Cookware Gallery
Archive for the ‘Miscellany’ Category
…for a little food
Recent unrest and turmoil in Tunisia, Yemen, Egypt and other arid nations is being blamed on ‘new’ social media and ‘old’ politics. But there’s a more fundamental factor being purposefully ignored by mainstream western media.
Basic food costs (rice, flour, etc) have increased 30% throughout the Middle East, Asia and among poorer developing nations, reaching all time highs. This dramatic increase is the direct result of recent weather disruptions that have devastated global crop production (historic flooding, unrelenting drought, unprecedented fire and pestilence in areas as diverse as Australia, Southern Europe, Africa, South America and Asia).
Other factors obviously play a role in food prices (from transportation costs to market commodity speculators) but climatic crop devastation is primary—a global supply shortage not quickly ameliorated by policy or political expediency.
Could recent unrest in the streets be a glimpse into future scarcity? …foretelling a calamity ushered forth by unrestrained carbon emissions and man-made climate alteration? I would wish not. Yet I fear our future (unleashed with such blind bliss these past 100 years) continues unabated, and is near a tipping point of no return.
For each child’s sake, become informed: visit www.350.org and BE the change.
Update: Feb 7, 2011
Paul Krugman (in a New York Times op-ed dated Feb 6, 2011) authors a sober note about politics, world food and climate. How are you responding to the gist of Krugman’s observations? Disbelief? Going Vegan? Share your thoughts and actions.
A Lifetime Guarantee
In a previous post, we observed that a cookware warranty is only as good as the cookware it warrants.
A warranty assures that cookware free of defect will outlast the warranted period. It not, then it is replaced. As a measure of this assurance, we heard from users who are enjoying a life-long friendship with their cookware, a friendship with pots and pans they are not about to give up just because a knob or handle has failed after decades of service. (See A Lifetime Of Value)
A lifetime of trouble-free use, it is fair to say, is a true measure of cookware value and a telling demonstration of manufacturer confidence in product durability and quality craftsmanship.
And yet it is no surprise to receive queries like Debbie’s: “Do you still honor your LIFETIME Guarantee? I have a set that I purchased over 30 years ago and it is now time to replace the entire set.”
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January 5, 2011
TO: Debbie
FROM: ChoiceCookery
Hi Debbie,
Thank you for contacting ChoiceCookery.
Congratulations on 30+ years of service from your Stainless Steel cooking utensils, a wise choice those many years ago. Given the years, we are interested in hearing about your cookware.
It has been our experience that knobs and handles eventually wear or break after years of use or incidental mishap, yet the cookware itself continues to perform like new. If this is your circumstance, we can help you contact the appropriate manufacturer for knob/handle replacements. These attachments are usually not covered by warranty but are of little cost and easily attached at home.
It is likely the manufacturer warrants your Stainless Steel cookware against defect in material and craftsmanship for your lifetime. Years of normal wear is not considered a defect but rather a validation of warranty protection against such defect.
If your cookware brand is part of the Maxam family of brands, we will of course service the warranty. Let’s first determine the manufacturer of your cookware (usually engraved on bottom or side of utensil) and move forward. We look forward to your reply.
With Respect,
Steve / ChoiceCookery.
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January 7, 2011
TO: Steve
FROM: Debbie
Hi Steve,
Defects? So in other words there is NOT a LIFETIME Replacement Guarantee if I am understanding you correctly. Is that it?
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…to be continued:
Cook healthy, eat honestly, and thrive.
Are Cookware Warranties for Real?
Cookware warranties generally guarantee utensils to be free of defect in material and workmanship for a period of time. These warranties commonly exclude damage caused by misuse, accident, ordinary wear or product alteration.
In practical terms then:
- What does a cookware warranty really warrant?
- How does this guarantee actually work?
- How is a warranty claim processed?
- Is there a cost?
- What’s ‘limited’ in a Limited Lifetime Warranty?
- What happens if…?
Over the next month or so, let’s explore cookware warranties in the words of real users, keeping a keen eye focused on the actual value of a Warranty—especially a Limited Lifetime Warranty, a type of warranty offered by a few Stainless Steel waterless cookware manufacturers and supported by reputable dealers.
First, it’s important to understand that a cookware warranty is only as good as the cookware it warrants.
It’s of little value, for example, to warrant cookware that’s recycled or simply tossed in a landfill after 3 to 5 years of use (synthetic cooking surfaces like Teflon applied to low grade single ply metals come to mind). If cookware doesn’t last, it’s no bargain in dollars or good sense. Reasonable to assume its warranty (if there is one) has no real value either.
It’s equally important to share a healthy understanding of what cookware value really means. For this reason, we ask you to read or revisit the following article which explores value in the words of life-long users of quality cookware: A Lifetime Of Value …hosted at ezinearticles.com
Reader responses to this brief article have been many, but a consistent theme is cited by Kathleen: “Your cookware article was the first one I ever read that I feel it is not just a sales pitch. I actually know that the facts are true.”
In our next Blog, ChoiceCookery responds to a warranty question from a user (below). The query (from the Contact Us page at ChoiceCookery) begins an informative correspondence between user and company about cookware warranty and value. Enjoy what you learn along the way:
Date: January 4, 2011:
From: Debbie
RE: Do you still honor your LIFETIME Guarantee? I have a set that I purchased over 30 years ago and it is now time to replace the entire set. Thank You.
* * *
In the meantime: Cook healthy, eat honestly, and thrive.
“…to the Best of 2010″
As we turn this last page of 2010, we raise a toast to those blog posts most read by you. Of tens-of-thousands of reader ‘votes’ (number of times a particular post was read), we revisit and renew the top 15 in order of popularity.
There’s a healthy mix of interests in the numbers, from recipe basics to how-to’s using waterless cooking methods and retention of nature’s fresh nutrient values. Without doubt, VALUE (measured by cost, nutrition, cooking and cookware ease of use) sews your interests together into a vibrant fabric of holistic, healthy intentions.
We hope you have enjoyed this year’s tasteful journey as much as we have. We genuinely invite you to stay tuned as we turn to 2011 and explore the truer values of this bountiful planet, entrusted to us from the very beginning: “…to till and to keep.”
As always: Cook healthy, eat honestly, and thrive.
1. Stir Fry Basics: a recipe and links to uncommonly tasty creations.
2. Summer Fajitas: backyard changes in latitude and attitude.
3. Rice–the long & the short: If rice isn’t turning out the way you want, it isn’t you. It’s the rice.
4. Debunking the Bunk: a real Chef would know better.
5. A Story Behind the Numbers: the honest value of foods
6. Corn on the Cob: waterless cooking tips
7. What’s in a Ply: the unmatched constitution of quality cookware
8. Is Waterless Cooking really Waterless? …what about pasta?
9. Black Rice – the new Brown: vital nutrients and imperial taste unite.
10. Harvest the Nutrition of Fall Squash: value the fall abundance and savor throughout the year
11. Cooks Illustrated Review: …on the best cookware set under $250
12. The $2500 Cookware Set? …what are you really paying for!
13. A Perfect Wedding Gift: …note from Mom & Dad…priceless!
14. Waterless iPhone: …what do the Brits know? (…or more apt, are the Americans coming?)
15. Is Organic Worth It? This post is just two days old, but in 24 hours, over a thousand folks accessed this page. We believe these #’s reflect our enthusiastic embrace of a healthy and genuinely engaged future. Thank YOU for being part of our embrace.
…a last curious note: of all the posts for 2010, our favorite here at the blog didn’t make the top 15. Veggie Wars …the truth never tasted so good!
BE SAFE! Take Good Care, be Humble and of Good Cheer.
Happy New Year
Wishing All A Happy New Year
With gratitude, and heartfelt HOORAHS, we at the Blog delightfully raise our toast to a very healthy and vital 2010.
We cheer those this past year new to the benefits and advantages of premium Stainless Steel cookware and to those who have long appreciated the truer tastes and whole-health goodness of waterless, greaseless cooking.
We look forward to a nutrient-rich 2011 serving a growing community of nutrient-wise families. Here at the Blog, we relish continuing our part to review and renew the basics of real food, real cooking, and real cookware.
Cook healthy, eat honestly, and thrive.
Wishing you and yours
JOY, PEACE,
and a WONDROUS New Year.
Is Organic Worth it?
Some folks distrust the validity of the label “Organic”. Others tend to avoid the high cost. Yet natural, sustainable food production is proving to be more than viable—Organics are flourishing.
Health-minded, cost-conscious Home Cooks are finding lots of budget neutral ways to provide fresh, healthy foods for their families:
- limiting high priced ‘prepared foods’ in exchange for organic/free-range foods;
- shopping local and buying direct from known growers;
- enjoying lower price points for seasonal produce and cyclical free-range meat abundance;
- discovering new foods (new flavors, new techniques and cooking methods) based on local availability;
- preparing in bulk and freezing—soups, stocks, purees, full entrees, wholesome meals for later.
“If it peels, it doesn’t have to be organic” say some folks, as if avoiding pesticides/herbicides are reason enough to support organic food production. But organic and free-range products go far beyond the superficial to honor fundamental values to health—body, worker, and planet.
Is Organic worth it? Of course! But that’s the easy answer. The truer answer is the action of one’s own ethical, just and moral findings. Be informed.
Certified Organic adheres to the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (OFPA) administered and regulated by the National Organics Program (USDA). Does OFPA have teeth? Does NOP have a bite?
- To protect consumers, workers and planet (water, soil, air), products bearing the Organic Label are made without the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, antibiotics, synthetic hormones, genetic engineering or other excluded practices, sewage sludge, or irradiation.
- U.S. organic standards require rigorous announced and unannounced third-party inspections of organic operations.
- Organic producers and processors develop and follow an Organic Systems Plan which enables inspectors and consumers alike to trace organic products from farm to family.
- Organic inspectors themselves are accredited and audited to ensure that facilities they certify indeed meet the rigorous organic standards that consumers have come to know and trust.
Cook healthy, eat honestly, and thrive.
…to arrive by Christmas Eve
If premium Stainless Steel Waterless Cookware is on your family’s Christmas list, note this reminder from ChoiceCookery.
Premium 5-ply (or better) Stainless Steel Cookware is not the light, insubstantial pots and pans you buy at Department Stores. Quality Cookware can weigh 30+ lbs for a standard set of pots and pans. Due to weight, Air or Over-Night shipping is excessively expensive and best avoided.
Most Cookware Companies ship free within the Continental USA via UPS Standard Ground Delivery only. Shipping expense other than Standard Ground Delivery is the responsibility of the customer and calculated at time of order placement.
We at the Blog remind you that Wednesday, Dec 15 is the last day to process cookware orders and have them shipped Standard Ground Delivery to arrive at your door by Christmas Eve. To assure orders arrive in time, a special $10 handling is generally applied. Special Handling orders must be received and processed by 11am Pacific Standard Time no later than Wednesday, December 15.
On Thursday, December 16, expedited shipping (Air Package Delivery) is required to assure delivery by Christmas Eve. Please utilize expedited shipping options offered by most cookware companies during on-line check out.
Just a reminder to Order Now to avoid unnecessary shipping costs.
Cook healthy, eat honestly, and thrive.
Time Your Arrival...
Waterless Cookware Review – September 2010
Posts come and go, no different than the seasons. Nonetheless, Good News remains and we like to tally up what we’ve learned. Here’s a brief summary of posts of September past.
Sep 6 > A Perfect Wedding Gift: at the wedding reception of Marci & Chad, we were touched by these hand-written words on a card and lovingly placed on the gift table next to a beautiful set of stainless steel waterless cookware.
Sep 8 > Proper Care and Cleaning of Stainless Steel Cookware: having taken the time to research and make an investment in a quality set of Maxam cookware, it makes sense to take steps to ensure you’re caring for your pots and pans properly.
Sep 17 > Value Beyond Price: nutrient retention isn’t hype. Waterless cooking is proven to preserve at least 40% more vitamin, mineral and essential fiber than any other cooking method (see Vegetables: the Minerals of Health)
Sep 20 > Harvest the Nutrition of Fall Squash: soups, dressings, pies, puddings, smoothies, pulp for breads and spreads—squash is wondrously versatile, easily prepared and tastefully stored (frozen), in wait of winter’s more lean tidings. Butternut squash is especially nutritious:
Sep 21 > Cookware Lids: coated steel, plain aluminum, hard anodized aluminum, stainless steel, cast iron, glass. Is a Waterless Lid any different?
Sep 23 > Navigating the Waterless Blog: perhaps you missed our Press Release. Check our purpose out.
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Sep 24 > First Step, Fresh Start: some folks would like to test performance before plunging in. Consider this: experience the cook-friendly food-friendly differences of waterless cookware first hand, on your own stove, cooking your own familiar meals > for less than $50. Chef’s Secret two-pan set for example…
Sep 30 > Cooks on the GO: Leslie Cole, armed with new books promising fast, flavorful and nutritious meals, sets out to beat the tired, the bland and mundane. Discover some novel and time-saving cooking strategies that help reduce and relieve the rush of weeknight family dining. Quick link to The Tick-Tock Express
Cook healthy, eat honestly, and thrive.
…and the WINNER IS:
Thank you to all who entered our giveaway by following ChoiceCookery.com and friends over at lalacooks. We hope our winner of this fine set of Stainless Steel Waterless cookware will enjoy the feel, ease & performance of real cookware, creating healthy and tasty dishes for years & years to come!
Without further ado, the WINNER of our Healthy Cooking Holiday GIVE AWAY (& a premium 15pc cookware set )……IS:
…….. Fidza Hamdan!
Congratulations Fidza!
Stay tuned to the blog and lalacooks.com for more healthy recipes, cooking tips and the good news on premium stainless steel cookware at honest, affordable prices.
…of the essence is Time
A quick reminder to enter the Healthy Cooking Holiday GIVE AWAY. Just two days left. Here at the Waterless Cookware Blog, and with our good friends at Lala Cooks, we are all excited about drawing the winner on December 10, 2010.
Don’t miss this opportunity to score a truly fine KT915 Stainless Steel Waterless Cookware set for the uncommon price of ZERO.
Entry is easy; no strings attached. Just join our community and enjoy the informative chats & view the video recipes when or if you want. That’s it.
> Subscribe to Lala Cooks Youtube page here
> Like Lala Cooks on Facebook here
> Like ChoiceCookery on Facebook here
> Follow ChoiceCookery on twitter here
Here’s what we’re giving away:
Cook healthy, eat honestly, and thrive…
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