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Glass top or Ceramic-glass top on Range? xpost

14 years ago

Is there a big difference when a GE slide in range has either a glass top or a ceramic glass top?

The one we have been looking at has a glass top. The other day we were at the Sears Outlet store and the rep said that the ceramic glass top was thicker ( on the Kenmore Elite) but vs. what, I don't know.

It seems that the more expensive GE ranges I'm looking at just say "Glass top".

Could someone please explain what I should be looking for? In terms of cooktops, and the range in general??

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Comments (4)

User
14 years ago
Ceramic glass and glass top are ad words for the same thing. There are only a couple of makers of the actual glass tops that the different manufacturers buy, Schott and I'm drawing a blank on the second one. They really don't make different grades from the same company, if it's a Schott, it's a Schott.

Things to consider are:

The color of the top. (Black is the most common, but can show lint and dust easier.)

The features of the burners. (Adjustible wattage or sized burners, a griddle burner, a simmer or melt burner.)

The configuration of the burners. (Are the two larger eyes on the diagonal to each other? That means a bit more room for large pans than if they are side by side.)

THe configuration of the knobs. (Are they on the side or back or front.)

Whether or not the range has a back guard. (Slide in or free standing?)

Traditional radiant or induction: (Radiant costs less, but has the traditional weak points of electric in slow adjustibility and baking on food deposits. Induction has gas like response time with easier cleanup but costs more and you may need to buy magnetic pans if you don't own them.)
kaidan
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank you so much live_wire!! I appreciate you taking the time to help me out.
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This is hubby again. @FLSandytoes: I use a Kuchenpot that's just over 2.5L. It's a German brand, but it's nothing fancy and I think we got it at TJ Maxx. I use 1/2 cup of popcorn and the popped volume fills it perfectly. I cook it on a Miele induction cooktop at "7" until I hear 2 seconds between pops. I do not have anything under the pot between it and the cooktop. There is paint on our cooktop to mark the element locations, and it does not show any signs of wear after ~3 years of popping alongside regular cooking (which, at 1-2 hot meals a day probably adds up to a lot more moving around than popcorn). I usually do the shaking twice: once at the very beginning, and then once a minute or so into the cycle, but before any pops have started. The purpose of the first shakes are to evenly spread the kernels so they're all exposed to the oil. I'm not really sure if the second set of shakes is necessary, but they give a very pleasing sound of sizzling in the oil, and in theory they help turn the kernels so all sides of them are exposed to the hot oil. One other thing to mention is that I usually take off the lid when it gets about 3/4 full. I do this because the pot almost exactly fits the volume of popped corn I'm cooking, and the lid gets wet with moisture during cooking. If the popcorn pushes up against the lid, the top kernels can get soggy. Once the pot is 3/4 full, there is enough weight to keep almost all the newly popping kernels from popping out of the pot. I would never be able to do this with gas or electric, because a kernel or two still occasionally pops over, and I'd be too worried about the kernel catching fire. With the induction, I've never been worried as the only hot parts are the bottom of the pot and the area directly underneath it on the cooktop, neither of which is accessible to an occasional flying kernel.
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I know this post is old, and I hope you haven't taken the plunge yet. Please stay away from glass top ranges unless you have no interest in cooking and no appreciation for temperature, technique, or control. Also, stay away unless you want to have to bring out Bar Keeper's Friend every time you place a pot on the stove to just boil water. My Mother bought a Maytag glasstop range about 5 years ago after I warned her. Each time I visit I do all of the cooking and the cleaning. If I had my way I would take an ax to it. People get these because they're "easy to clean"??? Oh my gosh, it's a nightmare. The heat goes on and off. It takes FOREVER just to boil water. There is absolutely no control whatsoever. But wait, there's more.....You slip and drop something on it and it cracks,.....it's a huge expense to have it replaced. You ask what you should be looking for? NOT a glass or ceramic top. Stick with gas or electric.
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I'd vote for gas if it doesn't cost much to bring it in. But, if you don't cook much, there's no way I'd waste the money on a prosumer range. A plain $900 gas slide in Frigidaire or GE is what I'd put in rather than spending 5K on a Viking! If it's a standard size, any future homeowner can replace it with their expensive range of choice. And if you don't cook, you'll never be able to really put it through it's paces enough to ever justify the price difference. Or, take a look on your local Craigslist for something vintage---gas or electric. Something old has a built in cool factor even if it doesn't quite perform to modern standards. This vintage Crosley electric would be a great choice for a period kitchen! And it's only $150 on my local Craigslist. Look and see what you can find on yours. This gas Tappan is a little bit more at $400, but it is so cool!
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I have a pretty old cooktop that recently got a shadow ring where I let an aluminum coffeepot go dry. Must have gotten hot enough to soften the pot and when aluminum rubs on a hot cooktop, it fuses in a way that can't be removed. Another burner got the top finish rubbed off enough to show in places. Not sure what cleaner did it.
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kaidan
Original Author
14 years ago
live_wire, if you are still around... do you have any idea why on GE's website for electric slide-ins they list some with ceramic glass tops and some just with just glass tops? They are one in the same so why does GE label them differently?
karen_belle
14 years ago
My guess is that the different words are being chosen based on poorly informed marketing. The material being used in all of these applications is a specially engineered glass-ceramic. Yes, both of those words belong in the name of the material. So, theoretically, using either word alone is incorrect. I guess calling it a "ceramic glass" is closest.

Glass is too brittle for use in this environment, and ceramics are not typically pleasing enough to the eye or strong enough for the use. Manufacturers have figured out how to make glass with just enough ceramic properties to toughen it up but still keep it shiny and pretty.

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