Ingenio: Genius Technology
Written: May 24 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The storage features, heat distribution from the ADD disk
Cons: Those darn handles!
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| SweetieM's Full Review: T-Fal Ingenio Cookware Sets |
You may have seen my husband’s take on this wonderful set of cookware, but now it is my turn. Having used the set a few times now, I have to say it worked well past my expectations. After fighting the husband for usage of the set, I have finally been able to test it out myself. Not being the chef of the family, this cookware goes a long way to saving a meal.
This set of cookware was given to me as a gift, a present for my hope chest from my uncle. Given that I am married now and we needed a good set of pots and pans, we dug the set out. I can spend all day praising this set, but the true test of its abilities is in the cooking. You have to use it to see the quality craftsmanship.
The brochure that came with the set boasts about being able to bake as well as fry and sauté with it. My husband never tried the baking feature, nor the recipes in the booklet (also came with the set) about baking cakes and such. But those are interesting ideas. I however have tried to bake with the smaller frying pan in the set and I must say my food turned out perfectly.
The technology behind this set of cookware is the fact that the bottom ADD disk allows for even heat distribution. There have been some rumors as to how this disk heats evenly, but if I am thinking right, it is because there are air pockets between the disk and the layers of the pan itself that provide for heat circulation. I learned this fact from QVC after seeing the cookware sold numerous times on the channel, even before I dreamed of owning a set.
The chicken patties I baked in my cookware proves that this even heating feature is true. I would never have been able to bake chicken in any other pans that I own, or gotten them to brown evenly due to the warping of my other pans. That is the one thing that T-Fal backs, their pots and pans will never warp, no matter what kind of torture you put them through, and the fact that you can bake with them should be torture enough to any other brand of cookware.
The two lids that come with the set fit all the pots and pans. Of course cosmetically they look kind of funny because on the smaller pieces in the set there is a lip that hangs over (but I’d give up aesthetically pleasing features over function). Besides the cosmetic drawbacks, the lids also allow for different cooking techniques such as steaming or broiling. I’m sure these lids also help somewhere in the baking process the pans were designed for, but I have never tried it. That’s why there are two lids, one each for the different techniques.
The feature that impressed me was the fact that you can stack the cookware pieces inside each other for space on your shelves. Renting our first apartment, we really were not looking for much space in the kitchen, and ours has a nice big cabinet for such things, but still not enough space to store each pan in the set separately. Aside from this feature, or in other words, how they allow it to stack is the other nifty feature of removable handles. That is what makes them so space savable, but yet dangerous to the fingers. Sure you can clamp the handles from pot to pot to keep little ones from tipping the pan over on themselves and it saves on storage space, but try cleaning them up. I have pinched my finger in the handles one too many times, while removing them from pans for storage or while cleaning. Being the only functional drawback of the set, I still say its one set everyone should own.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
SweetieM
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Location: Terre Haute, IN
Reviews written: 38
Trusted by: 1 member
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