I put hot things on our Uba Tuba counters right from the oven and stove. Very seldom do I use hot pads. Haven't had any problems in all the years we have had our granite. NancyLouise

I put hot things on our Uba Tuba counters right from the oven and stove. Very seldom do I use hot pads. Haven't had any problems in all the years we have had our granite. NancyLouise

I don't cook much, but the other day I set a pot of pasta down near the sink before draining....no problem,

We don't have our granite yet, but I've been wondering about this. We've got Tropical Brown coming, if that makes a difference?

Isn't there a risk of thermal shock? In other words, if you put a very hot pan/dish on a cool counter, the counter could fracture. Risk would be greater if you put the hot pan on a weakened area - perhaps an unseen fracture or other defect.

From what I've read, the risk is very small, but on the other hand, considering the cost and bother of repairing the damage or replacing the counter, is it worth the risk?

That is what I've read on the granite web sites, so I planned on using hot pads, but not worrying if I make a mistake and occasionally put something direct from the MW on the counter.

Maybe I'm wrong?

I've put stuff from the MW on the granite, and cookies on some foil right out of the toaster to cool (I cheat and get the break apart kind so I can have them a few at a time). No problems yet.

I haven't put anything from the oven on the granite yet though. I'm a little leery of crystals popping out due to uneven heating/cooling. I guess the big difference for me, in my head, is the oven stuff has a much larger and hotter surface in contact to cause issues. Plus I tend to set MW stuff down during a transition to somewhere, vs stuff from the oven tends to stay put for a while so I feel better using a little something in between.

We always put hot things right on our granite counters all the time (cream Bordeaux and Nordic black antiqued). Probably risky, but we never had a problem.

Link below to KevinMP's tale of woe...

Here is a link that might be useful: Mac and cheese cracked the granite!

Nope, with my new granite, Black Galaxy, , after reading Kevin's accident, at this point am very careful with hot pans, etc., bought a couple of counter top hot pads (they're silver, about 12"X16"), from Amazon. They work great! If I can remember the exact name, will post...

All solid surface and estone manufacturers, and the Marble Institute of America (stone industry trade association) recommend the use of trivets for hot items on countertops.

It gets confusing because as this thread exemplifies, there is a ton of anecdotal evidence to the contrary.

Unlike a nice completely broken corner, trying to coax adhesive into a crack from heat can be very hit or miss because it's so tight. You will see it forever, I promise.

I can probably fry an egg on the hood of my car in the summertime, but that doesn't mean Toyota thinks its a good idea.

I try to always put at least a towel down. Things coming out of the oven always go to the cooktop surface first.

Sure do. It's a rock.

Regarding putting a towel down...make sure it's a cotton towel....I made the mistake of grabbing one of those microfiber blends to pick up a hot pot and it melted on the pot. To this day the pot has this glue like substance stuck on it. Would hate to see the mess one of those towels would make on someone's granite!

I never did it in the old kitchen when we had Cambria and I'm not going to risk it on the new quartzite counter either. It's not a problem to place something from the oven on to the rangetop, wood cutting board or a trivet.

I am a fabricator.

In several thousand jobs we have never had an incident of cracking from a hot pan. IMHO, from an engineering perspective, the rate of heat transfer and the amount of thermal energy presented by a hot pan is simply inadequate to produce enough thermal stress to crack the stone.

I also know that fabricators often use propane torches on stone to dry out (the stone is always wet from processing) areas in preparation for glueing in sink or other anchors.

I used to tell my customers that if something in your kitchen is hot enough to damage your granite your house is on fire. I don't say that anymore because a few years ago I have to replace a customers new countertops after she had a "lefsa" party. Four lefsa burners, spaced evenly across her countertops and left on for several hours, created enough thermal stress to crack the stone.

You DEFINITELY do not want to put hot items on Cambria or any other quartz surface. A petrochemical based resin makes up over 15% of the surface and occasionally much more. This resin can be burnt by hot cookware and the scorched resin is not repairable. Every single manufacturer of quartz specifically excludes heat damage from their warranty. Some, like Cambria, don't even cover cracks.

I sure do on my soapstone, but sometimes it cools the food down too quickly!

oldryder:

I have been called to repair granite damaged from hot pans.

If you pay your $250.00, you can join the Stone Fabricators Alliance and read about heat lamps in restaurants cracking stone in their exclusive Dark Room.

I'm pretty sure the stoners don't want this information getting out. That's why they keep it in the Dark Room and why my post with pictures showing failed Absolute Black from heat was deleted from their website.

If I had just dropped several thousand dollars on countertops, the last thing I would do is mash my potatoes in the pan without protection, hot or not. It's common sense.

I've googled this topic, looking for answers.

It seems that the stone salespeople tout granite as heat resistant, put your hot pans on it - one of the many reasons why you should do granite/stone. The .org web sites, though - the ones from researched based stone people - say to use a hot pad or trivet.

I'm not picking on you, oldryder. But I wonder if some of this "you can put your hot pans on granite" is a sales tactic from those in the stone business?

I'll use a hot pad/trivet. I don't see it as a huge deal, to be honest. I do recognize that granite is less likely to be scratched/scorched/etc than many other surfaces. But I'm not going to test it unnecessarily.

I have quartz counters, so they're not exempt from heat damage. But even if they were, I would never put something just out of the oven or directly from a burner on my counter, no matter what it's made of. It's a habit I learned when I was a child with formica and I see no reason to not play it safe.

No. Why would I? I have potholders, trivets, etc.

I prefer to play it safe and like someone mentioned the heat transfer from the dish to the granite would cool the food down more quickly.

Trebruchet - I am already a member of the SFA.

regarding cracked tops in restaurants; that actually helps substantiate my argument regarding a hot pan. The hot food counters are kept hot for hours at a time. Those counters also typically are large pieces with very large cutouts which makes them considerably more vulnerable to heat expansion related problems than a simple solid piece of countertop.

Additionally, an expert fabricator knows to make the inside corners on food service counter cutouts with a radius as a sharp corner creates what engineers call a "stress riser" that makes it much easier for a crack to form. We have successfully replaced food service tops made by other fabricators that failed in service due to incorrect fabrication on several occasions..

The idea that the stone industry would dishonestly advertise the heat tolerance of stone is ridiculous. It cost me several thousand dollars to replace the "Lefsa' ladies countertops and you can be certain I would not be telling customers to put hot pans on their granite if it might result in another free kitchen replacement!

The fact of the matter is that stone countertops are very tolerant of typical cookware temps and that this is one of the performance arttributes where natural stone far outperforms all other countertop material (except stainless steel).

Okay, so why do the stone researchers recommend use of trivets? Is it just a CYA thing? I'm so confused...

This probably doesn't matter a lot to me, though. I grew up with laminate counters; my late mother would consider granite a luxury beyond imagination. So - I think I would have a hard time breaking the hot pad habit.

I'm just curious about the heat thing....

>>

Linelle, my parents remodeled our kitchen when I was 13 and put in new laminate countertops. Day 1 - not exaggerating - I made popcorn on the stove and put the hot pot on the counter and created a round brown scorch mark. Fortunately for me, my parents were very forgiving by nature. It was there until the day I moved out, probably even when they sold the house!

"Okay, so why do the stone researchers recommend use of trivets? Is it just a CYA thing? I'm so confused... "

I would say it's a conservative and fair recommendation given that "stone" encompasses a VERY VERY wide range of materials. For example, thin stone like tile would be much more prone to heat induced cracking since it has far less mass to absorb and then dissipate the heat from hot cookware.

We work almost exclusively with 3CM (about 1-3/16") thick material and cookware heat is simply not a problem. If I was wrong about this I would have found out somewhere during the thousands of jobs we've done.

SJ, that sounds like something I would have done, too. :) Everything that comes out of my oven or off a burner either goes onto a burner not being used or a cutting board.

Thanks for all the discussion on this topic!

I think I will follow the motto "better safe than sorry!" and continue to use the stove/cutting board. I also plan to get some of those expandable trivets that a2gemini mentioned in the thread referenced above - pretty cool!

I am in a lot of homes each week doing stone refinishing.
I don't recall being called in to repair granite damaged by heat. Although I guess if a slab is resined there could potentially be an issue.
My wife and I go to this restaurant where they heat up black absolute slabs 2' x 1' in an oven. Then they bring them to your table and you cook your steak on the slab.
They are in pretty good shape-just a little seasoned!
I like engineered stone products but never had the pleasure of cooking on any. Anyway common sense and the manufacturer recommend you don't.
The granite however answers to a higher authority!!

I love my Joseph Joseph trivets - they open and close like an accordion. Here is a link http://www.josephjoseph.com/product/stretch?redirect=1&redirect=1
I have quartz, so definitely need to use something.
The heat might not break your counter - but it might break your cooking crock especially the newer pyrex. I think I watched the explosions on 60 minutes or some similar show. Supposedly, the newer pyrex is made with a different mix and is more prone to explode.

"But I wonder if some of this "you can put your hot pans on granite" is a sales tactic from those in the stone business?"

gladys1924:

Were I in the granite sales business, I'm certain I would be in the top tier of salesmen. There are so many emotional buttons to hit with stone, it's fashionable, shiny, durable, natural, plentiful, etc.

Heat proof isn't something I'd need in my arsenal and since it isn't true or necessary to sell stone, I'm wondering why so many stone sellers use it.

I have granite and I wouldn't dare put anything super hot directly on the surface. I don't care if someone says it's OK for hot surfaces- my hand naturally reaches for something prior to placing hot stuff down. I would trust quartz more since it's man made but I still wouldn't do it.

I have a serpentine marble. I never asked or researched whether I could put down hot pans. Those counters cost too much for me to be the exception to the rule and it's really no problem to throw down a trivet.

"Okay, so why do the stone researchers recommend use of trivets? Is it just a CYA thing? I'm so confused... "

The sealant, if you have one, can be dulled or even burned off by heat.

In the fancy stuff with lots of veining and inclusions, the sudden change of temperature might pop out an inclusion crystal or make a slight stress point or flaw between veins turn into a crack.

Also ... putting hot glass pan onto cold stone surface might crack the glass pan.

I like the IKEA trivet. It still lets you see the counter, but provides protection.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ikea Trivet

With a thick granite countertop, you ain't gonna do any damage by putting a hot pot on it. There simply isn't enough residual heat to transfer to the counter...so don't worry about it. (It's all good)

Sooo - how did the mac and cheese situation happen? Was the countertop actually granite *tiles*, not a proper countertop? Those of us without veining in our counters, like the Uba Tubas and Tropical Brown, are we also exempt from any concerns about cracking counters and melted sealers...those being granites without movement and that are also nonporous to the point of almost not being sealable...or so I'm told.

"With a thick granite countertop, you ain't gonna do any damage by putting a hot pot on it. There simply isn't enough residual heat to transfer to the counter...so don't worry about it. (It's all good)"

Maybe I should have told that to this customer. Sorry for the picture quality, but the crack runs parallel to the white tape and starts in the field at the tape pointer and runs to the edge.

I didn't hear or see this crack happen from heat, but there are no impact marks and the crack is right next to the cooktop where one would set a pan and right where I've removed many pot marks in solid surface tops.

This is a good as I could get it to look.

These are the pictures the SFA banned from their website, by the way.

Never. But DH often puts something from the microwave on it and so far, so good. Changing the location of the trivets didn't change his ways. :(

We don't. We had laminate counters a lot longer than we've had our granite so we are used to using trivets.
Interestingly enough, one of our trivets is made of granite :) That said, I'd rather find out that the trivet cracks than my huge slab.

I never did well in physics so I'll just play it safe.