# Grill pan with square bottom with round electroceramic stove burners



## haanz (Apr 26, 2012)

Hi all.

I'm going to purchase a cast iron grill pan. There is large selection of grills with square bottom on market. And they are really more suitable for steaks cooking. I have a common electroceramic stove with round burners.

I heard that it is not safe to use stove with pans that have different size (shape) than the stove burners. And I can explain that in situation when the burners are wider.

Would it be right to buy square grill with the side length equal to stove burner diameter (or more)? Would it seriously affect the temperature distribution or something else?

And one more question (in order not to create another topic). Is there any difference between cast iron and enamelled cast iron grill in context of steak cooking?

Thanks.


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

Don't buy anything enameled for high temp cooking. It is simply a heavy pait type finish baked on to the pan and point of manufacture. It will crack and peel off eventually. only advantage is it looks pretty and controls rusting. But when not in use the cast iron pan should be rubbed wit a light coat of oil or pan spray


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## haanz (Apr 26, 2012)

Thanks for the advice.

And what about the shape of a bottom?


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## haanz (Apr 26, 2012)

Hey, I thought it was a easy question... Can I use a pan bigger than a electroceramic stove burner?


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## romanas (Jan 28, 2012)

Yes you can, but you'll have large cold areas on a pan that are quite useless. Cast iron has relatively bad heat conductivity, so areas that aren't above burners will be much colder than areas that are above burners.

I have some enameled cookware and use it for high-temp cooking for years without any problems. Never heard that someone had problems (cracks or chipping) with decent enamel cookware (Staub or LC). Actually, during manufacturing process enamel is heated to a temperature that is much higher than temperatures we all use for cooking.

In my opinion, when it comes to steaks, pure cast iron performs a little bit better than enamel cast iron, but it needs a bit more care than enamel (seasoning, proper cleaning, etc).

ps. I have electroceramic stove with round burners at home too. And my choice for steaks is a good old pure cast iron round-shaped Lodge pan.


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## haanz (Apr 26, 2012)

Hmmm.... it's intresting.

Then what for are the pans with square bottoms? There are no square shaped burners at any kind of stove...  And there are more square grill pans on the marker then round....


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