[Jimmy Lee]

We spend 10 1/2 months a year in The Villages using a glass-top electric range and 1 1/2 months up north using a gas range so get to compare every year and have done so for years and we've had plenty of experience with gas ranges in previous homes. Neither my wife nor I see a significant advantage for gas. We are able to fine tune the temperature with our electric range very well. I know the celebrity cooks on TV use gas so gas has snob appeal factor going for it. As for cleaning, boil over a pot of spaghetti sauce on a gas stove and you'll get to take it apart and scrub all the parts and you'll wish you had a glass top electric. We clean our glass top electric with a singe edge razor blade to get the big stuff off and use Weiman Cook Top Cleaner to finish the job. We use Circulon Momentum cookware (Circulon makes 5 or more different lines of cookware with different names). It's aluminum so it's light weight and easy to handle and the handles are covered with a soft material that give you a good grip and doesn't get hot like a metal handle (but you can't put it in an oven). It's non-stick but you still need to use some butter, oil or PAM when cooking sticky foods and the nonstick surface will degrade after 3-10 years depending on how much you use it. Our Circulaon Momentum 11 1/2 inch fry pan is not flat but I've not been able to find an aluminum 11 1/2 inch fry pan that is. I'd take a straight edge into a store, find flat pan, buy it, take it home, heat it on the stove and would become convex or concave until I let it cool when when it return to being flat. I'd take it back and try another brand all to no avail. Aluminum has a coefficient of expansion of 13 compared to 9.5 for 304 stainless steel and 6.0 for cast iron so Il just accept that a large aluminum pan will not be as flat as a steel of cast ion pan.

[Nevermore]

Originally Posted by Laker14

Well, looks like we finally did it. Haven't closed yet but have an agreement to purchase a home. I love cooking with gas, but the house we are buying has a nearly brand new smooth top electric.
We've been renting a few years, cooking on smooth tops, with crappy pans that are warped, so only a small portion of the pan is actually touching the surface.

What is a good product that will cook well, not warp, and not destroy the range top?

Stainless steel. Does not warp. Easy to clean.

[b0bd0herty]

I use Saladmaster Stainless steel. The pots & pans all have smooth bottoms. My black electric range is still scratch free after 3 years.
There are other benefits as well if you wish to check out their web site.

[mlmarr1]

I use whatever pan I need even iron skillets..have for years.. conduction pans..etc

[Nanny32162]

Any flat bottomed cookware will work well. I am using my same stainless steel cookware that I used with my gas stove. I have found that I like the residual heat of the e,ectric smoothtop.

[Nemcfo]

Be careful of cast iron. They will scratch your cooktop if you are not very careful.

[dyendell]

Cuisinart. Flat bottom and much lighter than All Clad.

The popularity of this thread dispels the rumor I heard that people in The Villages dont cook, rather eat out most of the time.

[stadry]

i use cast iron but only griswold,,,, all the other pieces of cast iron are very coarse,,, wouldn't use lodge or any other brand on top of a glass cooktop