Cast iron pans work great on gas stovetops. If you have an electric stovetop with conductive coils, then they’ll also work great. However, if you have a ceramic-glass stovetop, you need to read your user manual before cooking with cast-iron pans. Most manufacturers will tell you not to use cast-iron pans or any pans without a flat bottom.

If you decide to use a cast-iron pan on your stovetop, here are a few things that may make it safer to use cast iron.

• Do not drag your pan across the surface of your stovetop. This can result in scratches which can degrade the surface and can cause the stovetop to crack.
• Don’t use a pan that is larger than the burner. Since cast iron conducts so well, this can cause heat to tough the surface that isn’t heated and can cause cracks.
• Don’t use heat that is higher than medium. Using lower heats can reduce the chances of heating up the surface of the stovetop and causing cracks.
• If your stovetop manufacturer instructions suggest a heat diffuser, consider using one of these with your stovetop. These discs will spread the heat over the surface evenly and permit you to use a larger pan over higher heat, while keeping space between your cast-iron pan and your sensitive stovetop and reducing scratches. Not all manufacturers suggest heat diffusers, so play it safe and read your user manual first.

And if you don’t want to risk putting the cast-iron pans on your glass-ceramic stovetop, heat them up in your oven to brown meat before cooking. It won’t quite be the same as browning over a flame, but it’ll be better than not browning meat before you bake ingredients in a recipe.