Cuisinart Green Gourmet Review; part 2

Pancakes with no oil from the Cuisinart Green Gourmet fry pan

So, I've thrown everything I've got at this pan.  Eggplant with no oil, fresh tofu, pancakes and everything was a non-stick success.  You can see from the picture of the pancakes above how evenly the pan heats too.  Those pancakes filled the pan, so it's not like there was part of the pan that was unused that might be a hot-spot.

When it comes to cooking without oil, I highly recommend this pan.  It's also pretty affordable at $45.  You probably spend that much on extra virgin olive oil each year.

A few other things to note about this pan.  The handle has a v-shape where it connects to the pan.  This great little bit of ingenuity keeps the handle from getting hot while cooking.  Just an added bonus...

There is, of course, the issue of longevity.  How long does the non-stick surface really remain non-stick?  I will report back on this over time as I continue to use the pan.  Supposedly, in time, the non-stick properties tend to fade but the pan can then be seasoned or oiled much like a cast-iron pan.

I have submitted requests to two other "eco-friendly" non-stick cookware producers, Earthpan and Safepan.  They have no yet responded to my request.  I hope they will.  I would love to see how they stack up against Green Gourmet.

Cuisinart Green Gourmet Review; part 1

So, I put the Cuisinart Green Gourmet fry pan to the test tonight.  There are some foods that stick to EVERYTHING when you try to cook them.  Things like raw potatoes or raw garlic.  So, thanks to a Madhur Jaffrey recipe, I made a dish with both!

First a few rules about the Green Gourmet.  No metal utensils.  I use wood.  No dishwashers.  Only wash by hand, which is fine.  I hand wash my cast iron too, so no biggie there.  Only cook at medium high heat or below or things burn.  No problem there either.  Just be aware.

Disclaimer: No oil was used at any time during this session and no olives or canolas were harmed during the creation of this dish. :-)

The dish is quite simple.  Cut a pound of potatoes into chunks and stir fry them on the stove with garlic, ginger, salt and cayenne.  What happened?

The Green Gourmet performed quite well.  The food did not stick.  I will say though that as the potatoes cook, a starchy film formed on the pan.  As the film cooked, it came off with my spoon and it just added flavor bits back into the food.

Overall, the Green Gourmet performed as good or better without oil than a regular fry pan with oil.  It was not perfect, as I mentioned the film that formed on the pan, but it came off easily and clean up was very easy too.  Any other regular fry pan would have required some kind of soaking to remove stuck potato and garlic.  This was a tough dish for any pan.  Green Gourmet did great.

So far so good.  The next challenge is tofu and eggplant sans oil, two more culprits notorious for sticking to everything.  Stay tuned...

Cuisinart Green Gourmet Cookware

Thanks to our friends at Cuisinart, I am happy to announce that I now possess a 12" fry pan that is part of the Cuisinart Green Gourmet eco-friendly, non-stick cookware line.  When it comes to oil-free cooking, I will be putting this one to the test and reporting back.

For a quick summary about the pan, click here.

Stay tuned for the results...