Cookware Confusion

Q: I've been looking at cookware for our new glass top stove, and boy, I'm I confused. Not only does the cookware have to be flat, but also smooth as to not scratch the glass. That along with our health concerns with prolonged use of Aluminum digestion. I have read about Scanpan and also about ceramic cast iron products. The main issue for us is skillets and fry pans. Saucepans are a different issue. Can anyone please tell me their experiences with these products or offer other suggestions? I'm very disappointed that canning and pressure-cooking isn't recommended for the glass top stoves since they are considered too heavy. This is a hidden drawback the manufactures don't disclose to you until you purchase the product and read the manual.

A: I have a ceramic cooktop on my stove...I do watch the cookware I use...but most of the pans I have are pretty flat...and I havn't had any problems with scratching...(and I am very picky of my stove)...My stove is a Hotpoint and before I bought it...I made sure I could use my pressure canner on it...My stove made no mention of weight limits...I wonder if manufacturers of stoves vary that much?On the contrary, Bill, the heating elements are actually 500 watts more than what our other stove was. The product literature states, "Canning is not recommended with any Amana smoothtop ranges or cooktops due to the intense heat and large cookware required to can. The heat generated by the canning cookware overheats both the elements and the smoothtop of the range, This can cause the smoothtop to crack, cause failure of the heating elements, and can cause damage to the backguard. Damage incurred by canning, or attempting to can, using the smoothtop cooktop is not covered under warranty." HOWEVER, I really want to know about cookware ..... I already know I made the wrong decision on the purchase of a smoothtop stove I just re-read the literature that came with my stove...As far as canning goes...it says that the canner needs a flat bottom and needs to be centered over the burner...no warnings about overheating?? I have an "All American" pressure canner...it has a flat bottom...I am going to be livid if I have to buy something else just for canning!! Just to make sure I am calling the manufacturer... I have had a flat top range for several years. It is a Dacor, a relatrively high-end brand, but I do not see why it would be fundamentally different from any other. I have a few points to make 1. The "aluminum cookware and health" worry has been 100% discredited. It started when Alzheimers sufferers were found to have elevated levels of aluminum in brain tissue. The worry was that aluminum intake is related to Alzheimers. Not true - it is conclusively shown that this is not true. 2. Cookware bottoms. Most metal is softer than glass and will not scratch. Even if it does, so what? You cannot expect your cooktop to look new forever. Scratches do no harm. If the cookware is not perfectly flat, that is not necessarily a problem. If it is bowerd out that is not good because the pan will not be stable. Bowed in however is not a proglem. 3. Canning. I have never heard this and our manual makes no mention of it. I have used a huge cannong pan on the flattop many times with no problem.

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