I use a combo of All Clad SS and Cuisinart everyday SS on my black Thermador, both work well. The All Clad for slower/simmer cooking and the Cuis eday SS for faster, boiling water, veggies. as stated abouve flat bottom.

thank you for the advice. To eandhl regarding the thermador ceran smooth black cooktop can you use the All Clad master chef 2 which is a brushed aluminum alloy exterior on the thermador cooktop or will it leave marks? Also could you use another brand that is hard anodized aluminum exterior? thanks again

I might not be right, you would have to check the owners manual, but something tells me Alum. is not recommended. It could leave marks.

The one type of metal I have found that does not work well on a smooth top is titanium. My husband, the aerospace engineer, tells me it is because it super heats and throws the heat back at the heating element, which cycles on/off to keep a regular temperature. It's a guess.

I use my cast iron pans as long as they are flat with no ridges, but I make sure they do not slide around. I use all sorts of pans and brands, but all are completely flat on the bottom, no ridges of any kind. I use Cuisinart, Tramontina, Circulon, Analon, Calphalon and All Clad. I also use the enameled iron types like Le Crueset. I really like Circulon and Analon. I like it better than Calphalon. I check the pans at the store on a shelf to make sure they don't rock. I had one of those pasta pots they advertised on television and when that thing heated up it started twirling around and vibrating.

My pots are a combination of nonstick, enamal and steel inside surfaces. It makes no difference. It is all in learning how to heat them up and cook with them -- at which setting and on which element that makes them work the best.

The most important tip I could give you is to always brush the bottom of the pan off before you set it on the stove to brush away any crumbs or particles that could scratch the top and make certain there is nothing on the top of the stove when you set the pan down. It pretty much becomes second nature.

Whatever cookware you decide to buy, it is crucial to check to make sure that the diameters of the pots and pans are going to fit the "burners." Check the owner's manual, because various cooktop specifications are different, but none will work very well with a pot or pan that is smaller than the burner or more than an inch or two bigger. This can rule out an awful lot of cookware and is one of the many reasons why I am replacing my smoothtop with gas. Good luck to you, though.

Glass pots (such as Visions, by Corning) and pots with copper on the OUTSIDE of the bottoms will also not work. Those in the know say that the pots must be magnetic (attracted by a magnet) to work. I apologize in advance to those physicists and chemists out there - my chem is pretty darn rusty and so terminology probably not correct.

Anyway, anything that is magnetic and perfectly flat on the bottom is fine. For example, my mom's 40--year old set would not work because all the pots are warped on the bottom. You can't tell with her old coil stove, but put it on the glass top and they rock, so forget about it.

When I first started shopping for pots after getting our glass cooktop, I would take the pots up to the glass display case in the store, set them down, and try to rock them. If they did not rock, then they were good to go.

As to scratching, that is only an issue if you DRAG them over the glass. So the Al Clad Master Chef 2 should be fine, just don't drag them across the top - lift them to move them--this is what I do with our Le Creuset, which are not rough, but are so heavy that I do worry about scratching.

I have the same cooktop as Eandhl and it still looks new after 7 years of constant use and the occasional boil over--just be sure to clean up boil overs before the next time you use it.

Lynne

We have a GE range with a radiant black glass cooktop. I'm trying to keep the cost of cookware down because it's at our house at the lake. I already had a mixture of stuff to start out. Some Steelon Non-Stick, Cuisinart stainless, two pieces of Chantal and a small stainless Belgique saucepan. I've looked at the Simply Calphalon Non-Stick at the local Belk store and did pick up some Tramontina Hard Anodized Non-Stick at Wal-Mart, along with a stainless WearEver pan (there isn't a Macy's, etc. in this area and I'm trying furnish this place locally). From what the info say on the Tramontina it's appropriate for glass tops. I do have concerns about the soft grip portions on the handles even though they're oven safe up to 400 degrees (how they hold up after use, cleaning, etc.) I'm leaving the Tramontina in the box until I'm sure about it but it seems like it would be nice as it's heavy enough for the glass but not too heavy, if you know what I mean. I learned a lesson when I tried to use a griddle that was to thin----it left some melted residue on the glass top. I quickly removed it as soon as the glass cooled---I was lucky and won't do that again. Anybody out there had any experience with Tramontina Non-Stick? Would I be better off with the Simply Calphalon Non-Stick or just plain better off buying more stainless? (I don't really care if it's non-stick or not) I'm open to any suggestions.

Anyone have experience with Ameriware pans - sold by Costco and their operation on electric smooth tops?

Lynn SJO

Pans don't need to be magnetic for a glass top stove, only for induction tops which are a whole different type of stove. Visions works just fine on mine

What type of cookware can I use on my smooth glass cooktop?

Flat bottom pans are essential for good cooking performance. Most current brands sold today have flat bottoms. Much older, used cookware and/or thinner cookware will show signs of no longer being flat. Non-flat pans may crack the glass.

Use Medium or Heavy-Weight cookware.

Stainless Steel is highly recommended. A sandwich clad bottom is especially good because it combines the durability and atability or stainless steel with the heat conduction and distribution of aluminum or copper.

Heavy-Weight aluminum cookware is also recommended. It conducts heat faster than other metals and cooks evenly. Aluminum residue sometimes appears as scratches on the cooktop, but these can be removed if cleaned immediately.

Copper bottom pans are also good, but they can leave residues on the cooktop that appear as scratches. These can be removed if cleaned immediately, but do not let a copper bottom pan boil dry. An overheated copper pot will leave a residue that will permanently stain the cooktop.

Porcelain/enamel pans give good performance only if they have a thick, flat bottom. Avoid boiling these pans dry, as porcelain can melt and fuse to the surface.
Glass or ceramic cookware is not recommended. These pans may scratch the surface. Glass is a poor conductor of heat so cooking times will be longer and they may require constant attention during cooking.

Stoneware is not recommended. It may scratch the surface and will give poor performance.

Cast Iron and Coated Cast Iron cookware is also not recommended. It is slow to absorb heat and could scratch the cooktop. Once this type of cookware heats up, it holds an intense amount of heat which is transferred to the cooktop. This can cause the element to shut down as a response to the temperature limiters which indicate surface temperature is too high for cooktop components to handle.

*** SOURCE: www.GEAppliances.ca ***

I do not get GE's recommendations. I get that cast iron which is heavy may be a bigger threat to scratch a top than say aluminum but cast iron transfers heat more slowly then aluminum and therefore cannot transfer heat to the cooktop as quickly.

Maybe it is because it has more mass and holds more heat and there could transfer more heat to the cooktop over a longer period than an aluminum pan which would do so quickly (plus has a lot less stored heat to give off).