I have one of those ceramic top stoves. They are nice...and they are not.
I love having the smooth-top for added counter space in the kitchen. I'm in a mobile home and they simply are not known for kitchen cupboard/counter top space. It's nice to have that smooth top there.
Then again, it says, repeatedly, no less, I should not use my cast iron pans on the ceramic top. It also says, repeatedly, I should not even think about using my pressure canner, or even largest water bath pot. They will scratch the surface, they put too much weight over the burner surface causing cracking and stress fractures, more or less.
It's the stove I have. If I had my preference, I wouldn't have looked twice at an electric stove in the first place. But, after calling the few gas suppliers around here, I wasn't about to pay that much to have my lines put in (well, Dewey would have done that) and then rent a tank and fill it. All they have around here standard is 500 gallons. Most folks only have 250 gallons. LOL...I want a 1000 gallon tank. It isn't greed, really, I just think if I'm going to pay somewhere around $2.79 or higher for a gallon of gas air, I'd like to get a bunch at once and not worry about getting more for a long time.
They got very quiet over the phone and I'm pretty sure they were thinking I was some sort of nutcase wanting what they consider 'an industrial or commercial tank' for home use. And honestly, with the prices for their gas around here, I'd of had to sell off a kidney and my liver, and probably half a lung to afford it.
So, I have electric. And apparently it's a rather useless electric stove for homesteading, being a smooth-top.
Want to know a secret? I can on it anyway. And I use my cast iron pans, though not as often as I really need to. Shall I really shock you? I scrub the bejeebers out of that stove, too. I'm talking Ajax/Comet powder, even an SOS pad from time to time. I've used that stove well beyond it's suggested usage as outlined in my pretty little owners manual. Not that I'm suggesting anyone else be so rough and careless, mind you. I'm just not much for being a 'rule follower ' in some instances.
Ok...canning recipes...I am wondering if I want to put the time into whole meals, such as soups, stews, and the like, or stick with meats and veggies separate to put together later. What do you think? I have several recipes here for large bulk foods...5 gallons of soup and such. I could easily can it up, but honestly, do I want to take up my quart jars and the space in the pantry for ready-meals like this, or just work on emptying the freezers and getting that meat put up so we can cut back on electricity around here?
What do you think?
2 comments:
My grandmother cans on her ceramic top electric stove too :) And uses cast iron :) Just this year we tried our hand at canning "meals" rather than just the ingredients. I thought that it would come in handy for dh's lunches at work to have a pint of beef stew ready to go. That is all we have done so far but we also hope to do veggie soup, more beef stew and chili. The beef stew was very, very yummy! I think that I am going to do it in quarts too, just to have around. It would make a quick, warm meal if there was an emergency (you could also figure out a way to heat it up). No trouble at all.
Blessings,
Carie
I can on my glass top stove too. And I use Cast Iron skillets too, I actually prefer them to the regular cookware!!
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