I currently rent, and the only problem I have with the house we're in is that it has a glass-top range. I absolutely love my cast iron cookware, and use it as often as possible.
I've heard a few reasons not to use cast iron on glass, including:
- You can scratch the glass if you're not careful
- It's very easy to break the glass if you drop it
- You can melt the glass top (mentioned in linked thread)
- It can be hard to minimize hot spots
I'm not very concerned about (1) and (2), as I've already been using cast iron on glass for years with no problems (I'm very careful when I do use it).
While researching (4) I came across (3), something I had never heard before. So, I now have a few questions:
Is melting the glass really plausible? This seems unlikely to me, as a quick search revealed that lowest melting point for common glass types is 1500C or higher, a temperature I have no plans to reach - but I'm not a physicist or a chemist, nor do I know what kind of glass is used to make a glass top stove.
Is a heat diffuser effective on a glass range? I have experienced a few hot spots on my large (12") skillet, and obviously when experimenting with my two-burner griddle. Would a heat diffuser help, especially with the two-burner (which I've all but given up with on glass for now because it's so uneven).
Any suggestions for safely and effectively using cast iron on a glass-top range (short of being very, very careful when moving the pans)?