I originally wrote this review for the press alone.At the time I bought the press, Amazon wasn't offering the press/pan as a set. Now it does and since anyone interested in this product is probably going to be looking at reviews of the set rather than the individual components, I'll repeat my review, with enhancements:
While shopping a retail cooking store, I fell in love with the Krups FDE312 panini press. A bit of Amazon research, however, turned up a disturbing pattern of sudden failures in this product. Research into other presses from Cuisinart, DeLonghi, Breville, Villaware, and others failed to produce a clear front runner. It seemed that each product had one or more issues non-removable grill plates, difficult cleaning, lack of grill ribs, flimsy handles, tendency to dry food, non-adjustable temperature, etc. Enter the Le Creuset 10 ¼" grill pan and panini press. You can submerge them to clean. They're coated with enamel, not Teflon, which means with proper care they should last two lifetimes (although they're only guaranteed for the lifetime of the original owner)(and note, this is a satin enamel coating, not the Le Creuset smooth coating, the longevity of which I can confirm from personal experience). There's no electrical element to burn out, no cord to store, no moving parts to break. Use is simple. Heat the grill on one burner (we have gas, but they're supposed to work with other technologies) and the press on the other. Wait until a spatter of water vaporizes almost instantly. Brush grill pan with some oil. Place sandwiches on grill pan. Pick up the press, brush on some oil, place on sandwiches and press for a few moments. Sizzle, sizzle. Wait until the cheese melts. Serve. The panini were just like what I'd eaten in Italy. I haven't owned an electric press, but I can't imagine they'd be better. Cleanup of the enamel surface requires a bit of care but, unlike every Teflon-coated product I've ever owned, that surface will probably still be there 20 years from now. And since the grill pan actually has sides (unlike every electric panini press I looked at), there was no side-spattering and thus no cleanup to do around the cooking area. The only disadvantages the grill/press combination costs $140, almost twice the cost of the average electric panini grill. But since many of the grill reviews I read spoke of this being their second (or third) electric grill, I suspect you'd make the money back over the next 20 years. Also, running multiple batches is a bit more of a problem than with a self-heating grill, since you need to place the now oily press back on the flame to reheat it, which can potentially lead to flaring of the residual oil, and will also get the burner oily. I intend to see, however, if you can reheat the press in the pan rather than putting it directly on a burner.
Let me just get right to it:this works okay if you want to make one, maybe two sets of sandwiches at most.It may work better if you have a gas stovetop (I don't) but works passably with a flat top electric stove top (what I have) and I'm guessing it would work with electric burners as well.I got all excited reading other reviews about how this press will last forever (it probably will), how it is high quality (true), easier to store (also true), simple to clean (still true), has no breakable parts (yes, yes) and can also be used for other food items like burgers and chicken (probably also true).But I mostly wanted it for panini.
Using it: After opening it I read that this is not meant to be used with my type of cook top but I thought I could probably still make it work.And I did.But it took three batches of panini to get the crust I wanted.Too black, too white, just right-and I don't see how anyone, no matter the cook top, will avoid this process.No little dial to set like on a traditional panini maker for how you want your toasted product to turn out.Second, the instructions say, heat your pan and press on separate burners till hot.Then grease each piece and set the press inside the pan for a minute or so, then do your sandwiches OFF THE HEAT.Okay great.Now say you want to make more than two sandwiches, which is what the pan will hold.No problem for the pan, just put it back on the burner to reheat, but what about the press?It is now greased on the side you put directly in contact with the burner (perhaps more of a problem for electric ranges...).You can carefully wipe it dry (it's still hot) and stick it back on the burner, then grease it again (did that, annoying to deal with, but it worked).You can use the retained heat from the press and pan and get a much more lightly toasted second set of sandwiches (have also done that) and then you pretty much have to start over.With a traditional press you can just keep sliding sandwiches out, sandwiches in.I'm feeding a family of six, so to me this seems like a real selling point for the grills and a real drawback for the press.
After I mastered my pan and press I was all happy till I got to thinking, what would one of these taste like without the grill marks?Some of the traditional presses have two sided plates, one smooth, one ridged.I wanted to try a smooth panini. Luckily I had the wit to realize this would be a simple matter. I got out a plain old frying pan and made a no grill marks panini by simply using slighly thinner bread, and pressing the sandwich down with a spatula as it was cooking, then flipping it halfway through.I liked it better, but that is a matter of opinion.It did get me thinking though: I already have high quality skillets.Did I really just pay $150 for a fancy grilled cheese sandwich pan?Yes, I think I did.
I would say that the most value I got from this purchase is the little booklet that came with it urging you to mix spices in a small dish of olive oil, then to brush your panini bread with this mixture on the outside before making them.It is delicious.Don't think I would have thought of it on my own and my panini cookbook doesn't mention that great little idea, so kudos to Le Crueset for good cooking tips. But you may want to consider (as I wish I had), before dropping your cash:does anyone really need a panini maker?To cook something both sides at a time, thus saving a total of two minutes, and to imprint it with grill marks:is this worth $150 to you?Or $80 or $90 if you go the traditional press route? Before buying this or any panini press I would urge you to get out a heavy duty flat bottom skillet, assemble a panini, place it in the pan over medium heat, press it down with a spatula, and carefully flip it two minutes later.If this is tasty to you, you just saved yourself more than $100 and you are still enjoying a panini.
I hope to use this pan for other things, like burgers, steaks and chicken, to feel I got my money's worth out of it.It is a great pan, nothing wrong with it, thus the four stars. HOWEVER If I really wanted fancy grill marked panini I think I would rather have gone with a traditional press for the convenience of making multiple sandwiches, not using up more than half my stove to make what is supposed to be a quick and simple meal, and adjustable temperature control. Nor would I get one with multisided plates.I would use a frying pan for a "no grill marks" sandwich. Something to think about!
Buy Le Creuset Enameled Cast-Iron Panini Press and Skillet Grill Sets Now
I bought this for my boyfriend for Christmas.In all honesty, I also bought it for myself, because I'm a vegetarian, and I needed some sort of method for introducing variety into my dinner routine.I was getting really tired of rice and beans and greens.This little set, while extremely expensive (in my opinion), really is a lot of fun, and the panini is excellent, as long as you FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS.We didn't read the manual carefully the first time we used it, so I was disappointed, but when you do exactly what the thing says, and get a decent feel for how long to let the sandwich cook for, it turns out great sandwiches.
In short: heat both components up, like it says, and then take them OFF the heat, brush them with whatever (we use a spray cooking oil;olive oil did NOT work), put the top onto the bottom for a bit, and then put the sandwich in, press down, and wait.If you forget to put the top back onto the bottom, it won't work right, I have found.And you're not supposed to put it back onto the heat.Maybe all that is obvious to cooking people, but I'm a novice.
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I received this for set for Christmas and have already used it a few times. I cooked yellow fin tuna the first use and it came out spectacular. Love the grill marks, and even cooking. This is definitely a piece of cookware that loves low/slow heat, I had it on my main burner on a low heat and got the oil to just about smoking and then threw on my tuna. Cooked it 5 mins a side and it came out with a terrific natural taste! The main event was the panini, I cut my ciabatta bread up, sprayed it with olive oil and layerd on the prosciutto and provolone. I heated the top press on one burner and the skillet on another, once the pan was sufficiently hot (water sizzle/pop) i turned off the heat on both and threw on the first panini and put the press on top. I let it cook for about 5 minutes and found it to be beautifully browned with nice even grill marks. The second one cooked the same without having to apply any more heat. Great set, I'm looking forward to cooking more with it!
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This is a great product.The grill pan itself is very heavy, and retains heat very well.The press is similarly robust but has not proved to be as useful on electric ranges -the range can't get the press hot enough to really do much more than weight the food down.Originally we purchased this item to facilitate preparation of panini, but we've since grown accustomed to using it for all indoor grilling applications.
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The non-stick goes away very quickly after a few times of using. Don't understand why it gets so high rating and so many good reviews.
