Vintage Cookware

[Marky_Mark]

Hi guys

 

I've noticed that some vintage pots and pans were designed with bases that were not flat.  Are they suitable for use on electric coil elements?  Are there pros and cons to this design? 

 

Mark

 

[jamiel]

they were formed that way to sit more stably and not teeter if they warped a bit. If the outer ring sits stably on an electric coil you should be fine.

 

[combo52]

Vintage cookware

As Jamie mentioned, they were made this way because they were less likely to warp.

However they are not good for electric ranges, because over 1/3 of the bottom of the pot does not touch the element. They’re not a good choice.

Ironically, if it has a magnetic core they work very well on induction stoves I use my mothers old echo flint cookware on my induction range very effectively.

John.

 

[Marky_Mark]

That's really great to know.  Thanks for the replies!

 

Mark

 

[rp2813]

I have found that the bottom surface of any pot or pan that isn't perfectly flat so it can make full contact with a smooth top electric burner will present problems with something as simple as boiling water.  It's basic physics, but it makes a major difference.  Corning even produced their "Cookmates" line with smooth, absolutely flat bottoms to be used with their smooth top ranges.  The slight variation on the bottoms of regular Corningware pieces was/is enough to cause problems.

 

I think smooth top ranges have had their day, and I would never own one by intention (will soon be dumping the two-burner modular unit that was here when we moved in), but thought I'd mention it for anyone who might be considering one.

 

[ea56]

My vintage Farberware kettle has an indentation on the the bottom of the pan and boils water just fine on my smooth top stove. I love this smooth top stove BTW. Its the easiest stove to keep clean that I’ve ever owned or used.

Sure the fact that the bottom of a pan not being completely flat may require a few more seconds or minutes for the contents to come to a boil, depending upon how much water is in the kettle but this doesn’t make the pan unusable. I can boil a quart of water in 6 mins which is about how fast it boiled on my old coil top stove.

Eddie[this post was last edited: 2/6/2023-12:55]

 

[rp2813]

Well Eddie, I wouldn't be surprised then if it has to do with my overpriced Gaggenau junk as opposed to a range that's both more affordable and capable.  I can't trust my smooth top module with anything other than simmering and keeping things warm.

 

[ea56]

You know Ralph I was concerned at first when I got this smooth top that it may not be as fast as the old coil top was, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised. It just turned a year old at the end of last month and I can honestly say I’ve been more than satisfied with it.

Granted the two smaller burners are only 1200 watts and the smaller burners on the old coil top were 1600 watts and yes, the 1200 watt burners are a bit slower, as I expected they would be. But I’ve found that not to be a problem at all.

The ease of use and cleaning more than make up for the lower wattage of the two 6” burners.

Eddie

 

[combo52]

Surface cooking with resistance electric elements

On a coil top electric range on the high heat setting when boiling water, etc. the element should never get red hot.

On a smooth top range flat cookware does help but it’s not as important because it’s cooking with radiant heat. The element is going to be red hot always when energized,

Hi Eddie, that tea kettle should not be used on any electric range unless it’s magnetic and you want to use it on an induction burner that would be fine. The small elements on your old GE electric range would’ve only been 1325 W.

Hi Ralph people generally like their smooth top electric ranges a lot their day is far from gone. I’m not sure about your two burner imported cooktop, but it should do fairly well. I don’t think it has a particularly powerful burner on it, however.

John.