Buying Guild for Best Glasstop Stove Cookware

Before you start shopping for new cookware, make sure you know what to look for. When you have a glass top stove, you need to choose pots and pans that won’t harm the cooking surface. In this guide, we’ll take a look at glass top stoves, induction cooktops, and the most common types of pots and pans on the market. Learn how materials, features, and design styles affect cooking performance on a glass top stove. With this information, you can decide exactly what you want in your new cookware.

What Is a Glass Top Stove?

A glass top stove is a type of electric stove that has a sheet of specially designed ceramic glass over the heating elements. It offers an elegant alternative to a traditional coil-style electric range along with many other benefits:

• A sleek, modern aesthetic
• A flat, easy-to-clean cooking surface
• Faster heating than traditional electric coils

Many contemporary kitchens feature glass cooktops. Induction cooktops look similar, so they are sometimes confused with electric glass top stoves.

Glass Top Stove vs Induction Cooktop

Like an electric glass top stove, an induction cooktop has a smooth glass top. However, an induction cooktop uses an electromagnetic field to provide heat to cookware made of ferrous metal, such as cast iron or steel. The heat is confined to the pot or pan itself, leaving the cooking surface cool to the touch. Induction cooktops can be fairly pricey, but they offer unique benefits in terms of safety and efficiency.

Popular Types of Cookware for Glass Top Stoves

When shopping for cookware for a glass top stove, you’ll generally find a range of options featuring several common materials.

What To Look for When Cooking on a Glass Top Stove?

One of the most important ways to care for your glass top stove is to use the right kind of cookware. The ceramic glass surface is prone to scratches from heavily textured materials. Using the wrong type of cookware on a glass top stove can damage it.

Choosing the best cookware for your glass top stove isn’t just about preventing damage to the cooking surface. You also want to make sure you get cookware that will perform well and give you the best value for your investment. When you’re looking for the best cookware for electric glass top stoves, there are some essential factors to consider.

Cooking Surface Features

One of the top considerations when shopping for new cookware is the cooking surface itself. You’ll probably want at least one shallow pan (skillet) with a wide base for sauteing and frying. It’s also good to have a pot or two: high-sided vessels that can hold pasta water or soup. A griddle is useful if you often cook pancakes.

Along with depth, you need to consider the item’s cooking surface. There are two basic categories:

• Uncoated: Common examples of uncoated surfaces are stainless steel and cast iron. They are exceptionally good at facilitating the Maillard reaction, which gives browned meat and vegetables outstanding flavor.
• Coated: Teflon is one common type of nonstick coating. Another example is enameled cast iron. These pots and pans have a slippery surface and are great for delicate foods such as eggs and fish.

If you enjoy making a wide variety of foods, you may want to have a mix of nonstick and uncoated cookware.

Weight

The weight of your pots and pans has a significant impact on their usability. For example, a lightweight pan is a must for cooking methods that require you to lift and turn the pan. Cooks with limited mobility may also prefer lightweight cookware.

However, heavy pans have their uses as well. When recipes call for a “heavy-bottomed” pot or skillet, they generally mean a vessel that is comprised of several layers of metal. For low-and-slow cooking methods, such as braising, a heavy pan is essential for heat retention and even cooking. Most oven-safe pans tend to be heavier as well. These hefty pots and pans are usually listed as “multi-ply”; common options are tri-ply, 5-ply, and 7-ply.

With a glass top stove, you’ll need to make sure you choose pans that are fairly easy for you to lift. Dragging them across the cooktop can cause scratches and cracks.

Versatility

If you’re an avid cook, you’ll probably want at least one or two pans that can handle both stovetop and oven cooking. Having a large skillet or pot that’s suitable for high oven temperatures makes it easy to braise, roast, and bake a variety of foods.

Cast iron is extremely versatile and good for stove-to-oven cooking, as is stainless steel. If you prefer nonstick pans, make sure to check the manufacturer’s instructions for use in the oven. Some nonstick cookware is not suitable for use in the oven.

Appearance

Your cookware can impact the overall aesthetic of your kitchen. Like most parts of your kitchen, high-quality cookware is an investment and not something you will likely change often. It’s important to consider appearance when choosing pots and pans.

If you have a modern or minimalist vibe in your kitchen, consider sleek stainless steel. Traditional copper and enameled cast iron pieces look fantastic in a farmhouse kitchen. If you want to bring a pop of color to your glass top stove, look for nonstick cookware with brightly colored handles and bases.

Cleaning and Maintenance

While you’re thinking about what kind of cookware will be best to use on your glass top stove, don’t forget that you’ll need to clean it too. Some pots and pans require special tools or cleaning products.

Both nonstick and stainless steel pans are fairly easy to clean; they are usually dishwasher-safe. If you do your dishes by hand, you’ll need to invest in soft brushes that won’t scratch the smooth cooking surfaces.

Cast iron and copper cookware require a little more care and maintenance. Copper can discolor fairly easily, so you may need to clean it often with a copper-friendly cleaning solution.

Seasoned cast iron has a reputation for being difficult to clean, and you can’t put it in the dishwasher. However, cast iron enthusiasts claim that maintaining a well-seasoned pan is fairly easy. Enameled cast iron is a somewhat more forgiving choice, as it can handle standard dish soap and even an occasional trip through the dishwasher.

Handle Style and Material

Most cast iron pans are a single piece, but not all cookware has handles made of the same material as base and cooking surface. Different handle designs and materials offer unique benefits:

• Cast iron or stainless steel: These handles are oven-safe at high temperatures and create a seamless appearance because they match the rest of the pan. However, these handles heat up quickly and can cause burns if you forget to use oven mitts.
• Cool-touch materials: These handles are designed to prevent heat transfer from the base, so they stay cool during cooking. Silicone is a popular option, and there are stainless steel models as well. Not all of these materials are safe for extremely high heat, so check the instructions before placing a pan with a cool-touch handle in the oven.
• Ergonomic: Some pots and pans have “comfort-grip” handles for easy lifting. Most ergonomic handles are made of silicone or plastic that is not designed for use in the oven.

Lid Design

Many cookware sets include lids for some or all of the pots and pans. There are several different types of lids:

• Stainless steel and cast iron lids are durable and safe for use in the oven, but the lid handles can get hot very quickly.
• Glass lids allow you to monitor whatever you are cooking, but they may crack or break.

Some lids have a small vent that allows steam to escape. This can prevent liquids from boiling over, which can be dangerous and messy. However, some recipes require non-vented lids that retain all the heat and moisture inside the vessel.

Included Pieces in the Set

While you can buy pots and pans individually, cookware sets are usually more cost-efficient. Small sets may include three to five items, and there are also larger sets that have more than 15 pots, pans, lids, and accessories. Regardless of size, most sets include some standard pieces: a large stockpot (usually around 8 quarts), a saucepan (approximately 4 quarts), and a large frying pan, with a 10-inch or 12-inch diameter.

All-inclusive sets with 10 or more items make it easy to replace all your cookware at once or to set up your first kitchen. However, while a large set may offer the best financial value, it isn’t always the best choice. You may not need (or have storage space for) all the items.

A smaller set of cookware is a good choice if you just want to upgrade a few of your existing pots and pans. You can also get a small set to try out a new type of cookware, such as enameled cast iron or titanium, before deciding to replace all your pots and pans.