Glass top stove and iron griddle both have their pros and cons. As you have asked, can you use a cast iron griddle on a glass top stove? The straight answer is yes but it has its own secrets.
But is it the best option? No, it is not but it can be a damaging choice for your cooktop. This heavy iron cookware can create scratches and even cracks.
But there are some ways that you can follow to safely use it on a glass cooktop. The hesitation that you have is a reminder that this kitchenware needs extra care at your work.
If you don’t have much time and often get careless at cooking then you should avoid this griddle. Those who are determined to use it should go through the article to know how to use it safely on a glass stove.
How to Use a Cast Iron Griddle on a Glass Stove?
Glass top stoves are made of glass and also have some mixture of ceramic. The smooth surface of these cooktops looks appealing and also feels like more modern kitchenware.
As they are flat and don’t have any gap on their tops so there is no chance for food to get spilled out on the coils. Anything that spills on these cooktops is easy to clean.
Low maintenance and appealing look always attract more people in this techy era. It does not like the traditional cooking space rather then it looks like an extra countertop space for your need. These things have created a craze for glass stoves.
Many of us think that using cast iron cookware on these cooktops is a suicidal decision. But you can easily use a cast iron griddle on these stoves, but how?
Things to Follow While Using an Iron Griddle
You need to be extra careful when you are using an iron griddle on your glass cooktop. Even a single mistake can destroy your stove cooking ability. But if you follow a series of safety measures, it will be a piece of cake.
Let’s have a look at some of the protection points that you must follow.
Don’t slide on the stoves
Suppose, you are frying an egg then you might slide to flip the egg. During this flip, some of you might slide the pan.
Well, you can’t do it when you are using a cast iron griddle on a glass cooktop. Otherwise, it might end up creating scratches on the surface of your new cooktop.
Use heat diffuser
The iron griddle has a rough bottom. By using the heat diffuser, you can create a gap between these two cooking elements.
The heat diffuser is also helpful to distribute the heat evenly throughout the iron griddle. The heat will go through the surface eventually even if it is not touching the cooktop.
Heat diffusers are not so expensive and they are also going to protect your stove from any unwanted incident.
Never put it hardly on the stoves
You need to be careful when you are working with fragile things. Glass cooktop can easily be cracked if you place the iron cookware hardly above it. So, place it carefully on the cooktop every single time.
Don’t hurry
If you are a busy person and always cook in a hurry, iron cookware is not the best option for you.
You need to be soft and at ease during the cooking period on your glass stove. If you are not careful then it can lead to scratches or can even break the cooktop surface.
Clean it before using
An iron griddle is known to collect more oils and debris than any other pot. It can get carbonized and start burning at any time.
This circumstance will leave stains and smudges on the surface of the cooktop. So, it is a better choice to wash it before heating it.
How to Clean an Iron Griddle?
Cleaning a griddle could be a bit tough unless you know the right procedure. To back you, here are some steps to clean the hard debris of a griddle.
Heat before wash
Food can easily get stuck on the iron griddle. It is hard to clean them up in a regular way. But slightly heating them before the wash will make the work easier for you.
You can kick out the debris easily from the skillet if you heat it a little before the wash.
Get a mesh scraper
You need to have a mesh scraper as your companion when you are cleaning stuck debris on a griddle.
Good quality meshes are available online. You can just check out the review and get the best for your need.
Rinse and repeat
Washing an iron griddle after the cook is not meant to get a single rinse. Well, you need to continue the rinse until all the food waste and oil get out of it.
Do seasoning
After every wash, an iron griddle used to look dull. Well, it can be changed with seasoning after wash. Flaxseed oil is the best oil for iron cookware seasoning.
It can restore the fresh look of your griddle. Try to avoid soap at cleaning at all means.
How Does a Glass Stove Work?
Modern glass stoves don’t take into use flames to heat the cooking pots. It works by sending heat to the surface using different methods. It provides better versatility than any other traditional cooking method.
There are mainly two types of glass stoves. One is an electric one while the other one is an induction type.
In an induction glass stove, the heat comes from the electromagnetic field. It doesn’t generate heat rather uses the magnetic field to work. The cooking pot needs to be made of conductive materials to work on properly.
Iron is a conductive material so you can easily use an iron griddle on an induction stove. The current will travel through it and generate heat. This will help the skillet to create its own heat to cook.
The electric glass stove uses electric coils. Heat goes through all surfaces and cooks the dishes. Heat travels faster in an induction stove compared to an electric stove.
Burning foods are hard to clean on a cooktop. So, make sure you are cooking in a low setting.
Disadvantages of Using Iron Cookware on a Glass Stove
You know that glasses are fragile things and iron griddles are heavy. Experts recommend using lighter pots on the glass stove.
Like any other cookware, these stoves have their own sets of cons. Let’s have a look at them.
Curve bottom of the cookware
The glass stove has a flat surface. So, you obviously need something which has a flat bottom to cook on it. Iron griddle mostly has an uneven bottom so it is hard to work with them on a glass cooktop.
But a griddle with a ring can work on a flat cooktop. But there is still concern about the rough surface that can cause scratches.
Mass of iron cookware
Iron is heavy metal so the pot which is made up of it is obviously going to be heavy. Adding food to the pans will add additional weight to it.
A glass cooktop can take the weight but the problem is that you can’t be careful all time when you are working with a heavy pot.
It can easily create scratches or even permanently damage the cooktop. The replacing work is not going to be fun for you.
Size of the cookware and burner
Usually, a glass stove doesn’t come with a large-size burner. At max, you will see two-thirds of these stoves working as a burner.
But most often a griddle is larger than the burner. These circumstances hamper the even distribution of the heat.
When you are choosing an iron griddle for your glass cooktop, it should not be bigger than the burner by an inch.
Final Verdict
We are at the end of this article. Hopefully, it was helpful for you and by now, you have the information that you need to cook properly with an iron griddle on a glass top stove. Now it is time to apply them in your daily life and enjoy your cooking time.
Let me know by commenting below if you have any queries about this topic. If you’re interested to know about other cast iron cookware like a skillet you can use on a glass stove then check out this article.
