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How to care for Ceramic Stove-top ??

Discussion in 'Spotless Kitchen' started by Grace3, Jul 18, 2009.

  1. Grace3

    Grace3 Silver IL'ite

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    Friends,

    The new landlord has installed ceramic top cooking oven in the kitchen .. 4 different sized hobs, dark colour smooth surface .. and I'm not sure how well it will support Indian cooking. The oven underneath is self-cleaning type , which is another unexplored area for me. :bonk
    My doubts:

    Can we place curved bottom like kadai on the surface ?

    Apparently even water boiling over causes stubborn stains which are difficult to remove, so must be instantly wiped ....... is it so ?? Then I would go nuts .:spin. hovering over the stove all the time !!

    Keeping pan on the hob for even a little while causes hard to remove 'heat-rings' on the surface, which have to be scraped .:confused2:.. with some sharp item !!!

    Anybody using such stoves, please post your suggestions on how to maintain them & use them for Indian style cooking.

    Thanks.
     
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  2. Jithiks

    Jithiks Gold IL'ite

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    Hi Grace,

    I have ceramic glass stove in my kitchen for the past 2years and it's worked out really great for our Indian cooking.

    Cooking:

    I do keep the curved kadais for cooking. It has been heating quite well and no problem.

    Even flat bottomed utensils work just as well.

    In my stove, there are two big burners in the front and small burners at the back. So I use the front ones for cooker, dosai griddles and big kadais.

    At the back is obviously for the smaller ones, which is also convenient.
    There are two light indicators to show that the stove top is on and if the surface is hot.

    Dont's: We should not use cast iron cookwares on the ceramic glass stove. That was one of the dont's in the manual. In fact, I called the customer service over phone before and after our purchase (with so many questions):) that they must have thought that I was going for some large scale purchase.

    Cleaning:

    Personally, I feel this is one of the most easiest to clean stoves. I've used gas & electric (coiled ones) after coming to US. But this stove has been a delight to clean.

    Since mine is fully black (I chose this colour on purpose), there are no yellow stains lurking around. Water also leaves some marks, but can be cleaned easily with paper towels. Nothing to be alarmed about.

    We get a cleaning kit in the Lowe's, Home Depot etc. This has a small bottle of cerama-bryte liquid, grease cleaner, cleaning pad, cleaning sponge and sometimes includes a blade too.

    We can also get a bigger bottle of Glass top cleaner separately. The blades are sold in sets of 30-50 along with their cases.

    For cleaning, let the stove cool completely. Pour some drops of cleaning liquid over the stove (especially above the rings). Then using a slightly wet paper towel or soft cloth wipe the surface. We may need to repeat to get the shiny surface.

    If there are food particles, burnt marks stuck, we may need to wet the surface and scrape it off gently with the blade. Believe me, it comes off easily. As before, wipe it with a paper towel/soft cloth. Wash the blade, wipe it dry and put it back in its case.

    We can also use the scouring pad every now and then (depending upon the usage) to clean the surface and the knobs and wipe it clean.

    Self-Cleaning Oven:

    Many oven mention self-cleaning which means, we need to preheat them to a certain temperature and allow them to run for a certain amount of time. This may take hours depending upon the make of the oven and it is locked during this cycle to prevent injuries. The oven becomes really hot during this cleaning process. The kitchen needs to be well ventilated and doors open when we operate self-cleaning. No chemicals/sprays used for this method.

    I've never operated this self cleaning in any of the ovens I've used. I always clean them manually by applying the cleaning sprays, allowing them to rest for sometime and wiping it.

    Personally, I feel it consumes a lot of heat when we use this self cleaning method. Probably, other IL'ites who've used this can shed more light.

    Hope I've explained to a certain extent.

    Good luck with your new stove!

    Cheers
     
    Last edited: Jul 18, 2009
  3. Grace3

    Grace3 Silver IL'ite

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    Thanks Krithika for the detailed response. I'm a bit relieved now.
    I'm not bothered about 'self-cleaning' oven 'cos I too prefer cleaning the normal way, with sponge & cleaning solution.

    The stove is dark green colour .. I think the diagonal hobs are of the same size , not sure 'cos had just a quick look when we were viewing the place.

    But one thing I'm disappointed about ...:thumbsdown.... I have 2 cast-iron kadais for which I scoured the streets of Coimbatore -- packed with utmost care & have just 'pazhakkified' one of them . Now, I won't be able to use it ... that's really bugging me . :cry:

    Any idea why we must not use cast-iron on ceramic .. maybe they will react badly together ?
    Can we use stainless steel vessels ?
     
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2009
  4. Jithiks

    Jithiks Gold IL'ite

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    Grace, the reason the manufacturers gave me was, since the cast iron skillets, pans etc are very heavy, there may be chances for the glass to break if it is placed/used roughly on it. Also, if there is any scratch or rust in the cast iron, it may also damage the surface of the glass stove. Also, the cast iron vessels, retain heat for a long time and we may need to adjust the heat accordingly, otherwise it may damage the burner inside. These are the reasons they told me.

    Probably, you can use it carefully and see to it you place the vessels gently and not slide it on the stovetop. Even when using pressure cooker, I am extremely careful since it is heavy. But some of my friends say they use cast iron every now and then on the glass top and it is fine. Personally, I've not used them on my stove.

    You can certainly use stainless steel vessels on the glass top.
     
  5. tashidelek2002

    tashidelek2002 IL Hall of Fame

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    I also have a ceramic top stove which I have been using for the past 7-8 yrs. Mine has two small burners and two burners that can be either small or large depending on how you turn the knobs. Krithika, I have occasionally using a cast iron skillet on mine so far so good. I suppose that I should look this up in my manual so some year I guess I will get to it. I don't mind the cleaning on my stove but the two really bad things to get on them are melted plastic or sugar. Be warned!! Don't boil over sweetened chai!! I personally would not recommend cooking on a round bottom pan. I have been using flat bottomed woks and they are great. You need to have the pan bottom flat on the stove for optimal cooking. This can be problematic with some pressure cookers--that one with the inserts and the round raised circle on the bottom. The better ones for ceramic are the ones with the thick flat disk type bottom. Krithika: try the new Bar Keepers Friend liquid ceramic top cleaner. Works great and half the price of Ceramabryte. Getting back to woks, I used a TFal one for years and its about dead now and just got a Caphalon which is really really good. Grace: I keep a microfiber cleaning cloth at the sink and wipe the stove top with that after every meal...quick and easy. You can do more earnest cleaning as needed. Just wait until the burners are cool.

    As for the oven, I have self cleaning and I use that feature but if you are careful with your baking that is only yearly.
     
  6. Grace3

    Grace3 Silver IL'ite

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    The explanation seems sensible Krithika, 'cos cast iron is pretty heavy to handle. I think it is best I wait till I'm comfortable using the stove & getting to know how to regulate the amount of heat .. and then will try my cast iron vessel a couple of times & see how it goes.
    At least we can use stainless steel .. for now that will be fine :)

    Thank you very much.
     
  7. Grace3

    Grace3 Silver IL'ite

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    Hi Tina,

    Very good tips for cleaning & esp. to watch out for plastic/sugar ...... you know I'm very clumsy with the 'Rubbermaid' lids , small size ones. Before I realise, it is slowly melting away, sticking to the warm coil ---- the smell gets to me first , then I look around & :bonk. Because of their white colour & the white of my present stove , I don't notice them at all ..... I have so many boxes now, without lids .....:biglaugh

    Thank you dear.
     
  8. advitha

    advitha Silver IL'ite

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    Hi Grace,

    Krithiga and Tina has told most of it but just being a ceramic stove top user would like to add my 2 cents.

    I have been using ceramic cooktop for almost 2 yrs now. As krithiga mentioned you can use all cookware from your cooker to vanali. Its just that some of the kadais (like calcutta kadai) have sharp round bottom so you can't use those. Other than that I have used cast iron tawa (lodge logic ), cast iron skillet and iron kadai on my stovetop and ofcourse you need to handle it with care as the glass could be scratched or it might even break.

    The other thing about ceramic top stove, as Tina mentioned is, they need to be in contact with the burner to get the maximum efficiency. In some cases you can't get that (say if you are having tempering ladle which is round bottom).

    Cleaning is very simple. I just use vinegar and clean my stove. I also use bonami or barkeepers friend cleaning powders if the stain is hard to remove. The thing about glasstop is, if there's any spill like milk it sticks to the stove right away because of the high heat. In this case you need the ceramic top cleaner but otherwise vinegar or even plain water is just fine in my opinion.

    Till date I haven't thought about moving to gas because of the ease of maintaining this stove. If you really miss gas stove you can buy a single propane burner and do your authentic stuffs.

    Enjoy your new stove and have fun cooking :thumbsup

    -Uma
     
    Last edited: Jul 21, 2009
  9. Grace3

    Grace3 Silver IL'ite

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    Appreciate your response Uma. I'm feeling more confident now, reading your ease of use & maintenance. Also happy to note you've been sucessfully using cast-iron :)

    Thanks for your input.
     
  10. Grace3

    Grace3 Silver IL'ite

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    Friends,

    What vessels you use for deep frying & tempering ?
    As mentioned before rounded ladles, kadai type vessels cannot be used as there will be heat wastage as the bottom is not flat.
    Can we use wider woks ?

    And I've heard that lot of heat will be retained in the coils even after 'off'ing the burner, is it so ? Does it mean we have to 'off' the stove before the entire cooking is done !! If so, for pressure cookers & pulao varieties, we must reduce the time or what , I'm confused how it will cook to perfect texture then ??
    Any tips you follow or method to reduce the heat/power wasted , please do share.

    Thanks.
     

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