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I have recently moved into a new home, and for now, I'm stuck with a horrible electric glass top stove. My old place had a gas stove with a continuous grate across the cooking surface. All my pans are carbon steel or cast iron. (I take good care of my pans, so it's not an issue of abuse or putting cold water in a hot pan, or immediately rinsing a hot pan in cold water. With the exception of my woks, they are bullet proof).

I am finding that most of my carbon steel pans have a slight warp to the bottom, which was never a problem on the gas range. But is proving to be rather annoying on the new electric one. So in theory is there a way to unwarp or to lessen the warping on the bottom of the pan? In a way this will be academic and I am willing to sacrifice one of my cheaper pans to experiment the unwarping theories. Thanks.

JG sd
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  • I am closing this as a duplicate, because to the best of my knowledge, the difference between carbon steel and stainless steel doesn't matter for an already-warped bottom. If somebody knows of an important difference, please flag for reopening. – rumtscho Mar 30 '18 at 19:44

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A technique that works for some car dents is to apply dry ice to the warp and this may cause sufficient contraction from the cold the remove a warp. I think this is a low probability of success...but it might be cheap enough to try.

Second, you might consult a local blacksmith (yep, they're still out there) who has the equipment to heat the metal to where he can 'flatten' it for you. I suspect this would cost more than replacing it.

Cos Callis
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  • For the dry ice, would you apply it to the cooking surface or the bottom of the pan or does it matter? Thanks – JG sd Mar 30 '18 at 16:20
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    @JGsd : I've never done it, but if we go with the theory that the colder side is going to have more tension, I'd put it on the concave side. (so inside if it's rounded at the bottom (so it's wobbly), outside if it's dished (so only the edges touch). But it may not matter, as carbon steel is a good conductor of heat. – Joe Mar 30 '18 at 16:44
  • @JGsd... Joe is correct, at least to my experience (with dents) – Cos Callis Mar 30 '18 at 17:04