Michigan State University Extension
Home Maintenance and Repair - 01500242
12/04/98
Gas and Electric Cooktop Care
Wipe up spills as soon as they occur to avoid
cooking on soil. Acid spills can etch the enamel surface.
Turn heat down to the lowest temperature that will
continue cooking process to reduce boil-over spills,
save energy, and avoid discoloring the reflector bowls.
When frying, use a cover if OK for cooking process; or a
mesh grease-catcher cover for frypan to reduce grease
spatters. Use ventilating fan to collect greasy soils
instead of letting them deposit on surfaces in the house.
Reflector bowls need to be kept shiny and clean, not
for appearance, but for even and efficient cooking, since
they are designed to reflect heat back into the bottom
of the cooking pan. Brown stains from burned-on food, or
blue or gold stains from overheating make them less
efficient.
Do not line bowls with aluminum foil unless manual
says it's OK, as overheating may occur in some cases.
In some gas burners foil may melt.
Oversize Kettles and Reflector Bowls
Reflector bowls overheat and may discolor permanently
when pans larger than the surface burner are used,
blocking air flow and trapping heat under the pan. This
often occurs when oversized kettles or canners are used
for a long period of time, especially at high settings.
Some brands with removable elements offer a large raised
unit that allows air circulation underneath for canners
and large kettles. Others offer special "Canning Kits"
to use with canners. Without these, alternate burners
for continuous batches, do not can all day, start canner
with hot water to reduce time burner is on High, and
never put canner on two burners at same time as this
builds up more heat on enamel cooktop. Use only flat-
bottom canners.
Overheating under large utensils can build up to 1200
F. and craze and chip enamel, and even burn out elements.
They also overheat more with pans not flat on the bottom,
such as warped pans, or ridged-bottom pans like water-
bath canners. Use of abrasive scouring powders or pads
will also discolor the bowls over time and should be
avoided.
This article was written by Anne Field, Extension
Specialist, Emeritus, with references from the Porcelain
Enamel Institute and the Maytag Corporation.
This information is for educational purposes only. References to commercial products or trade names does not imply endorsement by MSU Extension or bias against those not mentioned. This information becomes public property upon publication and may be printed verbatim with credit to MSU Extension. Reprinting cannot be used to endorse or advertise a commercial product or company. This file was generated from data base 02 on 02/27/01. Data base 02 was last revised on 12/04/98. For more information about this data base or its contents please contact cook@msue.msu.edu . Please read our disclaimer for important information about using our site.
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