Stoves that have glass surfaces are a wonderful kitchen appliance- it looks classy and expensive. But when you use any cast iron skillet, sometimes it may get difficult to deal with it.
A cast-iron skillet is a good choice for cooking, but it is heavy, clunky, and edgy that can harm your glass surface of the stove if you are not careful enough. So, be careful while cooking in an iron cast skillet or just use any nonstick cookware.
Now, we will discuss on how to protect glass top stove from cast iron in detail. Stay with us.
How to protect glass top stove from cast iron
We will talk about three of the methods by which you can protect the glass surface and also cook in an iron cast skillet.
Method 1
Firstly, properly clean and thoroughly dry the skillet so that previously cooked food and its smell don’t hang on it. If your skillet is seasoned, then it is ready to use.
Remember, always use a smooth-bottomed skillet. The edgy and clunky skillets will leave scratch marks. After that, lift the cookware and put it in the heating position of the stove. Never slide the cookware even if it has a smooth bottom.
Day after day, the sliding mark will be visible and stay there on the glass surface forever. And after each usage, never forget to wipe the surface with a clean towel.
Method 2
You can use a glass stove top cover. It is mostly made out of plastic. Although it is mostly temporary protection but can help you protect the surface. If the top cover gets dirty after some time, you can just simply pick it and throw it in the garbage; and use a new one for use.
Method 3
You can use a cast iron heat diffuser. But you can do some homework first. Go visit any online shop or hardware store and choose your suitable good. It may cost you 10 dollars.
The diffuser can be made out of aluminum or just a flat steel item or made out of coils. The heat diffuser helps to control the heat and circulate it to every point of the pan.
On the diffuser, there is two side- curved and flat side. Place the flat side on the stove’s surface. And leave the curved side for the skillet. Arrange the skillet on the curved part of the diffuser.
The diffuser helps control the heat generation and minimize the rate of scratch capacity. By using this material, you can cook on the stove in low heat.
Final Thought
As you can see, iron cast skillets are very risky to use on your fancy stoves that has glass surface. If you do not have any other options, you can use a skillet but with proper precautions.
Use a plastic top cover or use a heat diffuser or simply follow the ‘lift…don’t slide’ formula. Always take good care and don’t forget to keep the surface always neat and clean. We answered FAQs regarding how to protect glass top stove from cast iron for your help. We wholeheartedly hope that it helps.
Usual FAQs regarding the cast iron cookware
There are some frequently asked questions related to using the cast iron cookware on the glass surface of the stove. We tried to answer some of them. Here it is.
1. Is it healthy to cook in cast iron?
According to a dietician and nutrition coach in Vermont named Kerri-Ann Jennings, cast iron cookware is a very excellent choice for healthy cooking because the iron material lends equal heat to the food.
It also has some of the other advantages such as sensibility, good fluidity, good machinability, antivibration properties, low-stress concentration, etc.
2. What are the disadvantages of cast iron?
There are many disadvantages of cooking in a cast iron. Such as-
3. What should you not cook in cast iron?
There are four things you need to become careful about while cooking delicate fish, eggs, or any kind of sticky foods because it may make a mess while flipping them to the other side.
You can also avoid smelly foods or spices like garlic or some acidic food. It will make a mess and make your dishwashing harder than it already is.
These items are for conventional pans made of cast-iron. If you have an enamel-coated cast iron pan, you don't need to stick to this set.
4. Is Cast Iron good for frying?
Cast iron skillets are, as it is understood, almost good at frying meat as they are at searing it. Except for the deep fryer and, instead, try cooking fried chicken on the stove. Even after you add your chicken, the iron will hold the oil hot enough, and that oil will act as your pan's seasoning.
5. Can you put butter in a cast-iron skillet?
To season your cast-iron skillet, don't use olive oil or butter. They are great and healthy to cook, but for initial seasoning, you should avoid butter or olive oil.
For a seasoning benefit, initially, use bacon, thick pork chops, or a steak in the iron cast cookware. In these meats, the normal fats can do their job of initial seasoning.
6. How do you keep cast iron from scratching on a glass top stove?
There are some basic cautions you can follow on how to protect glass cooktop from cast iron :
7. Can you use a cast iron skillet on a glass cooktop?
Yes, you can use a cast iron skillet on a glass cooktop other than nonstick cookware. But you need to be careful while cooking. Firstly, you need to know how to use cast iron on glass top stove. The main problem is the weight on the glass surface. As the surface is glass-made, the bottom of the skillet can easily get scratched (as the skillet is heavy).
Of course, the surface is made to tolerate the weight, but still, you need to be careful. For that, you can use a glass cooktop protector as a safety measurement.
That is why it's better to not use cast iron skillet on a glass top stove. But, if you are unable to find anything suitable to cook, you need to be careful.
8. Do you have to clean cast iron after every use?
Previously we've talked about how to clean glass top stove and In the case of nonstick cookware, you can just wipe the food with a clean towel, and you can be done with washing. But in the case of iron cast cookware, you need to wash the pan after every use.
Moreover, if you cook any food with gravy, you must wash it properly. Firstly, you need to scrap it with a dishwasher and then rinse it with lukewarm water or final touch. To remove any traces of food and its smell, you can use any kind of scrub pad or hot water and for the wash you can use a spray bottle for cleaning.
9. How often should you season cast iron?
If a skillet gets rusty over time, you can take a scrub pad or steel wool and remove all the rust by scrapping. After that, the pan needs new seasoning so that flipping any food can be easier.
After that dry the pan thoroughly and then put some oil on it. It will make the seasoning process easier and help your skillet free from rust for a long time. Few times a year, you should season your skillet in the oven.
For seasoning, you need to remove all the rust and then clean it with water. Dry the pan properly and then apply oil. After that, bake the pan for a whole hour in the oven. Instead of oil, you can bake bacon or pork so that its natural fat helps you with the seasoning process.
10. What happens when you don’t season a cast iron pan?
If you don’t season your pan regularly, there are several problems. Such as-
So, that’s what happens if you don't season a cast iron pan.
11. Why is cast iron sticky after seasoning?
If you see that your iron cast pan is sticky after the seasoning, it is because you have used excessive oil during the process. Cooking in that sticky pan will make your food too much oily and smelly.
But we have a solution. Firstly, place the pan upside down on the top rack of the oven and bake the whole thing for one hour under 400 to 500 degrees F heat.
12. Is cooking with cast iron on glass top stove safe?
Cooking with cast iron on a glass top stove is not that safe if you care about the longevity of your stove. You can always use a stovetop protector for safety purposes. Still, you need to be careful.
As mentioned before, you need to be habituated with the fact that you always need to handle the cookware in the full sense so that you don’t drop it on the stove or slide it. If you continue sliding the cookware on the stove surface, it will leave a permanent scar on it. So, be careful while handling an iron cast skillet on the glass stove surface.
13. Will cast iron damage glass cooktop?
Yes, it may damage the glass cooktop if you are not careful enough. So be careful while cooking with an iron cast skillet.
14. How to protect glass top stove from scratches
Always follow the ‘lift…don’t slide’ formula. And after every cooking session, wipe the glass top with a clean towel so that no stain can stay permanent. So, clean, clean, and clean.
15. Cast iron smooth vs. rough
This is a huge consideration. If you like your stove, before using a skillet on it, check its bottom. If it is edgy and rough, avoid cooking on it. So, always choose the skillet that has a smooth bottom so that it doesn’t leave a scratch in case you are not noticing.
16. How to clean a glass top stove?
If you want to keep your glass surface stove shiny as brand new, you need to take care of it. For instance, after each use, clean the surface with a clean towel.
If you spill something on it while cooking, wipe it immediately; otherwise, burn marks will be on it forever. Choosing the wiping material, you should be careful. Always use a clean towel that can be dry or soaked with vinegar or water. Remember, never use scrub pads for wiping or cleaning anything on the surface.