ZWILLING Spirit Ceramic Nonstick Saucepan, 4-qt, Stainless Steel

THE REVIEW: This company makes really good products. I love the ceramic coating. Just a warning about the size, it is "exactly" 4 quarts, meaning that is filled to the rim. In practicality, a person cannot fill the pan to the rim so the pan actually has a little less than 4 quarts of usable volume. Even with that going against it, it is still an awesome pan so I gave it 5 stars. If I need to buy more cookware, I am purchasing cookware with this coating from this company. It appears to last a really long time without even so much as a scratch. It cleans up as if I just bought it from the store. I also have a skillet for cooking eggs and it works beautifully just like the pan. I found out that if I cook my eggs in pure coconut oil, then the eggs don't stick at all to the bottom, and they taste even better. [October 30, 2017 update] I use this mostly for cooking brown rice, which works great. I have found a combination that makes the most fluffy brown rice with this pan. This uses an electric oven, so you might need to make adjustments with a gas range. Ingredients: 1. 8 oz of organic long grain brown rice 2. 16 oz of water Instructions: 1. Put water in pan, season, and put on burner on high 2. While water is heating up to a boil: - - a. Wash rice and drain - - b. Wash rice and drain a second time 3. When water is boiling: put rice in, cover, and bring to a boil again - less than 1 minute 4. [5 min; boil] Boil rice for 5 minutes - turn stove off and keep on the burner with cover on - - a. Boil rice for about 1 minute on high - - b. Then turn heat down just a little (#8 of 10 on my burner) to boil for remaining 4 minutes - - c. After rice has boiled for 5 min then turn stove off but keep on burner w/ cover on 5. [30 min; burner off] Let stand on burner w/ off & covered for 30 min - don't remove from burner even though it is off 6. [15 min; burner on low] Turn stove on low (lowest setting) for 15 min - applying smallest amount of heat 7. [30 min; burner off] Turn stove off again for 30 min - this allows the rice to absorb the rest of the water, fluff up, and finish cooking 8. Stir and enjoy fluffy brown rice - who knew Note: Once lid is on, don't remove lid until the end when you stir it in step 8. Removing the lid will let the heat escape and change the balance of heat over time. It is important to keep the heat in the pan. I originally used a thermometer to gauge the heat levels to get the times right. The temperature should never fall below 150 degrees with this method thereby slow cooking the rice. GIVE Reviews - this is my standard for writing reviews - thank you for clicking the helpful button! [G]enuine - This is a review that is honest, trustworthy with no reason other than to help people in the Amazon family. [I]nformational - This review needs to provide information related to this product in a concise matter. [V]aluable - This review needs to provide value to the reader such that it helps him or her determine if this product is for them. [E]nlightening - This review needs to go beyond product information such that the reader learns something they did not otherwise know.

I use this almost every day. The non stick interior is amazing. Heats extremely well and evenly. Great lid. Cleans easily by hand no matter what I’ve had in the pot. Would buy it again. Great buy.

I have had this Spirit/Zwilling line for a few years, first the three fry pans and now the 4 QT. Comparison is to Le Creuset, All Clad including Excalibur non-stick, Viking, and Joyce Chen lightweight cast iron. Understand that you are using man engineered stoneware of sorts with all its benefits and faults. They are extremely well engineered and work exceptionally well on induction. For high heat cooking, these pans can safely get hotter than any other non-stick. I did a side by side on an induction cooktop bridge burner using a laser thermometer. The lightweight cast iron and Spirit heated in approximately the same time (iron a bit faster) to 800 some odd degrees before I called the dogs off... At first I thought the ceramic interior was marred or darkened but time has not yielded an issue. Pizzas at 550% plus convection oven don't damage the pan and slide off as if on a stone. Tip: let your dough rise in a slightly oiled fry pan, smooth the bottom before applying sauce and cheese, heat on stovetop a minute to get pan hot and place in high heat oven. (For those lucky enough to have induction, the dough can rise faster on the hold setting; these pans are also very much like Le Creuset in that they can function as a crock pot overnight. First tries on non stick yielded poor results for this high heat impatient chef. Eggs require low slow cooking to get that TV slide off ... and it does work! Burnt late night mac 'n cheese sauces clean easily the next morning. Quality of construction is on par with top brands. The see through glass lid is well made and a nice touch. The shape is slightly taller than some 4qts making it better for a single pasta boil but yielding less browning surface at he bottom of the pan. Interestingly, the glass lid fits perfectly on the 8" fry.. my guess is that the 5qt saute will work with the 12" fry and so on ... a good design feature. Spirit sears and builds a fond at least 90% as well as traditional stainless and maybe on par. There is no steaming of food. Steaks brown up nicely and gravies are easily made with bits of protein residue in the pan. They retain heat very very well.. maybe better than cast iron... for both the good and bad of it. Think flatbreads and pan pizza, hot cakes, and even serving dogs at table with a lid so that seconds and thirds are still hot. Truly a baking stone so beware: food will keep cooking if not removed from a very hot Spirit. They are indestructible. My sharpest knives and metal utensils never leave a scratch. Clean up is a dream. Wrecks and burns happen but water over time will clean anything off a rock. I use a heavy duty Chore Boy cloth (Publix) for these and cast iron woks with excellent results. Quite heavy. The 4 qt comes in at about 3lbs, 6oz. about one pound heavier than an All Clad 3qt and a pound less than a 4qt Viking WITH the helper handle. Small folks and seniors may have trouble... this pan needs a helper handle! The stay cool Y handles do the job.. my 8" lacks the Y design and gets very hot... the pics on Amazon suggest they have been changed to the Y design but beware. Assuredly, the are much lighter than Le Creuset. Spirit takes a bit of time to heat, consistent with a baking stone. My induction cooktop brings it to temp quickly but regular tops will take more time. It heats and cools like Le Creuset (or other cast iron) but has better non-stick properties. There are hints of hot spots in the pans; I perceive that there are more than in other pans but am not certain; this has in no way been a deal killer. These spirit pieces are increasingly my goto cookware while many more expensive brands sit idle. If I had to buy one set only for a small kitchen or couple just getting started, this would be it, hands down. Also check out the lightweight chinese cast iron from Joyce Chen for seared smoky stir fry... even less expensive pans, albeit with their own set of drawbacks, that also leaves the big boys in the drawers.

These pans are great. They are just the right weight. Easy to clean. Beautiful design. I am so happy I bought them. I also purchased the ZWILLING Spirit Ceramic Nonstick 10-pc cookware set and 5 qt sauce pan. After a few weeks of use, some of the food started sticking in the fry pan and it was hard to remove. I tried the recommended vinegar method but it did not work. Then I did more research online and found the absolute perfect way to clean it. I use it on the inside and on the bottom of the pan. 1) Don't run water into the pan while it is hot. Wait until it is cool to clean. 2) First, clean with hot soapy water. Do not use any abrasive cleaner. 3) Next, if there is any remaining food residue, sprinkle baking soda combined with a small amount of water in the pan, making a paste. Rub with non abrasive cloth. (I use a paper towel. I also use this on the bottom of the pan if there are any burn marks on it.) The baking soda takes everything up easily. 4) rub a small amount of oil inside pan. (Use an oil that has a very high smoke point. Peanut, Canola, Grapeseed and Avocado oils are good.) Wipe off any excess oil. I haven't had any problems since I started cleaning the pans with this method.

This was a gift to my daughter as she requested a pasta pan. She stated she loves it and would give it 5 Stars! She is now suggesting a smaller version for everyday use. I think she might get it, hint, hint!