# Pampered Chef Stoneware -- safe?



## chersolly (Aug 29, 2004)

I'm slowly working on converting our pots, pans and bakeware to safer materials. Our cookie sheets were the non-stick type and now, I'm looking at safer stoneware. A friend sells Pampered Chef and I like their Stoneware, but is it really as "natural" as she claims? I know you all would have the skinny.


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## 4evermom (Feb 3, 2005)

The only concern that I'm aware of (and I'm a potter) with pottery (stoneware, porcelain, etc) is lead in glazes. Dishes sold for food use in this country won't have that problem. Things with lead tend to be brightly colored and are usually marked not for food, so it's really only a problem with old dishes or ones imported from strange places.


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## melissa17s (Aug 3, 2004)

Pampered Chef is unglazed. Commercial pottery for food preparation in the US and Canada are not made with glazes that contain lead.


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## BellinghamCrunchie (Sep 7, 2005)

4evermom, do you know what might be in the glaze that causes a plate or cup to get extremely hot in the microwave? Gets hot very quick, before the food inside even gets warm. It makes me think there is some kind of metal in the glaze. Do you know what it might be?


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## melissa17s (Aug 3, 2004)

glazes are primarily silica, which is really fine sand... same stuff glass is made of. Sometimes oxides from metals are used to color clay, but that does not specifically affect how fast the glaze or the the ceramic piece will heat. Lead is used as a flux that allows the glaze (silica) to melt at lower temps in the kiln, and that is why it is used with some vibrant colors. The longer the glaze is in in the kiln with hotter temperatures the more often the colors are darker and earthier because of oxidation. Since lead has been found dangerous in the late 70's, it has been replaced by low-fire glazes that are also vibrant in color, but do not contain lead in North America. There are a variety of reasons your dish is getting hot in the microwave... If the dish has moister in it, such as having just been washed, it will heat up more than dishes that have not. The relative thickness or thinness of a the ceramic surface, the size of the opening... and finally, the food you put inside.


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## jackson'smama (May 14, 2005)

keep in mind that this stuff is some kind of HEAVY! you will need two hands to remove even the smallest one from the oven.
i love my square baking dish and round one, but the two sheets i have had were problems. one cracked. the other got sticky when i tried to season it for use and i cannot get the sticky off. don't know how it happened b/c i followed directions. i never got around to asking a rep about exchanging it.


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## 4evermom (Feb 3, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *BellinghamCrunchie*
4evermom, do you know what might be in the glaze that causes a plate or cup to get extremely hot in the microwave? Gets hot very quick, before the food inside even gets warm. It makes me think there is some kind of metal in the glaze. Do you know what it might be?

The metal content of the glaze can definitely cause the dishes to get hot in the microwave. I've had dishes with cobalt oxide get hot in the microwave. Cobalt makes things blue, of course, and black if there is alot of it.


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## becca011906 (Mar 29, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jackson'smama*
keep in mind that this stuff is some kind of HEAVY! you will need two hands to remove even the smallest one from the oven.
i love my square baking dish and round one, but the two sheets i have had were problems. one cracked. the other got sticky when i tried to season it for use and i cannot get the sticky off. don't know how it happened b/c i followed directions. i never got around to asking a rep about exchanging it.


actully you can get the sticky on and the cracked on replaced if you still have the cracked one... their policy is really great on damaged stonewear!!! I love the stuff!


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## LaLa (Nov 18, 2001)

i use their muffin and mini loaf pans as well as cookie sheet
love them


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## BabyOsMommy (Jul 1, 2003)

I have a "cookie sheet" that is fantastic for all kinds of cooking. Yes, it is HEAVY. My sister had one that cracked in the oven and she didn't know that it was replaceable until after she got rid of it. A rep told her of this after the fact.


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## kewb (May 13, 2005)

I love my Pampered Chef Stoneware. I am actually buying some more. I rarely cook with anything else. Pampered Chef sells a metal stand (for lack of a better word) that the stoneware fits in to make lifting out of the oven easier. (I love that, too).


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## chel (Jul 24, 2004)

Mine isn't Pampered Chef, but I have a pizza stone and love it. I never did any preping. I used corn starch for a while but eventually things stopped sticking. It's fairly large so I use it as a baking sheet. It came with the metal rack but I never use it. I do have large arm overmits as even with small dishes I always bump myself. I just set it on a stove burner after cooking.


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## countrymom (Aug 27, 2002)

My aunt gave me a new--never used bar pan, I think it is? Looks like a cookie sheet but w/ low walls...it's heavy. I don't know what I have to do to start using it...Does it need to be soaked in water?? (like those terra cotter roasters from portugal?) Does it need seasoning?? How to clean? can I use oils on it?? If any one can fill me in, I'd be very thankful. I'd like to try using it!


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## JBaxter (May 1, 2005)

I LOVE my stoneware! I have a round stone that is 7yrs old it is completely black and has a better non stick surface than my moms teflon coated ones ( we argue about those all the time). I also have stoneware roaster that does fantastic chicken&garlic.


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## Quinn'sMommy (Jan 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *countrymom*
My aunt gave me a new--never used bar pan, I think it is? Looks like a cookie sheet but w/ low walls...it's heavy. I don't know what I have to do to start using it...Does it need to be soaked in water?? (like those terra cotter roasters from portugal?) Does it need seasoning?? How to clean? can I use oils on it?? If any one can fill me in, I'd be very thankful. I'd like to try using it!

The bar pan is awesome! I use it for pizza, cookies, garlic bread, spinich pie, everything you can think of.

Don't soak it. Just make sure the first thing you cook on it has high fat content, cookies, bread, ect... You may need to grease it untill it has absorbed enough fat to season the pan. Dont use soap on it. Soap will affect the taste of food. Just use hot water and scrap it clean, and remember the more you use it the better it will work. Eventually it will get really dark, this is what you want. Good luck, cook lots of yummy stuff!


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## jcmama (Aug 7, 2005)

Misty the stones with an oil sprayer works really well. I use olive oil in my mister and just spray a little on the pan a few times to get it seasoned. Cooking bacon on the bar pans is the best way to season them. And makes Fantastic bacon!!!!
Love the stones.
Love all the stuff.


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## be11ydancer (Dec 2, 2003)

So let's say hypothetically - If I had a Pampered Chef muffin pan that I loved dearly and it had other pans stacked on top of it because I put them there without thinking about it, and the weight of them caused my muffin pan to crack from one end to the other, could I just get a replacement from any consultant??


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## bluets (Mar 15, 2005)

i have a deepdish pizza pan that i've used for everything from cinnamon rolls to pizza. i didn't do anything fancy to it initially - just started using it. i only rinse it after use; definitely don't soak it. it's finally turning into something resembling non-stick.

btw, pampered chef has the best garlic press i've ever found.


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## jcmama (Aug 7, 2005)

Yes, any break they will repolace, you just have to have a piece of the stone.


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## Mallori (Mar 11, 2004)

hmm...got me thinking about getting some of this stuff now...

Is there a thread about which bakeware/dishes are more safer than others and reasons for it? I never thought to question what I was cooking with...?


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## Quinn'sMommy (Jan 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *bluets*
btw, pampered chef has the best garlic press i've ever found.

ITA


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## binxsmom (Jun 14, 2004)

just gotta chime in....love me some pampered chef stoneware!!!!


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## SoHappy (Nov 19, 2001)

Okay, I've always wondered this. How do we know what's in the stone? I mean, that it's not high in lead or other heavy metals or pollutants from the earth products it's made of?


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## melissa17s (Aug 3, 2004)

SoHappy, stoneware is a specfic kind of clay body. It is meant to withstand high heat temperature in a kiln. Lead can not withstand high heat, and would ruin the clay. When I have made stoneware, I have never added impurities. We used a mix of grog, silica, fire clay, and ball clay. It is kind of like following a recipe. Here is the wikipedia description.


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## ustasmom (Jan 12, 2004)

I am a Pampered Chef consultant. For a replacement, you need to contact the original consultant that you purchased the item from. She will contact the home office and instruct you as to what the home office would like for you to do. (ie. sending in a broken piece.) Also, it is important to keep your receipts. Many consultants keep them in a file or on the computer. But things happen. So, when you purchase something from Pampered Chef, tuck the receipt under your silverware tray. That way it will be safe as nobody ever lifts up that tray and you will always be able to locate your receipt.

Stoneware tips:

Putting a stone into a cold oven, it will take about 11 minutes for the stone to come up to temperature. French fries, chicken nuggets, and little items will defrost within that time. You cannot put a pork chop, chicken breast or other things that are thicker and will take longer than 11 minutes to defrost. This will cause a thermal shock and your stone will crack. Also, some people line their ovens with foil. Do NOT put any stoneware into an oven with foil. This, too, can cause your stone to break.

Any questions, feel free to PM me.


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## TwinMom (Dec 27, 2001)

Just wanted to add another rave for the PC stoneware. I have the muffin tin, two pizza stones, and the rectangular tray and use them all the time. I also bought the long-handled brush that PC offers--it's WONDERFUL for cleaning the stoneware. It's a stiff brush with a long handle so your hands stay out of the hot water, plus on the edge of the brush there's an edge for scraping off stuck-on food. Rarely does anything stick, but if it does I can just scrape it right off.

I believe that to get a replacement, you have to have your receipt and you have to get the replacement through the rep that you purchased from. I might be wrong about that, but the rep I purchase from always reminds me to keep my receipts in case something breaks.


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