Wife made me put all the cast iron in the garage!

[Frozen Smoke]

We remodeled the kitchen and got all new appliances at the same time. I wanted a gas stove but the wife likes the clean look of the ceramic tops. It's what our last one was. The new ceramics have some new features like 2 burner sizes in one and better heat control. So I relented on that if she would go with a double convection oven. So that's what we wound up with a ceramic top with a double convection oven.

So now that everything is done and installed the wife was going through all the manuals and paper work that came with the appliances to learn the new features. All of a sudden she goes "Uh-Oh! I've learned that that utterance is usually bad news for me and it was. She read in the manual that you are not to use cast iron on this cook top due to possibility of scratching and or breaking the top.

I tried to argue that we did it on the old one but she would have none of it. "I don't want to see cast iron on that cook top as a matter of fact move all your iron out to the garage so you're not tempted"

So now when I want to sear steaks it has to get done on the Camp Chef stove or the flat top in the garage!
So I guess I have to wait for how ever long it takes for the newness to wear off and things get back to business as usual.

[Steve B]

Ouch. That's a tough one. Sorry man.

[Bighorn Dave]

Keep an eye out for a used burner like what is shown in the link. Just add propane and you have one of the best and fastest ways to get that CI hot and ready to sear.

https://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-Propane-Turkey-Fryer/dp/B0033JF0K0

[Frozen Smoke]

I got a 3 burner Camp Chef propane stove that works great for this and is also my flat top so I'm not totally lost which is why I didn't want to go to the mat on this. I've been married to her for over 35 years I know how to pick my battles!

[FireMan]

35 yrs, cool. There is a time for everything & there are some things where time is a must.

[klflowers]

Congrats on the 35 years! Knowing when to pick battles is an art form.

[FireMan]

There are a lot of quotes describing your dilemma, "appearance over substance", "can’t get full on fancy", "do you want to look good or taste good". Unfortunately what you have described as your kitchen is nothing I’ve ever seen with anybody who does any cooking. Bummer. Yeah, you will just have to play the waiting game. You could force the issue a bit & live & eat off of fancy and clean looking and see how everybody takes to that.

[Fire Art]

That Slurps

[texastweeter]

We use cast iron on ours

[FireMan]

There we go, let’s take a poll & then Frozen Smoke can present the results! 🕶

[ILikePigButts]

I do as well

[klflowers]

We cook on ours too. When we first got it though, my wife didn't want to put the CI on it, but she cooks with CI as much as I do. So she broke down.

[Nate]

So she is ok with her vehicle having to be parked outside now?

[Frozen Smoke]

My trailer smoker gets parked on one side of the garage and this time of year the UTV with the snow plow is parked on the other. Neither her car or my truck see the inside of the garage.

[Nate]

You might be a pitmaster if.... your smoker gets a garage spot and your vehicles don’t... lol

[Fire Art]

That was my thought you know they come With a durable paint job

[Mosca]

The instructions for mine (Whirlpool 515es) say that cast iron is okay, but that I need to be careful with copper, and especially with aluminum.

So I think that the hive mind says it's okay to use the stove, but don't use aluminum, copper, or cast iron. And don't cook directly on the element, either.

[Mosca]

And they really hate aluminum and copper:

"Aluminum or copper bottoms and rough finishes on cookware or bakeware could leave scratches or marks on the cooktop."

"Aluminum and copper may be used as a core or base in cookware. However, when used as a base they can leave permanent marks on the surfaces."

"[Aluminum] may leave aluminum residues, which may be diminished if cleaned immediately."

[Dan Deter]

When we bought the new stove a couple of years ago, we really wanted to move away from the glass and get a gas cooktop and double electric oven, but my M-I-L said she'd never stay in our house if we had a gas stove again. The new glass top is an improvement over the old, and we do have the double oven now which we love.

[gcdmd]

I've warmed many a tortilla or other flatbread directly on the cooktop but never had the courage to do an egg, burger, pancake, or steak.

[jgreen]

The good news is she may not even see new cast iron pieces just kind of show up and get added to the collection in the garage.

[FireMan]

J you just hit it out of the park. Now F S , when you get the new gear & she notices, you get to answer: "oh I’ve had that awhile, it’s been out in the garage."

[gcdmd]

FireMan A friend of mine used to do that with firearms.

[Fire Art]

I like the way you think

[grezs]

You could get an induction cooktop specifically for your cast iron. Amazon has hundreds.

[Frozen Smoke]

Actually have one of those as well. A single unit. I used to use it for deep frying with my Dutch oven but now I bought a dedicated deep fryer. Plus as I said I have a 3 burner gas stove in the garage. I'm not suffering too bad here and eventually things will swing back to my way of doing things anyhow...he he!

[Jon Liebers]

we have a five burner induction cooktop and you better believe I fully intend on using my new No 12 Smithey on it. Heck we use the La Crueset Dutch oven on it all the time with no problems ever . I really don't thing its a problem , unless its accidently dropped onto the cooktop.

[Thunder77]

Just make sure that you have a humidity controlled environment! Don't want any rust to develop!

[gcdmd]

That was my first thought, living in South Texas.

[jfmorris]

My parents cooked on gas their entire lives until they bought a new house a year ago, and have several cast iron skillets, and ran into the same thing. My speculation is that the concern is that the rate of heat change of glass versus cast iron could lead to cracking the top - the cast iron will take much longer to cool than the glass will, as well as much longer to heat up. The differential could in theory crack the glass on their new cook top.

Their solution was that since my dad needed a new grill (he left the old ones behind at the hold house for the buyer) was that he got one with a side burner, and it's about 3 steps out the back door on a covered porch. They are still using my grandmothers old skillets, just on the side burner of a Weber grill...

When I remodeled the kitchen 15 years ago, dual fuel (electric/gas) ranges were not a thing, and I knew gas was best for the cook top, and electric for the oven, so I put in a 30" gas cooktop, and a wall oven in the cabinet right under it. It's a little more custom than a standalone range, but it lets us replace them independently, and I got my preference of natural gas for the cooktop. I'll be looking to replace them both in the coming year or two, but plan to keep gas, just find one easier to clean.

Dan Deter you should have taken the opportunity to not have your MIL stay at your house, and gone gas! Actually, here in Huntsville, we are in a big TVA area where most people have all electric appliances, versus Atlanta where I came from and just about every house had natural gas. People here are more "fearful" of gas as they are not familiar with it. Even in houses with gas, you tend to see it just used for the furnace, often a fully outdoor forced air heat pack, with the air exchanger all at the end of the house, with the vents going into the crawlspace. I hate it.

[SmokeyGator]

The cook top is extremely thermal resistant. The glass directly above the elements gets super hot, the glass mere millimeters away stays much cooler. Thermal expansion of the material is near zero. Any heavy pot/pan will scratch it though. If you don’t mind that, it’s all good. If you want to keep it looking new, no sliding and no cast iron. My cook top is scratched up

[Dan Deter]

I thought about it She has a valid cause for her fear, as when she was a teenager her friend's house a couple of doors down blew up from a gas explosion. I think it was even the range that was the cause. We didn't point out that the furnaces and the fireplace are gas.... We would of loved to have gone the cooktop and double wall oven route, but it just wasn't in the budget (or space).

[SmokeyGator]

I use cast iron in my glass top stove. You *can* break the glass, but only if you drop the heavy cast iron on it. But you *can* also break it with aluminum or stainless steel stuff too. Mass and acceleration due to gravity is not any different for a feather pillow or a bowling ball.

But cast iron will scratch the surface up. But again, so will anything else. Cast iron just does it faster.

Shoild have gone induction with electric. I want to when the current appliance croaks. The cook surface doesn’t get hot, so you don’t get burned on mess. And you get the heat control of gas, but the clean look of electric. Only downside is that you must use induction ready pots and pans. But cast iron happens to be extremely induction ready. Basically "induction ready" means a magnet sticks to it. The better the magnet sticks, the more efficient the pot or pan is.

[Frozen Smoke]

Induction cook tops get rather expensive and require a lot more power consumption. I did briefly research them. I think they were trendy for awhile but have kind of faded in popularity. I really wanted gas and campaigned for it pretty hard but it was the only thing in the whole remodel she insisted on so I relented. Besides a good deal of my cooking is done outdoors on the smoker

[EdF]

Of course, cast iron is induction ready, and perfect for it! Oh well, too late for the time-being.

[JGo37]

Actually, the more massive object will briefly resist going into motion longer. Einstein & Hawking were wrong. I am right. And THAT'S how we will eventually learn to control the 5th force.

[RustyHaines]

Maybe I am missing something. You should not cook with cast iron, copper or aluminum pans? What's left? A buffalo stomach full of water with heated rocks to raise the water to a boil? Jeeeez that gas stove is looking pretty nice.

[gcdmd]

https://www.amazon.com/Arnolds-Frying-Pans-West-cookbook/dp/1450779638

[Mr. Bones]

gcdmd I have had that very book fer many decades, an have even referenced it here, fer makin "Cowboy Coffee"...

It's a great read

[gcdmd]

Mr. Bones I have the edition with the DVD of his TV shows. One of them shows a bovine (cow, I think) stomach being used as a cooking vessel.

Speaking of coffee

http://50campfires.com/6-great-ways-to-make-camping-coffee/

[Troutman]

There's a much easier solution, tell her that you were kind enough to prepare a comfortable spot in the garage for her, right next to your CI collection. I like my gas cooktop just fine; you can keep your fancy smancy induction, glass, convection, electric, atomic and whatever other cooktop you might have.

[FireMan]

That is a very astute observation that you made & your response to matters at hand was probably what most would want to say. I do have one question though, are you married?

[Troutman]

Going on 30 years.