Ceramic cooktop cleaner/polish has always worked for me. Sometimes they are called "glass stovetop cleaner" but we're talking about stovetop cleaner creams not spray-on glass cleaners like Windex.

The subject has been coming up here and elsewhere every so often for years. Seems that every brand of stovetop cleaner works. The two brands I've actually used to clean up scorching are Ceramabryte (carried at our local grocery store) and Weiman's (carried at our local hardware store).

You may want to try moderating the heat settings used with those stainless pans when you want paper beneath them. Remember the story Fahrenheit 451°? Much stove stop cooking is done at lesser temperatures and/or with enough food or liguid in the pan to keep the pan metal temperatures below that. Of course, it is fine to crank the burner to max to bring a pot to boil over paper because the liquid in the pan is absorbing the excess heat. With deep frying and syrup/candymaking you will be (or should be) using thermometers or probes to keep the temps below 375° F. It is when going for very high heat for stir-frying or searing on induction (not to mention going flat-out-gonzo with the lead-melting temperatures some folks think is necessary for searing), that a pan can get hot enough on induction to smolder or ignite the paper. So, skip the paper cover when using very high heat for wok-like stir-frying or searing.

I am just getting my induction range up and running now. Will parchment paper provide less problems than regular paper in this regard?

Thank you Jwvideo, especially for specifying not Windex as that was exactly what I was going to use next! :) I will try Ceramabryte. I had been using ceramic pans to cook but they quickly lost their non-stick property after a few weeks.

Hi Artemis_ma,

I love my new induction range. Even with having to change my pans and the way I cook, I wouldn't go back to gas :) Parchment paper might be helpful. I might try that next time, although I'm not quite sure it would protect as well as paper towel from scratches? I've heard some people have used silicone pads underneath their pans.

In my experience, parchment paper protects just as well as paper towels and may give you a little bit more "headroom" before scorching. A bit of additional headroom can be had by using oven-grade food-safe silicon matting as described here by Kaseki in a post from five years ago. But, again, go much over 500° F and you can reduce that mat to a very hard to clean gooey mess, according to some reports.

The extent to which one worries about scratching is very much a personal thing. Personally, I only worry about scratching when uncoated cast iron and carbon steel pans are being used on my induction cooktop by guests. I also use paper towels or parchment when making sugar syrups or jams. That isn't to prevent scratching but, rather, to catch sugary drips that might otherwise get overlooked and etch the ceramic surface. YMMV.

I use the silicon baking mats but I only use them under cast iron. I've had mine for 6 years now. I haven't melted them yet. They are showing their wear though. Since I'm getting a new range I will probably get new mats to go with them but the ones I've had definitely gave me my money's worth.

Remember not to spill any sugar or salt crystals on the glass top, they can scratch. As Kaseki suggested and I have done the past few years just cut a plain silicone baking sheet, the one WITHOUT the fibreglass weaving, into discs 2-3 inches diameter and use 3 per burner in a triangle pattern- no wobbling, no scratching. On the large burner where I use a cast iron fry pan I have a 4th disc in the centre-my pan is not totally flat in the centre. I used blue to match the Electrolux blue display, when the silicone darkens too much just cut out some more-one baking sheet should provide 3 or 4 sets-we still have the partial original sheet after 3-4 years of use. A benefit of silicone over paper is that your pot wont slip while you stir.

Appearance is one thing, but the reason to worry about crystals of salt or sugar scratching is that they can make a score line the way a glass cutter does, and that little scratch can turn into a crack all the way through the surface. If you're messy paper can be a big help, containing the crystals. If you have burrs on an old iron pan, it'll help protect from that, though silicone would be better, but you can also take them down with a wire sander. If they're just grit caught in the seasoning, you can burn them off with a fire or kitchen torch.

Re the mark on the stove, it might be oily or it might be clouding. Either one might come off with a little alcohol (even as little as glug of last night's wine) and one of those colorful ridged microfiber cleaning cloths. Those cloths hurt my fingers, but are amazing for making the induction cooktop look lovely. :)

You can try toothpaste as a mild polish or BonAmi.

I have found that ceramabryte works best for me. But I'm wondering why people are so worried about scratching the glass tops on induction stoves, I have been using a regular electric smooth top for years, including with cast iron Le Creuset pans and have never had scratching issues. You don't want to drag the pans all around the stovetop, but I have never had an issue and am only a little cautious..

Thank you everyone for your advice:) I will try out the Ceramabryte and update on how that went.