Did you know that some cookware releases harmful chemicals that can leak into your food? This Xtrema cookware review gives the verdict on an alternative 100% non-toxic option for your kitchen.
As you know, I mentioned on my guide to Thai cookware that ceramic can be a healthier, more environmentally friendly alternative to other materials for cooking. There are other non-toxic materials, but ceramic tends to produce the best results if you care about the quality of your food.
What is Xtrema Ceramic Cookware?
Xtrema is a company focusing on crafting 100% non-toxic cookware. The idea is to provide an option for customers who want to keep their food and the environment totally free of chemicals, metals, and toxic fumes.
Every product is tested against California’s Proposition 65, which is a state law intended to inform customers about natural and synthetic chemicals that can cause cancer or reproductive harm.
Such chemicals can make their way into food from cookware or be created during the cooking process. By testing against this law, Xtrema guarantees that the products you use are 100% non-toxic.
Xtrema Ceramic Cookware Review: Key Benefits
The main benefits of top rated ceramic cookware, such as this set of pots and made by Xtrema, are:
✓ Healthier: if you truly care about the health of yourself and your loved ones, it’s a good idea to have healthier cookware in your kitchen. Xtrema is 100% guaranteed non-toxic.
✓ Incredible durability: Xtrema generously provides an incredible 50-year warranty against thermal breakage. So you know you’re getting products from a company that believes in their quality.
✓ Heat-resistant: Cooking Thai food depends on using woks at extremely high temperatures. All cookware from Xtrema can withstand 2,500-degree heat.
✓ Dishwasher safe: if you’re short on time, you can clean your Xtrema products in the dishwasher without risking the aesthetics or utility of the products.
✓ Environmentally friendly: in addition to being good for your body, using Xtrema products is better for the environment because no harmful toxins are released during the cooking process.
Xtrema Cookware Review: In-Depth
I’d like to be honest and preface this review by letting you know that I am not the most avid health-conscious person around. Not every decision I make in life is influenced by how bad something is for me. I probably drank too much beer in my 20s. I drank soda by the bucketload as a teenager.
When it comes to cooking, I typically used to just choose the product that seemed to be the best fit for what I needed to make with it without considering environmental or health impacts.
However, since I’ve had a daughter, I’ve come to consider both my own health and the health of my loved ones much more. I truly believe that every kitchen, including yours, has a place for healthier types of cookware.
I don’t use ceramic all the time but by splitting my use 50/50 between ceramic and less healthy types of cookware, I’ve found a balance that suits me. For you, that balance might mean 100% ceramic. But it’s important that you know which products are worth getting.
When it comes to some specific products to recommend for Thai cooking with ceramic cookware, Xtrema’s ceramic wok and 3.5-quart saucepan are two that I highly recommend you pick up. The question that needs answering is whether they’re worth the money?
Xtrema Ceramic Wok with Lid
I’m going to be totally honest: I have cooked with better woks than this. That’s not at all to say it’s a bad product; it’s actually really good.
I’ve normally been skeptical of ‘healthful’ or ‘non-toxic’ cookware because the actual quality of the products often comes up short. That’s not the case with Xtrema though.
I was able to stir-fry some excellent pad krapow in my Xtrema ceramic wok. The wok dealt fine with the high heat required for cooking food.
The nonstickability was also decent; there was nothing left over in the pan when I emptied my cooked food onto a serving plate.
However, it’s worth noting that these products don’t have any non-stick coating. So you might run into some issues with sticking with certain foods.
I applaud Xtrema for making a wok to be honest. A ludicrous number of cookware makers don’t bother. And, as you already know, the wok is probably the most important piece of equipment in the Thai cook’s kitchen.
One slight issue I had though with this was that my metal spatula scratched the surface of the wok quite easily. This was probably something I should’ve known.
Wooden or plastic spatulas will be required for ceramic woks. This is clearly not a deal-breaker. And now that you know, you won’t make the same error as me.
If I was to summarize my review of this wok, it’s an excellent non-toxic wok that performs well. It is more than capable of stir-frying, which is imperative for Thai food.
And anything that makes life easier is always a plus, right?!
Xtrema 3.5 Quart Versa Pot
If I had to recommend one single piece of Xtrema ceramic cookware to buy, it would be the 3.5-quart Versa pot. This pot is really the perfect size for a couple and you can cook a wide range of soups or sauces in it!
This is a fabulous saucepan for cooking Thai soups and curries. It made an excellent Tom Yam Goong for me, and I was safe in the knowledge that my soup was 100% non-toxic.
It comes in 3 different colors: I personally love the firebrick red variant because it really stands out in my pretty dull-looking kitchen. It’s also very easy to clean.
I didn’t risk it in my dishwasher yet but by hand, it only took a couple of minutes to clean the residue of my Thai soups from this post.
The size is perfect for 2 or 3 people so I really recommend this for couples of small one-child families. You might want to scale up to a larger pot if you have lots of mouths to feed!
Overall, the Xtrema 3.5-quart pot is a high-quality product that is incredibly beautiful to look at, particularly in the red color. And it’s also healthy and great for the environment.
If you decide to buy this pot, don’t forget to only use wooden spatulas with it just in case you get the same drawback as I got from the scratches on my wok.
You should also consider going for the slightly larger 5.5-quart pot if you’re a small family. The happy customer who left this Facebook post about Xtrema cookware bought the 5.5-quart saucepan.
If you want to be similarly delighted with a ceramic saucepan in your kitchen, clicking this link takes you to the full range of saucepans for sale by Xtrema.
Xtrema Cookware Usage Guide
It’s imperative you take good care of your ceramic pots, woks, pans, or whatever else you choose to buy from Xtrema. Here are some useful tips to ensure you get the best from them:
- Low to medium heat works best with ceramic cookware. The point is that ceramic has incredibly even heat conduction that doesn’t require blazing hot temperatures.
- Keep an eye on soups or stews to ensure they don’t boil away for a long time. Bringing liquids to the boil is fine in ceramic. Keeping them there is asking for a thermal crack in your saucepan.
- Whether you use a gas or electric stove, let your skillet or pan heat up for one minute on the lowest setting before you start the cooking process.
- It’s vital to use quality cooking oils or sprays on your ceramic products. Xtrema advocates a light coating of good quality oil or butter.
- When heating up ceramic cookware, don’t add oil to a cold pan or pot. It’s best to add the oil after the one minute of heating time.
- You only need a thin coating of oil so don’t overdo it! A good ballpark figure is one tablespoon or two squirts of cooking spray.
- Don’t add cold water or unthawed frozen food to ceramic cookware as it can be susceptible to sudden sharp temperature drops.
- If you happen to have stubborn to remove residue on your ceramic cookware, use any non-metal scour pad or natural fiber scrub brush. Baking soda added to the water can provide an extra cleaning boost.
- Happily, Xtrema cookware is safe in the microwave. This is very convenient if you want to heat some yummy meals up the next day.
As you can see, with ceramic, you need to take really good care of your products. This may or may not be a disadvantage but it was worth mentioning.
Where To Buy Xtrema Cookware
It’s definitely a good idea for you to buy direct from the manufacturer if you want the best price. This is not always possible because some companies sell only on Amazon.
Shipping rates are competitive too. You get completely free shipping when your orders are over $150.
Thankfully, Xtrema is one company where you can purchase direct from the company’s website to get the best price. The below link will take you there directly and without fuss.
Xtrema Cookware Coupon
Xtrema have been kind enough to give me an exclusive discount coupon code link to share with you guys and girls if you want to try ceramic cookware in your home kitchen. Just click this link and you get 25% off your purchase at the Xtrema website.
Check out my page about the healthiest cookware brands if you want to shop around and compare different companies.