Cast Iron & Glass Tops

Feb 04 2016

Can you use cast iron on glass top ranges? Most of the makers will say no they don’t recommend it. I have and had good luck with it.

First you have to understand even if you use the recommended cookware on glass tops and you are careless you can end up with a scratched top. I place my skillets & pans on the burner and let set thru the cook. If I need to set one off the burner I pick it up and move it off. When I stir stuff I hold onto the handle so it doesn’t move much. If half your range is cool move the skillet to a hot pad to serve from. If not move it to a trivet on the counter top to serve.

Last summer I got a new glass top range. My old on an Amana was 17 years old and the top looked brand new. Our son and wife took it since it looked better than their glass top. I had used cast iron on it at least 8 years. I have several pieces of Lodge CI I use. When they came out with their carbon steel I got the 10 and 12 inch skillet. They are my go to skillets since they are lighter than the cast iron but cook about the same and clean up as well.

Pictured below is all you should need to keep your cast iron and glass top in good shape and looking like new. On my new GE range is my 10 inch Lodge carbons steel skillet to the rear and my Stargazer 10.5 cast iron skillet in the front. The Scotch blue nonabrasive pads are for the skillets and glass top. The chain mail will clean the skillets of any stubborn stuck on foods and it will not hurt the seasoning. The razor blade scrapper will remove stubborn burnt on foods from the glass top. The Cerama Bryte is for a good cleaning of the glass top. The Windex Complete is for everyday cleaning the glass top.

Most of the time to clean my skillets all I need to do is run hot water over them and scrub with the Scotch blue pad. Any stubborn stuff the chain mail takes care of.

After cooking my wife washes the stove with a soapy dish rag to get all the grease off, dries and then cleans with the Windex and paper towels. Any streaks left can be wiped away with a clean wash towel.

When I clean it with the Cerama Bryte I apply with paper towel and when dry I buff with paper towels and finish with a dry wash towel.

If you want to use vintage cast iron I would choose one with no heat ring, a smooth bottom. The heat ring was for using on cast iron stoves; it raised the skillet slightly and was supposed to give a more even heat. If you buy new just make sure there are no sharp points on the bottom.