In this review we are going to turn our attention to the Xtrema Ceramic Cookware Set. This is a full on ceramic cooking set, so it is a little on the pricey side. Does the quality make up for this? Lets take a closer look at the set below.
Product Features:
Xtrema is a relatively new brand name in the cookware market, as the company was only formed in 2007. This doesn’t mean they are inexperienced though, as the company founder previously worked for Corningware which had a great reputation for making quality ceramic cooking products. We are hoping this translates to some good new products in this Xtrema range. Xtrema claims that each individual piece of cookware takes 22 days to manufacture, so it sounds like a great deal of care goes into the production of each cookware set.
Today we are going to be looking at the 10 piece cookware set. This set is comprised of the 16 oz sauce pot, the 1 quart pot, the 1.5 quart pot and 2.5 quart pot. All of these come with covers, and also included are two silicone pot holders which is a nice little extra. The handles of the set are a nice length, making moving them around an easy task. The entire set is a sleek black color, which should look at home in any modern day kitchen.
Now being a ceramic cookware set, there are some advantages and disadvantages of this. One of the main advantages is that it is scratch resistant. You should be able to use metal utensils without hassles in the Xtrema pots. Another advantage is that since they are purely ceramic, it means they are completely pfoa and ptfe free. So there is no need to worry about harmful chemicals getting into your food at any point. They are also dishwasher friendly, but you should be aware that they won’t quite be as easy to clean as nonstick products. In most cases you will need to soak them in warm water or two, then the caked on food can be cleaned out. They can also take a bit of extra time to heat up, but when they are warm they will provide a better overall cooking experience as the entire unit will heat up including the sides.
Now lets have a look at how well they performed. Pasta seemed like a good choice as a starting point, so we prepared our pasta sauce and left it to simmer for a good 3 hours in total. After that we put our pasta on, and in about 15 minutes we had a tasty pasta dish to try out. First impressions were good, and you could really taste the full flavor of the tomatoes. The ceramic cookware had done a great job of sealing in the flavor without adding in an additional elements. The pasta was decent, but we won’t go into detail as that is not really a thorough test of this cookware! After the meal we then attempted to clean the main sauce pot. Rinsing it out with water and a sponge got our most of the leftover food, but there was still some left at the bottom which didn’t want to budge. Following the included instructions, we left some hot water in the pot and left it to soak for a few minutes. A couple of minutes later we went back and tried again, and sure enough it came straight off this time.
We should also note that these pots are dishwasher friendly.
The following day we decided to test our hand at making some veggie soup. With all our ingredients in place we set to work, and in around two hours we had an interesting mixture to try. First taste impressions were great, and the Xtrema cookware had again done a quality job of heating and cooking everything very thoroughly. The flavors were well locked in, and the veggies were soft and tender throughout. The silicone holders are a nice little addition, and provide a good base for the hot pots to sit on. This type of cookware tends to retain heat very well, which is good news if you like second servings! The downside of this is that the handles do tend to get hot when the cookware is in use however.
Cleaning up again provided the same challenge as before, but again a bit of soaking helped to remove the bit of leftover food in the pot.
So that is a very brief look at the Xtreme set. This is one other thing we should mention, and that is regarding the durability of this item. In the instruction booklet it states you should not stack the cookware on top of each other as this can lead to damage. We have also read user reviews where the sets have been easily chipped, or even cracked due to negligence. This is unfortunately part of the sacrifice you will need to make if you want to own this type of cookware. It is know for being a bit brittle, but if you are careful with it then that should not be a major concern to you.
With a retail price of around $279.99, this cookware set certainly is not cheap. However if you want a good non toxic set of cookware pots, then this could be what you want.
Pros:
- Well designed modern look
- Includes two silicone holders
- Easyish to clean
- Dishwasher friendly
- Retain heat well
Cons:
- Expensive
- Known to be brittle
Summary:
The Xtrema cookware set is a decent choice if you are looking for a full ceramic set. They are well designed, and come in a variety of sizes to suit your needs. They are expensive however, and must be handled with care. If that isn’t a problem for you, you can get more info and see the current pricing on the Amazon product page.
| Our Rating: |
|---|
| 3.5 |