum, heat-resistant glass and ceramics heat slowly;
Cookware suitable for the induction hob:
Cookware made of the following materials is not suitable:
However, you can buy a disc adapter made of a ferromagnetic alloy. It makes it possible to use any cookware on an induction cooktop. So, if you have a combined glass-ceramic cooktop with both conventional and induction burners, it makes sense to buy stainless steel cookware:
Titanium and carbon steel utensils are also suitable. These pots and pans can be used on both types of burners. Remember to use cookware made of cast iron with caution, because this material is quite rough and has a lot of weight, so carelessness can break the glass-ceramic surface. In addition, it has a high heat capacity, so if you use cast iron cookware, the stove can overheat and automatically shut off. Enameled cookware designed specifically for glass-ceramic or induction stoves is a nice exception. It leaves no marks on glass surfaces and can therefore be used on both induction and electric glass ceramic cooktops.
Flat bottom
Unlike the usual gas burner, the glass ceramic electric surface heats only the surface that is in direct contact with it. For this reason you need cookware with a perfectly flat bottom. Otherwise the pot or pan heats unevenly, which leads to extra energy consumption and prolongs cooking time. On a glass ceramic hob with an induction element, fluted cookware can be heated quickly, but it can also crack during cooking.
Size
When using a glass ceramic cooktop, the base of the cookware must be chosen so as to match the diameter of the hob or be slightly smaller. Do not use a pots and pans with a base diameter that is too small. never under 8 cm.
Only use cookware with well-fixed, secure handles. It is better to have them screwed on rather than welded on, so that you can control the reliability of their attachment. this will prevent the pot or pan from accidentally falling onto the ceramic surface, which could cause it to crack.
The requirement of stability also applies to lids. A heavy lid accidentally falling off a pan can also leave a crack on the surface.
BEST COOKWARE FOR ELECTRIC STOVE TOPS
To determine if the cookware you have chosen is suitable for a certain type of cooking surface, look for the markings on the bottom of the cookware.
Why the cookware must be “special”?
After purchasing a new appliance, when unaware that you need special cookware for a glass-ceramic cooktop to use, an awkward situation often arises. Many people believe that they can use their existing cookware, all the more so if it is in good condition.
- Flat bottom. This parameter must be respected in order to reduce energy consumption and to prolong the life span of the hob. If there is even a slight bend on the bottom, it creates an air gap between the cooking surface and the cookware, which reduces heat absorption from the stove and can cause it to overheat.
- Special symbol on the hob. In order not to guess whether your new cookware meets all of the above requirements and can be used, make sure that the glass ceramic cookware or its bottom has an icon indicating a glass-ceramic cooking surface.
- Ferromagnetic properties. Cooktops with vitrified clay detects only this kind of cookware. The cooktop does not heat up completely but stays cold, whereas it is the cooktop and the pot or pan that are being heated.
Miriam’s Earthen Cookware. Comparison of Options for Ceramic Stoves (Healthiest Cooking)
- Cookware diameter and burner size must match. This is necessary to avoid overheating the surface, and as a consequence, a rapid failure.
If one burner fails, you will have to replace the entire cooking surface, so be careful.
What problems can arise if you choose the wrong kitchen paraphernalia for the electric panel
First of all, because of the rapid heating of the surface, the bottom of the wrong cookware quickly deforms, and this threatens to throw your favorite pot and overheat the heating element. Repair of such equipment, a very expensive procedure. If you use soft alloys, you will forever leave sloppy stains on the surface that are impossible to remove. Because of the use of very heavy and massive kitchen utensils, the likelihood of cracks and chips in the coating increases, you can use such plates, but they will not last long.
Ceramic Cookware: Everything You Need to Know
Using existing or purchased steel, cast-iron cookware, you will not make a mistake and will not damage the glass ceramic hob.
