Relax....take a deep breath.....let it out....it will all be ok.

You don't need new pots right now but they do need to be flat. You can use cast iron; just don't drag it across the tope of the cooktop. Don't go running out to buy new cookware before the holidays. Just use what you have.

What you WILL find is that the heating is different. Now that may be a GOOD thing, depending on how old your other stove was. The heating elements may be more reactive to the controls, might be hotter than you're used to. When you get the stove, make something simple that you're comfortable with. Boil some water and see how long it takes.

The oven will probably take longer to pre-heat. Get an oven thermometer and time how long it takes to get to 350. Plus you'll burn off some of that "new oven" smell.

Come back here and tell us about the new stove!! I'm excited for you!

two.25acres.... I have Calphalon Kitchen Essentials that I bought at Target. I've had it for 4 years and could not be more happy with it. Just wanted to let you know incase you wanted to check it out. I have attached the link to one set at Target, they also have larger sets and smaller sets. The Rachel Ray cookware looks very nice at Target also.

Here is a link that might be useful: Calphalon Kitchen Essentials

Agree with the above, chances are most of your cookware will be fine. I moved from an electric coil stove to a house with a Jenn Air glass top two days before Thanksgiving last year, and cooked the meal 'to go' on Wednesday, taking it to my mothers on Thanksgiving for just the three of us. That was move Tuesday, cook Wednesday, travel Thursday....I completely understand your anxiety.

Revere ware, circulon, magnalite saucepans, others, are fine. You don't want to slide them around on the stovetop though and your technique may take a little tweaking. If you are used to turning off a burner and leaving the food/pan in place, I find mine continues to cook, the surface holds heat longer than my electric coil did.

A couple of my scanpans were not OK, and one Dutch oven type pot from Sur La Table (their own brand) that was my go-to for large batches of pasta has been given away, it wouldn't boil water. Literally would not come to a boil. But more of my things cooked well on the glass top than did not, I didn't need a complete set of all new cookware by any means.

I got a ceramic top range just a few years ago and have not tried cast iron on mine, but all my pans I had on hand seemed to work. I even can on mine. Enjoy your new range and Happy Thanksgiving.

Sue

We just moved from our apartment which had that type of stove. The landlord replaced the old stove when we moved in.

I was nervous as heck cooking on it, as I didn't want to break the glass. I used my cast iron with no problem......just don't drag it, and be careful you don't drop it since they're so heavy.

One thing you DO have to be careful of, is wiping up any spills with a COLD damp cloth when the element is hot. That can shatter the glass top.

The older glass stove tops took a long time to heat up and cool down. The new ones are much more responsive. I was very pleasantly surprised how quick it was to heat up. I had the 3 racks as well, even though it wasn't a convection oven.

All of your present cookware will work fine unless they are badly warped. Then it won't make full contact with the element.

Your oven sounds a lot like mine. Flat bottomed pans are a must and mine says not to use enamel bottomed pans.

I found mine very easy to use. The hardest thing is keeping the top clean, but that's become easy the more I do it. Plain baking soda mixed with water to make a paste works as well as the liquid glass top stove cleaners.

There was still a sample of Weiman Glass Cook Top cleaner with the owners manual for mine, and the former homeowner had left a bottle in the kitchen along with odd (and a little hard to find) bulbs for the undercabinet lights. The squeeze type formula, not the spray. I use that, does a great job and is not especially expensive. My cook top is white, not a mark on it and from my best guess the stove is 7 years old now. The kitchen remodel seems to date to 2006 from the receipts, owners manuals that were here.

Thanks so much for the responses. I really didn't want to have to go out and buy pans on top of everything else. Fortuneately most of the cooking I will be doing will be in the oven, there's so much room I think I may switch up a couple of side dishes just to maximize the oven. Thanks for the tip on boiling. I'm going to try and do as much rehearsing as possible.

Whe I bought my home 8 years ago, it had a beautiful ceramic top stove. The top was easy to clean, even when cranberries boiled over. I had always wanted a gas stove and 2 years ago I bought one. The gas stove top is harder to clean. Just be sure you don't drop anything heavy on your stove top.

I was at Costco yesterday and they have a special on a set of Calphalon pots and pans. Whole set is on sale for $199. I think
it's a really good buy because I believe they include more pieces than the sets in dept. stores, like Macys.

My stove also has a convection oven mode which is great. Foods bake and brown beautifully in the convection oven.

I was hesitant 2 years ago to purchase a ceramic top stove but now I love it. So easy to keep clean, only thing I don't like is the dual burner only because I am stupid and can never figure out what way to turn the dial on the first go.

I haven't tried cast iron yet either, my Creuset dutch oven has found a new home on top of my fridge and only sees oven use now.

One thing I did find is my oven is hotter so I have to turn it down 10 degrees than the temp called for.

I stopped using some of my non stick frying pans that had ridges on the bottom just because I was afraid of scratching but they were okay to use haha I just gave myself a new excuse to buy new frying pans. One pan I just recently purchases and I love is Starfrit's The Rock saute pan. I love it! Best non stick pan I have ever purchased and it isn't Teflon that will eventually come off $25 at Walmart, probably cheaper in the US. They also have one with a lid.

I find if I use aluminum pans they leave a mark on the stove which is scary to see but it cleans right off with the cleanser. so now I don't worry when I see it. One thing to watch out for the burners stay hot even after you turn them off. The light on the dial stays lit so you know the burner may still be warm so you won't set anything on it.

Cleans up like a dream, best investment I ever made in a stove was getting the ceramic top.

I've had a ceramic cooktop since the 1980's. A Corning back then at our old house, a KitchenAid here at our 2001 house. Both white. Both easy to clean with just Bon Ami powdered cleanser -- Motto is "Hasn't Scratched Yet". I use a damp paper towel and the Bon Ami, then wipe with another damp paper towel.

I would still prefer a gas cooktop -- and an electric oven. I miss my old Thermador gas oven where I could broil with the door open. With a closed door you get...Wet Meat. It also had a wonderful internal exhaust system.

I have a ceramic top stove and find it easy to maintain. When I was packing to move to this house I had a cardboard box on top of the ceramic topped stove (in the home I was moving from) and as I was trying to place a Kitchen Aid mixer in the box it slipped from my hands and shattered the glass top. Not an inexpensive fix-cost me over 300.00 to replace so be careful! Enjoy your new stove. Satine

I have a gas cooktop with an electric oven. The oven smokes - but since there are just the two of us and a dog, I generally use the Breville toaster oven. My husband has managed to completely stain the iron grates on the gas cooktop by not wiping up acid based foods such as tomato and milk as they happen - and you know who was the one who got yelled at during a repair for a part that went - me of course. My husband would tell me that the stains would burn off - well they don't. Nothing will get rid of them. He has trouble controlling the heat - even though I will tell him to put something on a low flame. My SIL has a ceramic cooktop - she likes it. A friend has one and doesn't like it - probably because she scratched it and also has a cat. Emphasis on the cat (who is okay).