Favorite Tools: Love of Ceramic Cookware
Ceramic Cookware
We never thought we’d be writing a post about ceramic pans. Honestly, we’ve always told everyone that if we had one pan to have in our kitchen it would be a cast iron skillet. There’s something so incredibly useful and fantastic about cooking in cast iron. The crust, the char, the quick pop in a hot oven for frittatas and roasts is un-deniably versatile and the food comes out delicious. Sure, it takes a little more finesse to clean and maintain, but a great cast iron can last forever in the family. And best of all, cast iron skillets are affordable. Heavy on the kitchen shelves, but light on the pocket book.
Then one day our cooking lives were changed. Here’s our ceramic pan story.
Once upon a time, in June to be exact, we were roaming through Tar-jay and saw a huge selection of these ceramic pans in all different sizes, colors and brands. We’ve always read about how fantastic ceramic pans were and how they were so easy to clean. But we were always cautious about any film or “non-stick” type material that might peel off. Upon a quick google search on the Green Pan brand in the Tar-jay cookware aisle, we read a couple posts on how they were actually quite safe and non-toxic, lead free, and loved by many.
Was there really another option to cooking with our beloved cast iron skillet?
To be open minded, we bought a 8″ omlette pan and a 10″ GreenPan fry pan. We took it home and for breakfast, made scrambled eggs on the 6″pan.
We were surprised. Shocked is more like it because the eggs came out so fluffy and moist without hardly any olive oil or butter.
What? We actually made fluffy scrambled eggs that didn’t stick to the pan and only used a light spray of olive oil? Yes and the taste was amazing.
Next dish up for cooking was a frittata in the 10″ GreenPan fry pan with the oven safe handle. Could this thing hold up to oven temperature? Yup, that’s what the instructions said. Up to 500F degrees was what these GreenPan ceramic pans claimed. And they were right. Not only did the frittata come out wonderfully moist and tender, it didn’t stick to the pan.
Fluffy and moist frittata for breakfast three times a week
If our eggs turned out moist and plump in very little cooking oil, then we were thrilled. So we wen’t back to Tar-jay and bought the whole set for home.
Since then we’ve made so many dishes including quick stir fried veggies. Our veggies always come out tender, with a wonderful crust and best of all, we used half the amount of olive oil that we normally do. That was a winning factor right there: using way less oil than we ever have.
Everything tasted equally fresh, flavorful and moist in half the oil/fat. We were cooking healthy without even trying hard.
After a few more meals cooked on these ceramic pans, we bought another set for the studio along with 3 additional fry pans! This is addiction is nuts.
Our favorite dish to cook in these ceramic pans are filets of tender fish. Not only are we able to cook fish that’s moist and tender, but again, we’re using half the amount of oil and the fish doesn’t freaking stick to the pan at all. After cooking fish on these pans, we’re hooked beyond belief.
Salmon with a nice crust and tender inside, cooked in a square 11″ GreenPan grill pan.
These ceramic pans are our latest cooking obsession because they’re easy to clean, the food cooks evenly, we can cook with less oil and they’re non-toxic. So it’s a win-win in both our kitchens. And we’re eyeing a few more pieces, like this ceramic wok. It’s heading our way soon.
We’ve only purchased the GreenPan brand, but are wanting to get some other brands to try them out as well.
Are any of you hooked on ceramic pans? If so, what brand are you using? We’d love to head out and buy more. Not that we need any more ceramic pans, but we’re curious cats and don’t want to miss out on any better options.
We haven’t made pancakes on these pans yet, but that’s next on our list to eat!
Enjoy!
diane and todd
Nope, this is not a sponsored post nor is it a sponsored review. We purchased all 19 pans ourselves (addicted, right?) nor do we have any affiliation with this brand. We just want to share products we enjoy. Thank you.
Here are some links and review on ceramic cookware: Wellness Mama , Ceramic Reviews
Would love to know how those ceramic pans are holding up?Thanks.
Hi Clare,
So far so good. Still love cooking on them.
Great!! Smartest kitchen buy yet! Easy, light, non stick and NON TOXIC! Costco had great sell on them…whole set around $100!! Bought 3 sets (2 to say for kids when go to college) and 1 for us!
This looks very interesting. I really like everything about kitchen stuff from food, tools, and utensils. I have a collection at home. I bought a tool from myvista.ae, is very cheap, works amazingly and it saves me a lot of time.
I’ve been wanting these since reading your post months ago. Well Santa was very kind to me and got me a set from Bed bath and beyond.. and I love them! Like you said in previous comments- it’s important to use just a smidge of oil or butter. Also, the manufacturer recommendations on mine state med to med-high heat is preferred setting. And hand wash! I’ve not been using any padding between mine when stacking in the cupboard. I think i’m going to throw in a paper towel or two between each pan tonight.
My only “gripe” is that the grill pan didn’t come in the set! I have 2 skillets, two pots and a dutch oven.
Looks Delicious!
I wrote about my pan a while back and some readers chimed in that their ceramic pans were fine for a few weeks, then started cracking or they had other problems with the finishes. I’d had mine for a year or so (it’s a Beka, and was sent to me by the company to test) and it was – and still is – in great condition. (They are not cheap – mine retails for $99 in the US.) But it seems that if you buy a ceramic pan that is flimsy, the heat will warp it slightly when you’re using it and can damage the finish. So it seems best to get a pan that has a solid foundation & is sturdy.
David- Merci for the input, we’re definitely going to order the Beka. So far, we’ve been lucky with the Green Pan’s, but are always open to finding something more heavy duty.
Todd & Diane, I love GreenPan. I used to manage marketing for the largest kitchen and table retailer in the Middle East so I was exposed to them as part of our inventory. Great review! Now listen, I need to follow up on our discussion about reviewing your book for a regional paper based in Dubai as well as an interview for our blog. Please send me an email and I will follow up.
Just curious… Do you hand wash these or dishwash them? Do they hold up well if I stick it in the dishwasher??
We hand wash all of our pots and pans, from the ceramic pans to our cast irons to our all-clads. Green Pan recommends to not put them in the dishwasher since the aggressive dishwasher detergents will eventually start to break things down. How long? Not sure, but for us for both our knives and pots/pans, we give them a bit more care and always hand wash our babies.
I’m in the market for a few new pans actually. Think this just sold me! Great review!
Interesting review. I’ve never heard of ceramic pans before. I’m looking forward to getting one now!
Love the color! I may have to purchase some for that reason alone 😉
I got this Wear-Ever set, and was skeptical, because of the low price: Wear-Ever Ceramic Set
However, I seasoned them with coconut oil after I got them, and they have been amazingly awesome for both cleaning and cooking! After about a year with these pans, I couldn’t be more pleased! I do take good care of them, though — only washing with soft cloths and stacking them with padding between.
We bought a 10 inch ceramic coated skillet while on a motor trip and staying at motels with cooking facilities.
It is all that is claimed to be–and wonderful to cook in, with little fat needed and a breeze to clean.
But, this particular pan has a fatal flaw; it’s white. That would not be a problem except when cooking my favorite breakfast dish, eggs over easy. It is impossible to see the egg white to know when to flip.
Barry
Barry- thanks for the feedback and very helpful to know how the color of the interior affects cooking. So, it’s time for Santa to get you a different colored interior skillet. 🙂
Barry, Yes you are right. I also faced same problem(Although, it was 7 years ago). After that, I order only black color cookware or pan.
I bought the set of 2 “Green Pans” at Costco and absolutely love them. I’m sure there are a lot more in my future.
I’ve looked at ceramic pans, but I keep thinking about breakage. I have crappy motor function in my hands, so I’ve pitted the risks for breakage/messing pan up vs. price. I got a ceramic knife a while back and well, it is no more unless the knife sharpening people can save it.
Do they feel “fragile” in any way?
Jessica- the whole pan isn’t ceramic, it’s just ceramic lined. It’s not “heavy duty” feeling like a cast iron and it does feel lighter, but it has certainly been durable for us so far. It’s not going to break if you drop it, if that’s what you’re concerned about.
I couldn’t agree more with you. I learned about them at the International Housewares Show and wrote a blog post about them. My site is all about housewares products and how they work within a cooking environment and kitchen design as I have been in the industry for 14 years now.
http://inspiringkitchen.com/2014/04/16/ceramic-cookware/
I had bought 2 GreenPans last year and initially I had the same reaction as you. I loved them…but slowly food starting sticking more and more. It wasn’t even 6 months and there was nothing non-stick about them. Everything was sticking. Would love to hear your thoughts after using the pans for a few months.
Asiya,
we’ve only used this Green Pan brand of pans and so far, after 4 months of busy cooking, food still releases fine. We always use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to make sure we don’t scratch the pan. We also never “dry cook” on the pan like we’ve heard others do so they can make their food healthy. We always use some coating of oil/butter, but it’s always much less than what we use on other pans.
I bought the GreenPans 6 months ago and I originally thought that they were a scam. However, I noticed that these pans are actually environmentally safe and did not stick at all. Even after 6 months of use, I still love them and they are my go-to stone frying pan. I only bought them because I did my research online. There are so many positive reviews on them including > > http://www.stonefryingpans.com/green-pans-lima/
If your pan ever starts sticking you might want to try to put a bit of oil on them to season them. This would help them perform at their maximum performance. Let me know how that goes.
Useful comment. I too use Green pans.Thanks.