Maybe it's because I grew up in an area not too far away from the actual Corning city, but I always knew about CorningWare. It seemed to be the one product that everyone I knew had in their kitchens.  My parents had pieces, my friends parents, my in-laws, you name it. So it seemed only natural that we asked for some CorningWare one holiday shortly after we were married.

How this piece came into our life

We received the CorningWare 2½ qt Casserole with Glass Cover several years ago as a gift.  We wanted something versatile that we could cook with and something that would grow with our family. We knew that CorningWare could be broken (as opposed to say plastic) but that overall CorningWare pieces were made more durable than many other products out there.

What it is

The CorningWare 2½ qt Casserole with Glass Cover is french white and fluted on the outside.  I think it looks attractive but would match with many kitchens.  It is a casserole style round dish with no handles.  (the top portion is sort of flared a little though for ease of handling)  It comes with a clear, glass cover with knobbed lid. 

CorningWare claims is made to resist cracking and breaking, and I can tell you that our piece still looks excellent.  It also claims to be non-porous, which means it claims that it doesn't absorb others. We have also found this to be true - with the hundreds of times we have used this piece with a variety of dishes it cleans easily and never takes on the smell of the food inside. 

Where it's used

Where isn't it used? We use it quite often in the microwave. I have to say it's probably the one piece we reach for the most when we want to make a side dish. It's the perfect piece to heating up fresh, frozen or canned vegetables that we want to have with dinner.  We also use it in the oven. We make certain pasta and meatball dishes and they bake and cook perfectly in this round dish.We've also used this as a serving dish, after we've cooked food. It's deep enough to hold a wide variety of things, so often extra meatballs, asparagus spears, and the like will be placed inside and brought to the table in case people want more. 

Over the years

Our CorningWare 2½ qt Casserole with Glass Cover piece still looks excellent. Okay, there's a little wear and tear. I will say that the inside of the piece looks great, but the outside, where food and cheeses especially have bubbled over there are brown "markings" on the side.  Still we really love this piece and are really proud to use it in our kitchen, whether we have company or not.  It's easy to store with our other baking dishes in the cupboard and probably our longest owned piece. 

I think there are few pieces I'd say are a kitchen "must have" ... but the CorningWare 2½ qt Casserole with Glass Cover is one of those pieces.  I think any CorningWare casserole piece is a great addition!  

Recommended: Yes