Smooth-top range - anyone have one? Opinions?

[Kiki]

My hubby and I need to buy a new range. Our has gone kaflooey. There are a lot of nice smooth-top ranges out there, you know the kind without the exposed coils, but I've heard bad things about them. I'd love to hear the opinions of people who have them, and if you've had any problems. They are obviously easier to clean, but besides that, are there definite advantages? Disadvantages?

[ColleenSwerb]

I love ours I bought some cleaner and pads by Weissman (I think - I got them at Target) and they get that thing freaking sparkling clean. Stuff will get on it and burn and whatnot, and it can get messy, but that stuff is amazing. I don't have any complaints with ours.

[MamaBee]

I don't have any complaints... I grew up with gas stoves and I now my mom doesn't like my electric smooth top... but I don't have any issues with different temp levels or the other complaints you hear... if I had to buy a new stove, I'd seriously consider a smooth top again.

[junebug]

i used to have one a couple years ago. i LOVED it. we got stationed in Germany and rented our house out while there. times got rough and we were forced to file for bankruptcy. lost the house and my appliances . it was a very good stove. a GE Profile.

[nikkiARNGwife]

I love mine too..they're SOO easy to clean compared to the mess from one with the exposed coils..they cook a little differently but they are so worth it. Ours is GE too.

[Leila]

Hate mine, but mostly because it's electric and I prefer to cook on gas. It's perfectly functional, does a great job, blah, blah, blah...I just love a gas range.

[Julie Billingsley]

I think we'll have to get a new stove soon too. We currently have a gas stove but I love the look of the smooth top also. I don't know that I have a preference on gas vs electric, but how would I know?? I've always just accepted what stove was in the house already. This will be my first time picking out a stove. What is the downside of switching away from gas?

[ColleenSwerb]

Gas and electric cook VERY differently, Julie. It can take some getting used to if you switch, but some people really have a preference. There's no real downside though I don't think.

[Serendipity]

Originally Posted by juliebee70

I think we'll have to get a new stove soon too. We currently have a gas stove but I love the look of the smooth top also. I don't know that I have a preference on gas vs electric, but how would I know?? I've always just accepted what stove was in the house already. This will be my first time picking out a stove. What is the downside of switching away from gas?

It just takes time to get used to cooking. It heats up differently. I grew up cooking on a gas and it took me quite a while to get used to electric but now that I have a gas stove again I really miss electric. When we buy a new stove it will be electric.

TIP for electric stove: Never cook anything on high heat unless you want to replace your pots and pans. My mom ruined my 18 quart stainless steel stock pot because she wouldn't listen to me. lol Heating water on High would be okay but I would never walk away from food that is cooking unless it was on med or low heat.

[nikkiARNGwife]

and FYI...Soft Scrub works amazing at cleaning stuck on stuff..I just use it and one of those sponge/brush thingys made for glasstops and it comes right off

[Nettio]

Originally Posted by juliebee70

I think we'll have to get a new stove soon too. We currently have a gas stove but I love the look of the smooth top also. I don't know that I have a preference on gas vs electric, but how would I know?? I've always just accepted what stove was in the house already. This will be my first time picking out a stove. What is the downside of switching away from gas?

The big advantage gas has is that it gives you much more control over cooking temperature. You turn down the gas burner and the heat instantly responds where as with an electric burner, you basically have to wait for it to cool to that temperature. I don't find it as forgiving and given that I'm not a very good cook, it tends to frustrate me because you pretty much have to get the temperature right from the get go or things will burn before the temperature will turn down. (Of course that could partly be my fault since I'm not always sure what I'm doing. ) You also can't really move pots to other burners easily because you need to wait for the burner to heat up first where as with gas you just turn it on and it's ready.

If I had the choice, I'd probably go with gas but we currently have a smooth-top electric stove because it was cheaper. I do like the smooth cooktop because like others have said, it's easier to clean. I think the big advantage is that it gives you a smooth surface to set things on when you're not using the stove. I can take hot dishes out of the microwave or oven and set them right on the cooktop without having to balance them on burners which is nice.

[lizzyfizzy]

no doubt that gas stoves "cook" better and are more efficient. however, clean up wise- nothing beats a flat top electric and they make some now that cook a lot better. i love my GE a lot.

[Megan Turnidge]

Originally Posted by Nettio

The big advantage gas has is that it gives you much more control over cooking temperature. You turn down the gas burner and the heat instantly responds where as with an electric burner, you basically have to wait for it to cool to that temperature. I don't find it as forgiving and given that I'm not a very good cook, it tends to frustrate me because you pretty much have to get the temperature right from the get go or things will burn before the temperature will turn down. (Of course that could partly be my fault since I'm not always sure what I'm doing. ) You also can't really move pots to other burners easily because you need to wait for the burner to heat up first where as with gas you just turn it on and it's ready.

I DEFINITELY prefer gas stoves over electric for the same reasons Lynnette listed. It's especially helpful when doing something that really requires you to be on top of the temp (like making candy or tempering chocolate or something). I like the look of the smooth tops, but for cooking I definitely like gas stoves.

[DawnMarch]

Yeah, I'd take a gas stove if we could do it, but since we can't here, I love our smooth top stove -- we use BarKeeper's Friend to clean ours and it cleans up nicely.

[Jennilyn]

This one is very similar to the one we got in June. Love it so far, except because of the hidden bake element it takes longer to preheat. I forget about that a lot of the time and supper ends up being late. LOL

[lizzyfizzy]

i love bar keepers friend, dawn!! works fab in stainless pots and pans too!

[Heather Roselli]

We remodeled our kitchen last year and got a new smooth top drop in countertop stove. I've had two previous smooth tops and liked them better than the old style electrics I'd had. I've never cooked on gas, so I can't compare. I find the smooth tops look nicer and are easier to clean and this new one - it boils water so fast! It is kind of weird! lol

You know though, I love stove top popped popcorn...and ever since I've had a smooth top stove I haven't been able to successfully pop popcorn on it. I don't know if it is me or what! lol

[tuneskids]

I have a Frigidaire Electrolux ceramic-top slide in convection oven. I have no issues keeping it clean, love the way it cooks. It's great to be able to pull something out of the oven and just put it on top.

Something else to look into when purchasing a new stove - Convection oven vs. Conventional oven. I love, love, LOVE my convection oven though ... heats more evenly than a regular conventional oven, using a lower temperature and less time!!

This is what mine looks like ... http://tinyurl.com/ykp2a4e It has a bridge point on the left side, so I can put my big turkey roaster on the left side to make gravy!! Just turn on both the front & back burners and the bridge between. In the center at the back is a warming zone ... great for keeping my teapot warm, or soup, or something I have cooked already and have to wait to serve. I think that is my favorite feature of the cook top itself.

[Kiki]

Never mind the stove Sonja, now I want your kitchen! Gorgeous!

Thanks for the feedback ladies. I don't think gas is an option for us, but I'm definitely thinking smooth-top now.

[tuneskids]

Originally Posted by kettkel

Never mind the stove Sonja, now I want your kitchen! Gorgeous!

hehee thanks Kiki, I love it too! It's what sold us on renting this place ... yes, we are only renting it. We hope to be able to buy it in a few years, should the owners decide to sell when they had previously planned to.
Wanna see the rest of the house? lol http://tinyurl.com/yc2cgu3

[Sharon Kay]

I've had one for years and absolutely L-O-V-E it! The only thing I wish was different was that it had 2 LARGE cooking spots for pans (mine has 1 large and 3 small). Next oven I hope to have one with 2 different ovens...so I can cook french fries and chicken strips at the same time (you know they never are the same temperature!) lol

[justmp]

We got ours about a year ago. My only real complaint is that it's black and it shows every.single.speck of dust!

[lovely1m]

Mine is older so this might affect my opinion, but I am actually not a big fan. I had always wanted one and there was one already in this house when we moved in. It seems like once it heats up, its hard to get it back down to a medium heat, its just hot for so long. Because of this, I often have spill overs which instantly burn onto the range. And its rough getting it scrubbed off. It seems like its always dirty.

[tuneskids]

Originally Posted by Sharon Kay

Next oven I hope to have one with 2 different ovens...so I can cook french fries and chicken strips at the same time (you know they never are the same temperature!) lol

Sharon, with my convection oven I can get chicken strips & fries to cook at the same time, at the same temp (I use the lower temp of the two instructions). lol The convection fan heats the oven, both top and bottom, so everything ends up crispy, despite the fries being on the lower rack and the strips on the top. Nothing burns, and nothing undercooks.

[Kjersti]

I love mine - I just got it about 8 months ago. Make sure you get the convection oven too! It's fantastic.

[Melissa Bennett]

A few years back we were looking at the smooth top stoves and the salesman asked me if I like to can at all. He told me that they are not good for leaving on for long periods of time and can actually shut off and burn out from prolonged use like canning. Just a thought if you do that.

[kristine]

We have an electric one, gas isn't really used for stoves over here. Have you thought about one of those induction tops? That is what we're getting when our has to be replaced (I'm hoping for soon!). They adjust the heat instantly, and heats up straight away, so it has a lot of the same advantages as gas, but they are electric. My mum has one, and it is awesome. As soon as you remove the pot, it goes completely cold, so no chance of burning your fingers (or anything plastic that you accidentaly left on top of the stove) You can change burners as well, as they heat straight away when you put the pot down. The only disadvantage as far as I can see is that it doesn't work with all types of pots and pans.

[Nathalie]

We had one from Bosch in Germany and we LOVED it - a lot! We took it over to Australia and only sold it because it wouldn't fit in our new house. I have to say ours was pretty good with adjusting heat and what I absolutely loved is, that you can have something on a really, really low heat to hold something warm without boiling/burning it - that doesn't work with gas. And I have used mine for canning, making jams etc, never had a problem. And I have to say, I really prefer the electric oven over a gas oven. So, yes I prefer electric over gas (which I have now). But it is nice to have a gas cook top for the griddle (?)

[rachaelsscraps]

We have one too, and while they are a pain to get the burnt stuff off, I think coil top stoves are a pain, too!

[meganmecrazy]

I hate ours. Easier to clean up but very easy to scratch when you have careless people living with you (rolling eyes). I think we picked the WRONG brand...it is a Frigidaire. Stuff either doesn't cook at all or burns. When we lived in an apartment we had gas and everything cooked perfectly but I hated the clean-up. Then when we bought the house it had electric so we bought the smooth-top and my hubby tried to talk me out of it but I fought him tooth & nail and ummm, now he rubs it in my face. Maybe if we had a different brand it would be better but even the oven doesn't heat up to the right temp (and this was after having the guys come and calibrate it or whatever that is called).