Cast Iron on Glass Stove

The bottom of a cast iron pan is often rough, even if it does not appear to be rough. So, get into the good habit of lifting – NOT dragging – a pan whenever removing it from the burner or moving it from burner to burner. We say good habit because if you lift all pans up and remove them from a burner instead of dragging them across the stove then there could be many potential scratches saved during the lifetime of a glass stovetop.

A second option, especially if you are a flighty cook (if you don’t know what a flighty cook is, it’s me – always in a hurry and using quick jerk reactions instead of following a calm planned sequence of steps). This option involves purchasing a heat diffuser. It’s a metal disk that sits on top of the burner and disburses the heat across the circle. This disk, about $20 at a kitchen store or online (see below), can save a stovetop from scratches. You still need to keep the stovetop clean because if anything gets underneath the disk and you slide a pan, the stovetop may still get scratched.

Therefore, in conclusion, option #1 is recommended whether the stove is made of glass, iron, metal or even if a heat diffuser is used on the top of any stove. Practice lifting those pots and pans and the stove top should keep shining forever.

According to Lodge, the largest maker of cast iron pans, they use glass top stoves in their test kitchen all the time without problem. [1]