Conference turris::cooks

We have a JennAir stove with Ceran-top and convection oven though I don't 
know if it's the exact same model you are considering. We bought ours about a
year and a half ago.

I'm reasonably pleased with the stove but if I had the option again I'd get one
with a gas cooktop. Even if you use an optimally sized pan (to fit properly on
the heating element) the heat transfer is nowhere near what you'd get with gas.

That said, we routinely use pots and pans that aren't matched with the heating
elements with no problems. I really like the convection oven. The Ceran-top is a
breeze to clean.

I just wish I could cook with gas again (and use my wok).


Chris

 I am the cook in the house. We just moved. We now have electric. I am doing
 over the kitchen and did alot of reading/consumer reports etc.../

 My take on your question is this. Do you cook alot? Do you have pans with 
 non-flat bottoms IE anything other than visions/revere ware? 

 I cook alot. and determined the old faithfull is better. If I trash a burner
 it $12 at home depot to replace it and it just pops in. With the other model
 you need to call a repair man and they are, according to my reading, expensive
 to fix.

 If you don't cook alot and are more concerned with looks then the Ceran is the
 way to go. If you really use a stove and like to see the pans/flames flying
 then gas or the old style electric IMHO is better.

 - Dave

    We almost went with the ceran top, but after I found out about pan
    sizing to burner sizing, the fact that you cannot use glass pots/pans
    or cast iron pots/pans, we opted against it.
    
    (You see, my sweety likes popcorn the old-fashioned way when we make
    popcorn balls. You put the oil in the HUGE pot, add white popcorn and
    shake like all get out until it is properly popped. (grin) No
    micro-wave popcorn balls for him!)
    
    PS: They do have some very nice pricey cleaners for the new ceran tops
        though. (another grin)
    
    Serenity

    We have a solid flat-top stove (have had it four years),
    which I believe is Ceran.  It's a Magic Chef.  I love it.
    I'm an avid and messy cook.  With occasional spills, I
    don't want a gas stove, as I don't want any little holes
    to get clogged (I think that could get dangerous).  I
    always found the electric burner rings a real pain to clean.
    
    Cleanup is not quite so easy as you might think with the
    flat top, as the top gets hot and some spills can get sort
    of baked on.  However, it's much easier than with any
    alternative stovetop.  I use Fantastic to clean it.  I've
    never tried (or even seen for sale) any of the specialized
    stovetop cleaners.
    
    All the pots and pans need to have flat bottoms.  I have a
    set of cast-iron pans with flat bottoms, and they work fine.
    I also have Revereware with flat bottoms.
    
    Good luck with your decision!
    
    Mary Alice

    Actually, a modern gas stove is pretty easy to clean.  Nothing stays
    over the openings in the gas jets anyhow, since the flames come out of
    there.  Anything that spills into a burnder goes down underneath the
    jets.  On my stove, if you take the grills and burner bibs off, you can
    pop open the top of the stove.  Most of the gas piping is inside
    underneath, so all that is inside where the spills end up is just the
    ends of the gas pipes and the burners themselves.  So it is pretty easy
    to clean up in there.  My ancient stove (before it broke and I couldn't
    get parts anymore and bought a modern one) had complex hard-to-clean
    plumbing in there, so cleaning up was pretty messy.
    
    I don't think I would be able to cook a lot of the things I normally
    cook if I had a sold-top stove - we use the wok a lot.  Even the gas
    stove cannot get it hot enough for a few dishes - I'd need a wok
    burner, or a big commercial stove, for that.  One of my friends used to
    do reasonably well cooking in a flat-bottom Mongolian-style wok on his
    conventional electric stove, so maybe you could use one of those on a
    solid-top stove?
    
    /Charlotte

    
    	I have never used a ceran top stove. Question is when talking about
    a WOK and also talking about the pots being flat, Is it possible to
    cook with a wok on a stove like this? I also have an old cast iron
    skillet that has a recess on the bottom for the old type electric
    burners, would they also not work?
    
    thanks/pete

    
    	From what I understand about Ceran-tops, you won't be able to use
    	your over-the-coil wok with it. Nor probably the recessed-bottom 
    	pan either...

    	-Erik