Cookware review: Xtrema 10-inch skillet
How does this green cookware hold up to its claims?
- Handmade using natural gas, clay and water.
- No trace metals or chemicals leaching from the cooking surface and the Xtrema cooking surface contains no harmful PTFE coating and produces no harmful PFOA gas which can occur with most popular petroleum-based non-stick coatings.
- The non-scratch ceramic cooking surface on the Xtrema cookware is non-reactive and 100 percent nontoxic. No odors or gases are ever released during the entire cooking process, even if the cooking temperatures exceed 2500 F.
- Xtreme High Temperature: Cookware can withstand 2,700 F, Steel can melt at 2,200 F – Obviously, I didn’t put it through these conditions. However, the cookware is in the same excellent condition now after many uses as it was when I opened the box.
Xtremely Easy to Clean: Nonscratch, nontoxic ceramic glaze surface – I have to give this one to them in spades. This skillet cleans up so easily. I spray it with nonstick spray before I make scrambled eggs and clean up is a breeze. I can’t say that about the nonstick skillet that I had been using. Even sprayed with a nonstick spray, my old skillet was difficult to clean after scrambled eggs. - Xtremely Attractive: High-gloss black finish – It is very attractive.
- Xtremely Versatile: Oven, stovetop, broiler, freezer, barbeque grill, microwave oven, dishwasher and dining room table – I only used it on the stovetop.
- Xtremely Healthy Cooking: No trace metals or chemicals leaching from the cooking surface – As far as I can tell, nothing leached into my food. The skillet didn’t emit any odors while heating up. I didn’t taste anything odd in my food.
- Xtremely Practical: Reduces cooking time and uses less energy, foods stay hotter longer – This is the most important feature as far as I’m concerned – the practicality of the cookware. This skillet takes a long time to heat up. The website says to preheat the cookware for 1-2 minutes on medium heat and that “it may take a little extra time for the Xtrema to get fully heated.” It took at least five minutes for the cookware to get heated on my gas stove. For me, that isn’t practical when I’m trying to quickly scramble up some eggs or make a grilled cheese in a hurry.
I also don’t think the skillet heats evenly. When I used it to sauté vegetables or cook bacon — foods that get moved around the skillet while cooking — it worked fine. But when I used it to cook a grilled cheese, somehow the very center of the skillet did not cook as quickly as the outer edges. The outer edges of the sandwich began to burn before the center of the sandwich, which was in the center of the skillet, even browned.
Another feature I found impractical was the handle. It got very hot and I would need to use a potholder when touching it.
I did like the fact that foods stayed hotter in the skillet after the heat was turned off compared to the skillet I already own. That’s a nice feature to have for someone like me who can never time all her dishes perfectly. - Xtremely Tasty: Ceramic far infrared cooking enhances the food flavor and the entire cooking experience – I can’t really comment on if my food tasted better in this cookware.
- Xtremely Durable: Cooking surface can not be scratched, even by metal utensils and industrial steel wool - No scratches so far.
If anyone has had a different experience with the Xtrema cookware, I welcome your opinion.
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Comments
Thank you Rich! I like how the food tastes like when cooked in this pan.
Disappointed in this expensive but good looking skillet.
The cooking surface is NOT flat. It's raised in the middle so when you put oil it, all the oil and liquids go to the sides and the food in the middle burns and sticks. So cleaning is still not that easy, since there is no oil where it flows off the center.
Maybe I'm doing something wrong but why isn't the pan flat???? Is it supposed to be this way? And I paid all this money for something made in China?
Robin,
What did you end up purchasing? I've been researching healthy alternative pots and pans for a year now, and there is so much conflicting information I STILL haven't pulled the trigger.
Wishing Corning still made its Visions cookware... I liked that I could see my food while it was cooking. I also am really into my pressure cooker, but it's just not practical for everything.
Peace,
Lori
Made in China. Why?
That country is the filthiest in manufacturing, the most un-green place on the planet.
Your profit margins are extremely high so that you can afford to advertise all over the U.S.
Advertising is expensive. Want to beat the competition, then build it in the U.S. with U.S. labor or find another product.
My stainless steel cookware is 30 years old. It is not difficult to keep clean, heats evenly, and is virtually indestructible.
Ceramics.... More
I've purchased a large skillet 5 months ago and wanted to share some of the pros and cons of this product.
Pros:
-Cleaner taste
-Less maintenance than stainless
-Does better job searing than others
-little easier (not by much) to clean than aluminum and stainless
Cons:
-Definitely NOT a non-stick cookware as advertised but it does stick less than other metal cookware
-Not as easy to clean as advertised (you still have to put some muscles.... More
I have recently became tired and scared of the non-stick coatings being scraped off by my overly clean husband who does not understand "soak and then wipe out with a soft cloth", so I have bought a set of Orgreenic cookware and found them to be very much NOT what they were touted to be. Sooooo, I bought a very expensive set of Cuisenart stainless steel cookware and also found them to be very much NOT what they were touted to be.either. I am tempted to buy one "trial" piece of Xtrema or.... More
I own every piece of this cookware. I wanted to love it. The glaze does seem very hard, but some pieces are dull looking and come are shiny- I do wonder. The problems are it takes a long time to heat, it heats unevenly, it stays hot- after boiling vegetables adding butter to pan- so hot it burns. They are very bulky and hard to store- stainless heat quickly, stack to store, are lighter, take up less space, but I do worry about leaching metals in my food. So far I'd have to rate them a b-, But.... More
There is a very well-known alternative medicine/natural health/etc. doctor and his web site that I am quite sure sells Ceramcor cookware only with his name on it instead of Xtrema, selling at a much higher price. The cookware has exact same designs, pieces, sets, descriptions and claims. On his site they or someone has tested several types of cookware for leaching of heavy metals and the Ceramcor looks very tempting to buy. Very expensive when you are unemployed, yet it would more than pay for.... More
I've recently been looking for a healthier crockpot because it seems many ceramic glazes used in crockpots can leach lead (& some even have arsenic in them!) into the food while cooking. I had heard Xtrema was developing a crockpot but haven't seen it yet and it's not on its website, so I'm not sure the first person who posted is referring to Xtrema.
My main concern is the fact that this, along with every other kitchen appliance I am looking into these days, is made in China. I'm.... More
i got A crock pot from this company and after we took it out of the box i noticed that there was a black residue in the box i over looked it then tried to wash the crock pot by hand with eco friendly product dish mate and when i went to clean the water off with my towel all this black crap got on my towel ruiened my towel needles to say it seemed like it was never glazzed ??? i mean how can these people stand so much buy a product that would do this and i started to read alot of the reviews and.... More
I saw an ad for Xtrema in Organic Gardening so I wanted to check it. The company is quite open about how the production was done as they posted pictures of the production at the website. Yet, I am not so sure about the claim that Chinese have been doing this for 5,000 years so that is why it is being done there. I think there is truth to that, but the most important factor is the cheap labor in China. Materials handling is usually a very big part of a production process and any reduction in.... More
Mike - How can you be all about green and not like what we are trying to do to help our planet with ceramic cookware. You green experts seem to play both sides of the fence. We invented this ceramic cookware as an alternitive to toxic metal cookware. Many green experts just talk the talk. We are trying to make a difference for you and for our planet. Blessings - :)
Rich, I think you are misreading Mike's concerns. In reading these posts, it seems clear that the issue is not distrust of your company or its intentions, but rather of China and its tarnished history with manufacturing toxic products. There is ample evidence that the Chinese don't even care about poisoning their own people in making their toxic products to send here. I very much appreciate what your company is trying to do, but like the other posters, I too would appreciate your responses to.... More
Questions for Rich Bergstrom... How GREEN is the manufacture of your products? High tech ceramics tend to use exotic materials. The mining, purification, packaging, shipping and etc can be very energy intensive and in unhealthy environments producing hazardous waste.
Where are they manufactured, how safe are the workers, what environmental controls are in place and how much energy is consumed?
I am the founder of Xtrema and cooking with Xtrema is a whole new cooking experience. Metal cookware is not green and it never can be. Metal cookware can be toxic to your immune system with heavy metal leaching into your food during the cooking process. Food cooked in our Xtrema cookware will taste better and be better for you than food cooked in metal cookware. It does take practice to learn how to cookware with our Xtrema ceramic cookware but once you do you will reap the many benifits.... More
Rich, I would like to give it a try. I'm pretty sure I can make this pan work well for my family.
I guess I'm more lazy than interested in healthy cooking, though that's why I purchased the skillet (actually got it as a gift but really wanted it for myself). I, too, found it didn't heat evenly and was moving things around to finish cooking (not something I wanted to do when I had other things to finsh preparing the meal). Things cooking in oil stuck and that's not something you expect in a non stick pan. I will keep trying it but am not impressed with my first impression!
I have to disagree with your comments about Xtrema. The whole purpose of their cookware is that it is green and void of any heavy metals and the manufacturing of their products produces no pollution. Xtrema seems to be concerned about healthly cookware and making foods taste better. Happy in NYC - Jane
Jane, i agree with you and the food tastes so much better when cooked in Xtrema. I don't want any heavy metals in the food that I eat. :)
Sounds like "Xtrema" and "Xtremely-Greem Xtrema" are both biased, judging by their headings, and I wouldn't be surprised it's the same person talking to themselves in order to promote the company.
I am thinking of trying this xtrema cookware, however, seeing so little reviews and so much hype, I am inclined to be skeptical, however, I may be back with a review if I do purchase it.
