explain electric ranges to me
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Anonymous
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Just moved into a new rental with an electric cooktop. Have always had gas prior to this. I am vaguely aware that I'm not supposed to put hot/cold dishes/pans onto the stove - is that true? My landlord said it's fine but I'm concerned that the top could crack. If you don't put hot/cold things on there, do you have a ton of trivets? What do you do after, say, straining pasta - does the pot go onto a trivet elsewhere?
I realize these are dumb questions. TIA. |
Anonymous
| You can put any temperature of heat-safe pans and dishes on there. The big thing you have to remember is that it remains hot after using it (unless it's induction) - so if you put the pot back on the same burner after draining your pasta, it's cooking still. And just be careful with wooden utensils, potholders, etc. |
Anonymous
| Your food is about to taste a hole lot worse.... |
Anonymous
| Maybe because I've only ever had electric, but I don't understand what you mean about the fear of putting cold pans on the stove? How else would a pan start out, but cold? It gets hot from being on the burner. I'm missing something. |
Anonymous
OP here - info in this article: https://www.thespruce.com/hot-lid-glass-stovetop-5213098#:~:text=%E2%80%9CIt's%20so%20important%20to%20be,while%20cooking%2C%E2%80%9D%20Shimek%20continues. Does it just apply to a lid? It seems to suggest anything hot OR cold could crack the stovetop. |
Anonymous
Talk about making a big deal out of nothing. You are fine OP. Nothing ever happened to me and I abuse mine any which way possible. I had mine longer than 20 years now. -np |
Anonymous
+1. I've had a glass top electric for a decade now, and never had this issue at all. |
Anonymous
Your landlord told you that it is fine - this should be more significant than your vague awareness of another recommendation, OP. You can put heat-safe things on the cooktop. If the burner is on or has recently been on, that part of the surface will be hot. Keep this in mind when setting down utensils, pot holders, hands, etc. It is a lot more important to keep the stovetop clean with a glass top electric range than any other type, in my opinion. In our old house, the gas range did not need to be meticulously wiped down after every single use in order to facilitate the next use - once a day was totally fine. I use the Weiman glass cooktop cleaner or whatever it's called. It's expensive but works better than anything else. |
Anonymous
Putting something very hot directly on the cold glass stovetop or putting something very cold on a hot glass stovetop surface that could cause the glass to crack. It’s much like how you have to be careful with Pyrex — it’s the thermal shock caused by the extreme temperature differential between the two surfaces that can cause problems. Just avoid using the stovetop like a countertop. Don’t leave anything flammable lying on the stovetop either, like potholders or kitchen towels. The surface will stay hot for a while after cooking, so if you touch the the stovetop accidentally, you can get burned. Putting a hot lid down on the surface could cause a vacuum seal to form under the lid and it may be difficult to lift back up. I imagine if that happens, you could just wait for everything to cool down or carefully slide a thin knife blade in between to break the seal. Don’t let all the warnings scare you — it’s really not that difficult or complicated. |
Anonymous
| OP here. Thanks all. So if I take a baking sheet out of the oven can I set it on the unheated stove? Or is that not ok? |
Anonymous
LOL OP. Seriously, that's more than okay. |
Anonymous
I have had an electric glass top range for 20 years. The only thing that cracked it was a VERY heavy wooden cutting board dropped right on it. |
Anonymous
Wonderful - my husband is going to be so pissed when I tell him after I've been making him crazy about the stovetop for the past few weeks 
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Anonymous
Just make sure to share cookies with us!! 
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