Cooking Reviews

For those of you that are new to the Fiesta Ware line by Homer Laughlin Corporation (HLC), this is NOT a knock-off of the original production. This new line of Fiesta Ware - manufactured by HLC - is primarily produced with the original molds used to produce the product for over the past 60 years or so.

New Fiesta Ware is made of a vitrifed china which requires a higher firing temperature than the oringal line which was made of semi-vitrified china. Vitrified china appeals to the restaurant industry, a large part of HLC's customer base. (Next time you are in a restaurant, peek under the plate to see the name of the manufacturer - it will probably be HLC!) However, to accomodate shrinkages caused by the higher temperature, mold changes had to be done to the lids and 10.5" plates.

Restaurants use Fiesta Ware and other HLC china because of its durability. I have been using the new Fiesta Ware for every meal, every day for the past 13 years and have only broken a few things. (Thankfully, they usually survive the drop into my cast-iron/enamal sink without a scratch.)

As far as manufacturing flaws are concerned, you will find them. They may included variations in the depth of color or a glazed-over "bump" in the china. (Anyone that has collected older Fiesta Ware will tell you that these same flaws exist in the older pieces as well.) If you are particular, check your product! If you don't like it exchange it. However, I have found flaws to be more uncommon than common, and those that I find are fairly minor and not bothersome.

HLC has added new items to the line, again, mostly for the restaurant trade; however, they are welcome additions to any kitchen. My personal favorite is the 12" rimmed bowl which is great for a big serving of pasta!

Bottom line: In my opinion, this is a wonderfully durable, colorful and fun line of china - enjoy it for a long time!

The beauty of Fiestaware is that you can mix and match any of their colors, and they all look great. With the new Cinnabar color, you can even have red (cinnabar), white, and blue (cobalt) dishes! This dinnerware is vitrified (for strength and durability) like many of the more expensive brands of dinnerware (such as Longaberger), but much more affordable. Nice deep bowls (not those whimpy flat things), and great sized mugs makes Fiesta a pleasure to put on the table. Made in the USA, so we can be assured that the glazes used are lead-free and safe. There are a million reasons Fiesta has been around since before my grandma was born, but the bottom line is quality!

As a Fiesta nut, I have about every modern color that Homer Laughlin has produced -- except black -- until now.

... What a pleasant surprise to visit Amazon.com and find it readily available.

What can one say about Fiestaware that hasn't already been said? Timeless beauty, hard-wearing quality, reasonable cost, and the fun of mixing, matching and collecting the regularly-released new colors.

With Fiesta, suddenly dinnerware stops being something you take for granted, something merely to serve as a more elegant alternative to a paper plate... And becomes something engaging, interesting, and the subject of conversation when entertaining guests.

It's nice to have black pieces in my collection now. Thanks Amazon.com!

I just bought the FoodSaver 800 recently, and along with it a set of these canisters. One of the main reasons I purchased this system was for vacuum packing my dried goods in my pantry to keep out bugs. These canisters waste a lot of space in my cabinets; it would be nice if someone could design a set that was more space conscious.

As far as a seal goes, I did the marshmallow test that they show in the infomercial and sure enough the marshmallows expanded to fill the space as the air was evacuated. Obviously I can't attest to how the seal holds up in the long term, since I've only had it a few days.

I have owned my foodsaver for 3 years now and it works great. I bought mine at costco which came with 2 canisters that worked so well i bought these to. I have brown sugar in mine for almost a year with no troubles, it doesn't get hard like when left in the bag. Mine even went on a move form ny to Fl and did not loose their seal. You need to make sure the tops of the canisters are clean and the lids before sealing cause if food is there they will drop the seal. I bought 5 3-1/4 canisters at wal-mart to hold large boxes of cereal, instant potatoes and fresh bagles & french bread just remember to put them in the fridge for bread.

I received my FS Vac 820 for Xmas. I have used it quite a few things in the bags and I am so pleased with the results. I am looking forward to seeing the long term out come of this product.

I just had a birthday yesterday, and received all kinds of new goodies for it!! I can't wait to vac pack my kitchen...

The FoodSaver Pro II does a wonderful, amazingly easy job of vacuum sealing appropriate items. I have nothing but praise for its design & operation, and I am usually hyper-critical of home appliances. People who criticize the need to freeze some foods or wrap others are expecting the impossible: bread is filled with air holes-that is what causes it to rise. If you vacuum-pack unfrozen bread, you'll end up with a cracker - but that's not the fault of the machine! Most of the pre-freezing requirements are either to prevent crushing or to prevent liquids being sucked into the machine, & all of them can be avoided by using vacuum containers instead of bags. Ditto for flour-y or sharp items, although I've packed all kinds of grains directly in the bags with no punctures. Although the containers are initially expensive, you can re-use them indefinately. The supplies (bags & containers) are overpriced, & it's hard to find them discounted. Costco currently has a good deal on rolls of bags, & Gourmet Depot has the best prices I've found on the containers. ... Overall, a superb product for those with real-word expectations.

I've had my FoodSaver Professional II about a month and am very impressed.. It's much easier to use than I expected. Yes the canisters and bags are [pricey], but I...have done most of my storing in mason jars, especially wide-mouth half-gallon jars. I've even frozen items in the quart jars after sealing. The meats I've bagged were not prefrozen but by following the easy-to-follow instruction book I had no trouble. I'm finding more and more ways to use it every day and am very pleased with quality of this product.

I have the FoodSaver 1200 model and use it literally every day-- Living alone, it affords me the opportunity to take advantage of bulk buys and sales without spoilage and waste--Great sale on steaks?--I can buy a dozen and seal them (after wrapping and pre-freezing for a few hours) and they'll be just as red and fresh when I'm ready to cook the last one, even months later, as they were when I brought them home from the market-- My cupboards and fridge are filled with nice, tidy Mason jars in various sizes which are easy to store, easy to seal, and see-through for convenience--Now, brown sugar will stay moist virtually indefinitely, jams and jellies don't break-down and get sugary when refrigerated, and berries, yogurt and sour cream keep at least twice as long--I bought an armload of fresh sweet corn at the end of the summer last year, cleaned and blanched it and then froze it sealed in FoodSaver bags and had lovely fresh corn all winter long-- I also bought a silver soup ladle which doesn't fit in my silver chest, but sealed in a custom made bag, it stays clean and tarnish-free-- Small tip: I hate trying to cut bags straight, so I got an inexpensive paper cutter at an office supply which works great!--I keep my roll of bag material threaded in it and secured with a rubber band--That way it's always ready to go, takes virtually no extra cupboard space and I get a nice, straight edge every time-- I don't tend to gush over many kitchen appliances, but I don't mind saying that I'll never be without a FoodSaver on my kitchen counter again!--C

I bought this grill as the Nordic-ware one that I bought somewere else was only good for one time, then it didnt clean good,seemed to rust and it also costs alot more then this one...
This Double Grill works great every time..The only problem that I find is, That it slides around on the top of the stove while I'm turning over my pancakes..
I have a gas stove, with the grates, don't understand why this happens, I think its too smooth on the bottom?...
It cleans up very easy, and my pancakes cook evenly.
The only reason that I gave it a 4 stars , is because it slides around on the stove while cooking...The handles are hot so you have to use a pot holder (or dish towel) and I think its going to get into the flame, so be careful...
Enjoy though...

I purchased this griddle in spite of the warning that it wasn't suitable for solid plate or ceramic stovetops because my ceramic stovetop has a special "bridge" burner - that is, a section of the stove between two burners that heats up, connecting the two burners into one large, oblong burner. I called Farberware to make sure it was okay to use their griddle on this type of burner, and they said it was fine. I just used the griddle for the first time and it worked beautifully. This griddle also claims to also be suitable for gas, radiant ring (standard electric) and halogen stovetops. It is a heavy-duty, well-crafted, attractive piece of cookware that is also easy to clean (the wrapper says it's dishwasher safe, though I prefer to hand-wash it).

I just received my griddle last Thursday and could not wait to use it! I love it! I can make 6 pancakes at a time which means I get to sit down to eat faster too! My husband, who rarely cooks more than frozen pizza, even volunteered to cook with it! So that makes this griddle worth every penny to me! It heated up well cooking with my gas stove with the heat on 4. It cooked evenly and when I was done you couldn"t even tell the pan had been used. Clean up was a breeze!

I bought one of these a few months back (though mine has the all metal lid (preferable). It is well designed and attractive. But it has a MAJOR flaw: the egg cups are black plastic with a thermo-conductivity that must be close to zero. Aside from the totally unacceptable aspect of cooking in plastic (!), it took me 9 minutes (elevation 7300 ft.) to poach an egg to medium yolk and firm white, when an all-metal poacher would take maybe 5 or 6 minutes max. Avoid this one!

After I opened the box and took a look at this, I returned it to its box and prepared it to be returned. Small, cheap plastic cups might fit an egg in it, but I doubt it.

Farberware Egg Poacher

I have had Faberware cookware for over 30 years and was always happy with it. I replaced it with Expensive Heavy Cookware and still miss my Old Light Farberware. I'm a Great Cook, and the food still tastes the same but at a Higher Price. Anyway, when I was looking for a poacher, I read all the bad reviews but ordered anyway because of my faith in Farberware. None of the bad reviews were correct or accurate. There was no plastic smell and it is space age plastic, and a fine conductor of heat. I think the reviews are written by the competition or very incompetent people.

Large eggs fit perfectly with room to spare and take a 5 to 6 minutes to cook perfectly. They do not stick to the poaching cups if you follow the simple directions (Below). Some water does collect on top of the eggs, Their poached eggs! Just tilt and drain off. The handles on the cups are not hard to hold unless you are handicapped

The poaching cups are plastic and do not get hot. I use the thinnest layer of Crisco on the cups and the eggs slid right out.

The length of the time it takes to cook the eggs depends on the size of the flame. The flame should not be too high or too low. Practice makes perfect. If It's too low, just cook a little longer.

Cooks absolutely gorgeous eggs, thanks Farberware

SOHOCOOK

Stovetop Cooking

Fill the pan with water just below the egg cups or to the bottom of the rivets inside the pan. Do not let the pan boil dry! Bring water to rolling boil. The poacher cups are made of plastic so using a cooking spray or brushing the cups with oil is recommended. Put eggs in poacher cups and place over pan and cover. Reduce heat to simmering. For soft poached eggs, cook approximately 4 minutes or until whites are set but yolks are runny. For regular poached eggs, cook approximately 6 minutes or until whites are completely set and yolks begin to thicken but are not hard. Run a spatula around the edges to loosen the eggs. Invert poacher cups to remove eggs.