Smooth Top Electric Ranges
By Sherril Steele-Carlin
Smooth, glass-top electric ranges seem to be all the rage right now, and there's a great reason for it. They're great! Some cooks prefer gas for their cooking, but I've always felt I had more control with an electric stove. The older smooth tops were not as efficient as today's models, but I find my heating elements heat up quite quickly, and do an excellent job from sautéing to boiling water and reheating foods at low heat. I've had my smooth top for about five years now, and I'd never go back to a conventional stovetop.
Easy to Clean
Probably the biggest benefit to a smooth top electric range is the ease of cleaning. If something spills, you can simply wipe it up with a damp cloth, and if something cooks on to the top, you can remove it quickly and easily by scraping it with one of those little tools that holds a razor blade and fits in the palm of your hand. My stovetop came with one when I bought it, and I use it all the time. Once you've scraped up any residue, you can polish the top with one of the special cleaners made especially for glass-top stoves. Mine came with a bottle of that too, and now, the cleaners are available in most supermarkets. I also use a regular household cleaner on my stovetop when it isn't too dirty, with excellent results.
Many Features
Most smooth top glass stovetops come with a variety of features that gas simply cannot match. For example, one of the front burners on my stove adjusts from small to large to accommodate a variety of pot sizes. It's more efficient, and it heats up larger pans quickly at the large size. My stove also has a digital timer and temperature setting, a large-capacity convection oven that bakes just beautifully, and a deep drawer in the bottom for storage.
The oven also came with a temperature probe that you can plug into the oven, place in your roast or meat, and set the probe to the desired internal temperature, and it will let you know when the meat reaches that temperature. It's pretty cool! The oven is self-cleaning too. The convection oven bakes so well that I will never be without one of those again, either.
Do I Need Special Pans?
When I bought my range, the manufacturer recommended using stainless steel pans, so I bought a set. They are the best pans I've ever owned, but that's another story! Today, most smooth tops can use any type of pan, but you need to make sure the bottoms of the pans are completely flat to come in contact with the most area of the burner. Other than that, you can use just about any type of pan, even cast iron.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line on smooth top ranges is that they are a snap to clean, come with a wide variety of helpful features, and will make your life in the kitchen much easier. While some people simply do not like to cook on electric stoves, I feel if they try the new smooth tops, they might just be pleasantly surprised!
