Zwilling JA Henckels Spirit Thermolon Saucepan with Lid Review

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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.

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These are the best I have used and I have had many different pot sets over the years. I am totally happy with my Zwilling.

Thank you.

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I love this pot for cooking rice, refried beans, or any other sticky-type food. I have the Scanpan skillets and was going to purchase a pot in that brand, but happened upon this brand as it was just coming out. The store only had the skillets, so several months later I looked for the pot at Amazon and bought it. It is even much less priced than the same size pot from Scanpan.

Honest reviews on Zwilling JA Henckels Spirit Thermolon Saucepan with Lid

I purchased two of these pans. One for my daughter and one for myself. She has used hers more then I have and she raves about how great it is. Easy cleaning and nothing sticks to the pan. I'm planning on getting some frying pans next. Highly recommend this product.

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I have already written about how great these ceramic pans are, but they are so terrific that I am writing again. These are the best pans I have every used -even cooking, nonstick with little to no use of oil or butter, easy to clean. I have replaced all of my pans with Zwilling's Ceramic pans.