Recommendations for Electric Cooktop

I've had no scratches on my smooth cooktop. I'd look into an induction cooktop, if I had the opportunity to choose a nice one. They're pricey, but sooooo neat.

I have a black smooth top - it wasn't my choice but was here when we bought the house. I found it worked so well and looked new that we just kept it.

There's not a scratch on it and it's an older model. I can only assume they have improved in quality. I also have no problems with heating up things on the stove. It works better than my old electric burners. I have not used gas.

I use one of those cleaners meant for smooth top stoves, and it works like a charm. I just use it with a sponge or cloth or even paper towel. Really the only time there is an issue is if something like potatoes bubbles over. Normally not a problem.

I HATE my smooth-top range. I grew up with gas, and it is my preference... But I've been using electric (with burners) for the last several years and I'm OK with them. My problem with the flat range isn't so much keeping it clean/scratch free (really, not that hard... Mine is pretty difficult to scratch, and as long as you stay on top of it it's easy enough to clean...) but actually cooking. It takes FOREVER for the temperature to come up or go down. It seriously takes around 5 minutes for my skillet to heat up enough to even melt butter... And boiling water takes a lot longer than any other stove I've ever used. :/

My MIL loves using flat ranges, so I guess to each their own. Lol.

As long as you keep them clean right away they are great.
I think as long as reasonable care is used, they don't scratch easily.
Use a recommended cook top cleaner.
Just wanted to mention that mine has O. large burner that is "power boil" and that's a nice feature to look for.

My MIL has a Bosch black cooktop. She loves it. She does lots of canning and cooking and it still looks brand new, although its about 10 years old. She uses soap and water then shines it up with windex. There isn't any scratches or burnt circles either.

We have one. It was already in the kitchen and wasn't my choice. It's ok. We don't really have any scratches, but if you don't clean spills or boil overs right away they are almost impossible to clean. We have lots of brown and black stains on ours. What I don't like is that because it is a flat top it gets treated kind of like more counter space. Things get set on it all the time. Burners seem to stay hot for a long time, but they don't stay red once you turn them off. I've melted multiple bread wrappers, a plastic cutting board, and burned more than one hot pad. We have had to get into the habit of putting our tea kettle or a pan of water on the burner when we turn it off as a reminder that it is hot. I think it cooks the same as any other electric stove. I don't know that I would buy another one though.

I have a black electric cooktop and it does the job well enough. It is not my every day stove, though, and if I had to live with it for every meal, it would be long gone. I prefer gas but that is not my issue with this stove. It is safety. My single biggest complaint is the whole stove top (entire cooktop, edges and front) gets hot and stays hot long after cooking. With little ones I have to be hyper vigilant they don't touch even the front rim of the stove after I cook. I have had to train myself it is not just the burners which get hot. The entire top surface gets hot as do the surrounding bits of the stove. It is honestly a real problem. I have burned myself even by placing things on the counters next to the hot stove. Consequently I worry about my kids and I don’t normally consider myself a worrying momma. If I were to buy one and had to go with this type of stove, I would ensure the cooktop doesn’t get hot everywhere. It is simply unsafe.
As far as cooking mine tends to run hot so getting skillets hot is never a problem. However, trying to get a moderate to low end cook temperatures is a problem. I have burned more on this stove than I ever did with a gas stove. As for maintenance and appearance it doesn't have any scratches or stains. I do use the recommended cleaner (nonabrasive) with a recommended sponge/scrubber (again nonabrasive). I also make sure I don’t splatter too much on the cooktop or have pots boiling over. Good luck and do your research so you avoid some of the pitfalls with electric cooktops. I certainly think you are going to what you pay for. My model is lower end. No doubt many of my issues are tied to the design and manufacturing balances against a cheaper product.

They don't clean easy and they scratch horribly and they have burnt circles when you cook on them and you can't can on them because they'll crack if you boil stuff too long on them.

So please reconsider. I hate them. When I worked home health I had a lady who had one. I washed it with a soft rag and left it on the burner area to try and soften the gritty residue that was on it. I used a Teflon scraper that was made to use on that cook top and the lady filed suit against my agency and said I'd ruined her cook top. It was awful when I started but she got a new one out of my company.

I didn't do anything wrong to her cook top.

I think they're pretty for people who don't really cook. I love gas and even though I've lived in homes that only have electric hook ups I missed having a gas stove and oven. I think that you need to get what you like the best. If you want a flat top and think you have what it takes to keep it nice and shiny then by all means, study the range top materials and get the things that you'll need to care for it.

There are good quality items out there and you'll be able to find those by researching and going to various stores that sell the ones you're looking for.

We got a black smooth top electric stove-oven about a year ago, and it has worked very well for us. While there are a few areas that do not clean fully, they don't interfere with the heating and the top does not scratch easily. It does help to clean up spills quickly, but that's a good habit to be in anyway. I do cook quite a bit and the cleanup is not hard. Regarding a comment below regarding safety: our top doesn't get hot all over, however I have burned myself a couple times when I forgot that a burner had been on recently and touched it. Altogether, I'm quite happy with it.

My mom had a regular smooth top for years. It was a really poor performer-- super sluggish to heat up and cool down. A couple of years ago she replaced it with an induction cooktop which I love. It actually boils water faster than my big gas cooktop and when you take a pot off the element, the surface cools down right away. I haven't noticed any scratches or staining, even though my mom cooks a lot and is in no way a neat freak.

If I could afford induction I'd replace my gas cooktop NOW. But they're pretty pricey (plus they require special cookware).

I have a white Kitchen Aid smooth top and love it. It's about 6 yrs old and still looks brand new.

The upkeep is not hard. I use the yellow scrubbies by Cerama Bryte and the Cerama Bryte cooktop cleaner.

I have no scratches. Before I upgraded to my Kitchen Aid, I had a GE Profile smooth top. That cooktop was and black/gray smooth top. No scratches.

I prefer my stark white cooktop better. It looks sharp and clean and shiny!

ETA: I've had no issues with things heating up quickly. The only negative I can think of might be the cool down because it does stay warm a while. I don't have little ones at home so little fingers touching it isn't an issue here.

I use my cooktop daily and I use my cast iron pots on it as well. Just clean up as you go. However, when I have the cleaning service here, they are instructed not to touch it because I am picky about keeping it spotless and no scratches. I don't want them using any of their products on it just in case. I would never ever use a scraper blade of any kind on it.