I bought this Henckels Granitium pan when it was on sale last week at Costco:



It looked like the perfect pan to make a recipe I had bookmarked a couple of weeks ago and was interested in trying:



One pot creamy chicken and rice casserole

We had all the ingredients on hand (more or less) so I whipped up a batch.

I used fines herbes rather than thyme and did a Swiss type cheese instead of cheddar, because that's what we felt like. Nothing gourmet, probably just a step above using Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup as a base, but it hit the spot. And it was stupid simple to make. Mine came out a bit less soupy than the photo from the recipe website, but I used short grain rice that I had rather than the medium grain specified in the recipe.

And I love the new pan!

I s it a nonstick pan? We are in the market for one.

That looks delicious!

I'm trying a keto seafood chowder tonight. I hope it's better than the cream of cauliflower soup I made last week. It had possibilities, but the soupy part had too much cream cheese (Who knew such a thing was possible?), and the cauliflower was just kinda there. I love it sauteed until it's crispy, but it can be a nonentity when left to its own devices.

quote:

Originally posted by RealPlayer:
I s it a nonstick pan? We are in the market for one.

Yes, Henckels Capri Granitium is non-stick, but it's a different kind of non-stick. It has a slightly pebbled surface that's the same both interior and exterior.

It's 4.5 qts, so it's generously sized. It's a bit wok-like with the curved shape. Good in the oven up to 500 degrees; the glass lid is good up to 400.

It was $20 off for five days last week. Wish I'd posted the link back then.

https://www.costco.com/Catalog...ll&keyword=granitium

I've had the fry pan set for a while and like them a lot. Easy to wash and seem quite durable, though I always use wood or nylon utensils. I've had the fry pans for four or five years and see no wear or scratches on the interior.

quote:

Originally posted by Mary Anna:
That looks delicious!

I'm trying a keto seafood chowder tonight. I hope it's better than the cream of cauliflower soup I made last week. It had possibilities, but the soupy part had too much cream cheese (Who knew such a thing was possible?), and the cauliflower was just kinda there. I love it sauteed until it's crispy, but it can be a nonentity when left to its own devices.

Maybe some fresh chives in the soup to brighten it up?

quote:

Originally posted by wtg:

quote:

Originally posted by RealPlayer:
I s it a nonstick pan? We are in the market for one.

Yes, Henckels Capri Granitium is non-stick, but it's a different kind of non-stick. It has a slightly pebbled surface that's the same both interior and exterior.

It's 4.5 qts, so it's generously sized. It's a bit wok-like with the curved shape. Good in the oven up to 500 degrees; the glass lid is good up to 400.

It was $20 off for five days last week. Wish I'd posted the link back then.

https://www.costco.com/Catalog...ll&keyword=granitium

I've had the fry pan set for a while and like them a lot. Easy to wash and seem quite durable, though I always use wood or nylon utensils. I've had the fry pans for four or five years and see no wear or scratches on the interior.

I've moved almost completely away from nonstick for health considerations. I can scrub stainless steel. The only thing I absolutely use nonstick for is eggs. I wonder if the Granitium has the same Teflon coating as regular nonstick. (But, regardless, Mary Anna will kill me in my sleep if I buy more cookware, so there's that.)

Ooh, oven safe, too. We made this in our enameled cast iron dutch oven, but I think it would fit in your new pan:

Tangy braised chickpeas

Super easy to make, and it was delicious.

quote:

Originally posted by wtg:

quote:

Originally posted by Mary Anna:
That looks delicious!

I'm trying a keto seafood chowder tonight. I hope it's better than the cream of cauliflower soup I made last week. It had possibilities, but the soupy part had too much cream cheese (Who knew such a thing was possible?), and the cauliflower was just kinda there. I love it sauteed until it's crispy, but it can be a nonentity when left to its own devices.

Maybe some fresh chives in the soup to brighten it up?

That's a good idea! And the chives that died back during the big freeze last month are growing again.

Yesterday, I sauteed some mushrooms and threw them in there, thinking they'd be good with the sour cream. They weren't bad, but it still needs something. Maybe the chives will do it.

Granitium is made with ceramic nonstick materials.

https://www.phxcooks.com/j-a-h...ick-fry-pans-review/

Maybe Mary Anna can comment on whether the article accurately describes the chemistry part....

BTW, vinegar works wonders on stainless steel. We put some hot soapy water in our stainless sauce pans and let them sit for a few minutes to soften up anything that might have stuck. Light scrub with a 3M scrubby pad. Rinse. Pour in a little vinegar and use the same scrubby pad. Takes off the film from starchy foods and even gets rid of the bluish color you can get when the pan heated up. Easy peasy. My 25 year old stainless looks like I bought it yesterday.

That chickpea recipe looks great, AM. I bookmarked it. Thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by wtg:
Granitium is made with ceramic nonstick materials.

https://www.phxcooks.com/j-a-h...ick-fry-pans-review/

Maybe Mary Anna can comment on whether the article accurately describes the chemistry part....

Well...there's a lot of handwaving as far as the chemistry and physics go, but nothing that's obviously concerning. It seems like they're using a lot of words to say that regular nonstick surfaces are probably bad for you (which we already know), but that they use a coating that's basically clay. We've been cooking and eating out of clay pots since the dawn of time, so that sounds good.

Granted, clay is basically dirt, and dirt can have natural substances in it like lead, so it's not a slam-dunk that this particular clay is safe, but it probably is.

The rest of the pot is aluminum. which is a great conductor that is also relatively inexpensive, so they can make a pan that's a heavy chunk of aluminum. They do not mention the association of aluminum with Alzheimer's Disease. I don't know whether that's still a serious concern, but the ceramic coating separates the aluminum from the food, so that seems good.

I think the rubber hits the road in terms of how well the non-stick lining hits the pan. As long as there's nothing toxic in the lining and as long as its non-stick function works, then you only have to worry about whether the coating stays stuck. I'll be interested to hear how it holds up because, otherwise, it seems like a good pan!

Thanks for your analysis. I posted the article because I thought the author did a halfway decent job of describing how the pans are manufactured and how they're different from Teflon nonstick.

Handwaving. That's a great way to put it.

We've had the Granitium fry pans for several years (four or five?) and they are holding up really well.

I used to buy my nonstick from a restaurant supply store, so it was super-durable. I would replace that pan every couple of years when it started to show signs of wear (scratches and/or peeling).

One of the Granitium pans gets an awful lot of use and looks like the day we bought it.

I didn't read carefully and I thought it was a new pan. Good to know that they hold up!

I wasn't clear in my description and unless you clicked on the Costco link I posted earlier, you would have missed that there are all kinds of Granitium pans.

The pan that I made the rice dish in is new. I bought the three pan set of low fry pans a number of years ago.

Here are Costco's current Capri Granitium offerings:

https://www.costco.com/Catalog...ll&keyword=granitium

Trying to find unbiased information on the various types of finishes on cooking utensils is a bit of a challenge.

This article seemed pretty good....the author has advanced degrees in chemistry...but...

quote:

He spent over 35 years with DuPont, most of which doing research and product development in the Teflon® coatings group.

https://chemical-materials.els...stick-cookware-safe/

I give up. I gotta die of something.