Mauviel on Glasstop?

[melval]

My husband and I are considering investing in Mauviel Cuprinox/MHeritage pots and pans.

Unfortunately we have a glasstop stove (which I can't WAIT to have an electric (coils) or gas). I've read a few things that say copper reacts poorly on glasstop ranges and cooktops.

Is this true? Would it be a waste to invest in Mauviel before we can switch to a different stove?

Thanks for your input!

[cutipie721]

Have you also considered switching to an induction stove?

[ziggylu]

I use my Mauviel on a glasstop electric stove and have for several years now. I was able to buy most of my copper at a large discount(why I have it to be honest, would not have paid full price for it). I've been happy with the performance.

I went from coils to flat top in this house. It was the first thing I changed after we bought the house(gas not available in this neighborhood). I personally would never go back to coils and am not sure what the advantage would be?

I am moving to a new house soon however that has gas and am looking forward to being able to use all the copper on a gas cooktop finally. With that asid, I've turned out some mighty nice meals in the eleven years we've been in this electric only house. As others have said, give it a chance and you'll be fine. For items where you need to quickly cool or heat up pans learn to use multiple burners set at different temps. Works really well.

[melval]

Thanks for the responses. I know I'm pretty much alone on the whole coil topic, but I grew up using the coils and much prefer it to what we have now. It is most likely just the glass top we have - the burners are either way too small or way to big (either way wasting energy) and it takes longer to do something as simple as boiling water.

I'm sure it has more to do with the specific one we have and not necessarily electric gas tops as a whole, but it my (limited) experiences with different glass tops, I'd never prefer to have one.

[kaleokahu]

Hi, melval:

You're not completely alone. I still have one electric coil stove (from 1953), and they work fine. At least you get even heat.

The problem with them now is that they are built for the budget-minded, and so tend to be more cheaply built and finished. The coils are smaller diameter and have fewer turns, and the rheostats are flimsy. If you see one of the really good vintage coil stoves and it fits your decor, you might consider that.

Aloha,
Kaleo

[mlou72]

Have you compared many models? If you look around you'll find some glasstops have adjustable size burners, as well as oval bridge elements (great for square pans if you turn on 2/3 of it). It took a bit of hunting, but I finally found one with a 12" burner that fits my huge pots.

If your glasstop is older, you'll find the newer models perform a lot better (look for a power burners, boils water faster). Maybe you just need to find the right model, then again maybe there just isn't one out there at this time that suits your needs.

I found shopping for a new range grueling -- and just as I was about to give up hope a new model came out that was perfect for me.

[melval]

We are currently in a rental (we're a young married couple), which is why it's so frustrating - we can't change it if we wanted to. We wanted to get nice pans to begin with (instead of buying cheaper ones and then replacing them with what we really wanted later on). I figured we could at least have good quality pans since we can at least control that :)

[mlou72]

Ah, it looked as though you were buying a new stove later on down the line.

What about borrowing a copper pan and trying it, or buying one and if it doesn't perform as expected you can tuck it away and buy it some friends when you are able to have a stove you like? Copper is just fine on a glasstop, but if your cooktop is that frustrating no pan is going to perform magic on it.

[melval]

Sorry if I gave the wrong impression! We are eventually (in the next 5 years or so) having a new stove, but that one will come with a house too! :)

I figured that copper wasn't going to be a miracle worker on my stove, but we were just considering in investing in what we want down the line - instead of buying something less expensive just to replace later on (if that makes sense).

Thanks for all the help :)

[sueatmo]

Most cooks prefer gas, but most don't prefer electric coils. I've had an electric coil cooktop, a cast iron burner cooktop, and now a glass or smoothtop for over a decade. It is by far my preferred electric cooktop. The newer gas cooktops look very inviting I must admit. Many of us don't have gas though. Hence, we use electric. Give your new stove a chance; you might like it better than you think.

[E_M]

I use my Mauviel saute pan on my electric glasstop, and have turned out some of the best meals of my (short) life.

Having said that, I am not sure about electric coils. I think they are the work of the devil.

[kaleokahu]

Hi, melval:

Nope, not true. I have a glasstop radiant at my beach house, where I cook in copper all the time. No worries.

Aloha,
Kaleo