Bialetti Aeternum Saute Pan

I have used these nano-ceramic, eco-friendly non-stick, supposedly non-toxic types of pans that are now becoming more popular.They are in fact wonderful for the first few months, until the nano-ceramic coating starts to wear off and IT DOES.The first one I had cooked eggs beautifully with no oil, they'd slide off and the pan was a dream to clean.After a while the shiny surface becomes matte and everything starts to stick.Which is inconvenient, yes.But worse is that the nan-ceramic particles must be going somewhere (into the food?) and the material underneath increasingly comes into contact with the food.I had the first one replaced by the store (Bed & Bath) and a second one did the same thing.No more nano-ceramico for me.

I bought these pans mainly because I had health concerns regarding the Teflon on my non-stick pans (Chalpalon). After reading several articles about more health concerns, I decided not to take the risks and look for alternatives. I saw an Ad in La Cucian Italiana (I'm a subscriber and I cook A LOT) and went to Amazon, read (few) raving reviews and bought three pans. I was persuaded by the fact that ceramic is non-toxic and this who-ha-ha so cool nanoceramic technology and I said to myself this is the real future of pans. Ceramic is a great cooking material for 1000s of years. Those Bialetti scientists had found a way to attach ceramic to Aluminum [that we all know how great (but toxic) it is for cooking)

I'm writing this review a month and a half into using these pans.

The good

-Great looks

-Heat evenly and fast!

-real non-stick

-lightweight

The bad

The nano-ceramic coating on the Aluminum is really "nano". it is so thin that i don't think I'm familiar with a measurement unit to describe it. It is thinner than a paper. it is thinner than a hair. it is as thick as...I really can't find any familiar object that is this thin. If something will come to mind, I will add it later in the review.

Now, you probably ask yourself, how do I know that?

Because after two weeks or so, i started to notice small gray dots on the rims of one of my pans. at first I thought that this is a small grain of something. When I took a closer look, I realized that it is a small hole in the nanoceramic coating that covers --->> Aluminum.

Since it was on the rims of my pan I used the pan more until today, when I found a small hole in the coating in the middle of my pan.

Now I can tell you that the coating is so thin that you can hardly feel the hole in it with your fingers (you have to try hard to identify the hole by touch).

The holes are 10th of a millimeter in diameter, but they are there. On the rims (the top circle) I have many of them by now but I have only one hole in one pan in the center of the pan.

Now a word about me and how I handle my kitchen tools:

I never wash pans and pots in the dishwasher. I wash them always the same night after they cool down. Same is true for my knifes.

In addition, nobody washes my dishes! moreover, I only use wooden spoons when I'm cooking.

I can't believe that I was the cause for these mini holes in the pans.

One more thing to emphasize it is not a scratch just tiny holes. After say 30 days of real use. The real concern here is the Aluminum under the coating which is surely toxic.

There goes ~$100 down the drain.

I will not recommend this product to anyone.

Buy Bialetti Aeternum Saute Pan Now

As many reviewers have said, this pan looses its non-stick qualities in a few months (3-4) even using low to moderate heat settings. This particular item is a waste of money...

Read Best Reviews of Bialetti Aeternum Saute Pan Here

This is the greatest most convenient saute pan I've ever used by far.It cooks completely evenly and has a very solid feel to it.The insulated handle never gets warm.Nothing ever sticks to the surface, making clean up an absolute breeze.It doesn't have any of the chemical coatings whose safety has been called into question either, simply a ceramic nanotechnology--which I would call almost magical.All the starchy foods that were sticking to my other pans--potatoes, tofu, etcetera--get a brown crust but never stick.I rarely write reviews but this is the most useful piece of cookware that I own and I'm so pleased that I bought it after seeing a mention of it in my local paper.

April 18th 2013I have virtually abandoned these pans--I now use only the wok out of the set I bought.Instead, I use the Wearever ceramic pan set.They seem much more durable and less prone to staining, retaining their white properties for a much longer period of time.

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I purchased the 10.25" version of this pan and for the first few weeks loved it.The nonstick coating is very easy to clean and I loved the color of the pan.However, less than a month after purchasing I too began getting chips in the middle of my pan.I emailed Bialetti's customer support to comment on this to them.I did not ask for a new pan, but simply was offering feedback, as well as inquiring about the safety of the now-chipped pan.The Bialetti representative acted as if I had demanded several free pans, asked for pictures of the defective pan (as if I would just troll the internet for unsuspecting cookware companies) and firmly stated that I would get a one-time replacement and that's it.She also stated I would have to ship my pan back at my own cost (!), although thankfully that at least went away when I sent pictures.

I did receive my one-time-only replacement pan, and it is not the same color (I really liked my black pan) AND it also has a chip, right in the middle of the pan.The poor customer service and the horrible longevity of the pan make this a no-buy.