()Pros:
* REALLY, REALLY nice looking set
* Insulated handles means you don't need pot holders
* Excellent even heat distribution
* Non-skillets work problem free
* Transparent glass lids? Nice.
* No PTFE or PTOA means no potential Teflon deterioration contamination problems
Cons:
* Potential durability problem with the skillets (see updates at bottom on this issue)
* You'll have to learn to cook on low to medium heat as recommended (not really a "con")
* Both skillets are small, only 1/2 inch difference in flat bottom
I've been using these for a week since I received them. You might want to consider buying a single skillet, or pot, to see if these are suitable for your kitchen, then get a full set if you are pleased. A motivation for a lot of people has to do with the potential health issues of the deterioration of Teflon this set purports to be totally green in that respect.
First thing I did was gently wash them with paper towels, warm water, and gentle hand soap (what? you think I cook with things right from the store?). I restricted my personal use to the 8 inch skillet, gave my wife the 10 inch skillet for testing. We both used the pots. All cooking was done on a ceramic/glass stove top using nothing hotter than the medium burner setting. All cooking was done with a set of nylon cooking utensils I bought specifically to use with this cookware set no metal utensils were used with this set.
Off the bat, a week's worth of use of the pots? Excellent. No problems making pasta (with meatballs), red tomato sauce, rice, oatmeal, and even boiled some eggs. The insulated handles meant I kept putting my pot holders down as I realized I didn't need them to pick up and move the cookware or lift the lids. The pots look nice, work nice. But the skillets . . .
The 8 inch skillet immediately exhibited a chip on the rim maybe I banged it when I washed it and maybe it came that way, but that was still a warning about durability.
Though described as "10 inch" and "8 inch", when you measure the useable size of the flat inside bottom (call it the "pancake size") they are 5 1/2 inch and 5 inch for me that means I can still only fry one egg at a time in either one (see my customer photo). The math tells me there's less than 1/2 square inch difference in the useable flat area between the two. The size described is measuring the diameter at the top rim. So, big difference in VOLUME, tiny difference in area.
First thing I did was cook some fried eggs in the 8 inch skillet with nothing added. They stuck a little, but not much. One edge of an egg even curled up from the skillet (that's good) as it cooked. Cleaning with water and paper towel? Perfect. Again, this was the 8 inch skillet which was the one with a small chip.
I spent the week making eggs and bacon in the 8 inch skillet with no problems. The bacon cooked the nicest, and most evenly, that I've ever seen or done. Pieces on the rim, pieces in the center: perfect. Obvious nice, even, heating. After pouring out the bacon grease, cooking the eggs in the tiny amount left was slippery smooth wonderful.
My wife cooked in the larger, 10 inch skillet. She made sausages (no oil at all) and they immediately caused little "stick smears" which cleaned up pretty easily with a nylon scrubber. However, there were obvious scratches in the bottom of the skillet.
No problems with the pots, the skillets may have durability issues. And sometimes, things DO stick, albeit slightly. I must admit to never having intentionally considered non-stick cookware, so I understand that these might be issues with non-stick cookware as a category. I have to give this 3 out of 5 stars because of the immediate concerns with durability. If, over use, these hold up, I'll revisit and will upgrade my rating. If they continue to have problems, I will downgrade.
UPDATE 14 FEB 2012: After only 4 weeks of use the 8 inch skillet is showing definite chipping on the rim (see user photo for this product). This chipping is new; it's on the opposite side of the original chip mentioned in my review. None of the other pans are showing anything; the 8 inch skillet is the one piece of cookware we use the most. It hasn't been "babied" but it also hasn't been slung around carelessly. It has been used about every other day in a household (not restaurant) kitchen. The non-stick surface (so far) appears to be holding up well and I really enjoy cooking with these. The chipping isn't (yet) that big of an issue for ME since I expect wear on my cookware and am personally more concerned with performance than esthetics. Still enough of an issue that keeps me from bumping this set up from my initial rating of 3 stars.
()In testing out this cookware set, I was comparing them to my previous set, which are copper bottomed pans. All in all, I found that these pots/pans cooked more evenly than the copper bottomed pans. When I boiled water in these pans, they boiled more evenly and stayed boiling better at a lower temperature.
What I didn't like about this cookware set:
-First of all, there is no lid that fits the bigger pan which is frustrating because many of my recipes, you're supposed to cover them while you cook. Good thing we still had the copper bottom pans & lids to use.
-Second, cleaning them was very easy except I noticed that if any food got up by the fasteners on the inside of the pan, the food got stuck underneath the fasteners very easily, but was not so easy to clean out.
-Third, the pans are small the smallest is good for scrambled eggs or the like, the other is good for maybe 1/2 lb of ground beef. We tried fixing a recipe that had a pound of ground beef and it was too much for the 10" skillet.
Other than those drawbacks, we enjoy using this set over our copper bottomed set.
Buy Earth Pan Plus Nonstick 10-Piece Cookware Set, Bronze Now
()This is a standard 10 piece starter set.It has two frypans/skillets,three sauce pans with covers and a stock pot with cover (this cover also can be used for the large skillet, none of the lids fit the small skillet.)
While I am not crazy about the color of the pots, this is nothing I can't live with.The coating makes it easy to clean but if you are coating the bottom with oil for sauteeing, the oil does not stay disbursed.
One feature of the sauce pans is the base is smaller than normal, which means they are taller than normal.The down side of this not a lot of room if you want to brown meat or carmelize onions before adding the other ingrediants.The benefit of this is sauces tend to simmer more evenly and less likely chance of burning.
Personal experiences
I used the small frypan to sautee some vegetables and it worked fine except for the oil not coating the bottom.
I used the largest sauce pan to cook pasta (ravioli) and it did this well with no sticking to the pan.
I used the medium sauce pan to cook some chili verde which I let simmer for an hour and there was no scorching.
And finally, I used the small sauce pan to cook rice.This is where the smaller base caused issue.It was suppose to cook in 25 minutes but after 50 minutes it still needed more time for the rice to absorb the water.This is why I feel that the sauce pans will do well for slow cooking.
Overall, these are nice but I think they will be more back up to my Calphon set instead of a replacement to them.
Read Best Reviews of Earth Pan Plus Nonstick 10-Piece Cookware Set, Bronze Here
()I must confess, I'm a sort-of cookware snob. I'd rather save my pennies to buy one beautiful piece of All-Clad than buy an entire cookware set. On the other hand, for nonstick purposes, I've always relied on the well-seasoned cast iron pans I've picked up at auctions and yard sales for pennies. However, I was intrigued by the opportunity to test a set of so-called green cookware, since I've never read anything particularly good about nonstick pans. Besides, I now have children setting up their own households. Would the Earth Pan II set be a useful and not overly expensive option for them?
I've used the pans for several weeks. Even though I do a lot of cooking, I can't say whether these pans will hold up for years of cooking.It's impossible to be definitive on the durability issue in such a short period of time. The pans do have a nice feel.Of mostly aluminum construction with a stainless steel base, they are not too heavy, and the riveted rubberized handles stay cool, a nice feature.The glass lids are also welcome, and the bronze color is attractive.I should note that these pans are manufactured in China.
As for the nonstick coating, it seems to work nicely. I find myself reaching for these pans for things like scrambled eggs or oatmeal. I have not noticed any chipping or peeling. (If I do note some at a later date, I will update the review.) None of the pans is very big, which makes it a perfect set for a small family. If your family is larger, you will want to acquire a Dutch oven and a large skillet.
I think this set would make a fine starter set(perhaps a wedding present?) for someone just beginning to equip a kitchen. If the pans eventually show signs of wear, one could begin to replace them piece by piece, which is the best way to buy cookware, in my opinion. Cooks Illustrated tested a number of "green" skillets in 2009 and concluded that none of them were perfect. There was a predecessor of the Earth Pan II in that group, but the newer model I tested looked much improved. If you're buying the Earth Pan II set as a gift, add a 10" cast iron skillet to the present.Think of it as a cookware relay: the serviceable and attractive Earth Pans will get the recipient to the point where that cast iron skillet, by now well-seasoned, will pick up the baton and carry on forever.
Update 7/12
After several months of use, I noticed that the nonstick coating on the large pot in this set, which is the pan I've used the most (pasta and the like), had begun to chip around the rim.
Update 9/12
Most of the pans are chipping, despite careful use. This set is junk. Buy good pots, even if it's only one.
M. Feldman
Want Earth Pan Plus Nonstick 10-Piece Cookware Set, Bronze Discount?
I have used the small frying pan, at most, 15 times.The coating is starting to peel off!!!I guess everyone was right about this product should have listened and stayed away.But it is not too late for you!!
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Both my wife and I enjoy cooking, and are always looking for good pans at reasonable prices, since we use then regularly. We purchased this 12" pan as a separate unit.First time using it we were cooking delicate French Toast and cheese sandwiches for breakfast, a low temp situation.We thought the micro machined grooves on the bottom of the pan would enhance heat transfer. Wrong....what it did was go round-bottom while on the stove, rendering heat transfer, ability to keep it stabilized, and cooking times useless. This pan is poorly designed and any pan that warps at medium heat is sheer junk. Better elsewhere skip this stuff!
