Do you have Pampered Chef stoneware...

[mamaBlue]

... and do you like it?

I've been eyeballing the muffin pan, loaf pan and rectangular stones for awhile now.

I have a pizza stone I bought from Target and it's great. My friend has since told me that I need to be careful about which stoneware I buy because some are made with inferior materials and can leech chemicals or off gas. I've never heard anything like this before. Does anyone know anything about that?

[NCHIN]

Hi, I can only answer part of your question. I first saw the Pampered Chef stones at a Home Show. I purchased the Small Stone Tray for my Toaster Oven. I really enjoy it and have since used it in the Regular Oven and have purchased more of their items.

I do not know anything about chemicals or gases leaching from inferior stones. I have heard about being careful about dinnerware that has a glaze finish that may contain lead.

Nancy

[sabrosina]

I have several of the Pampered Chef stoneware items and though they seemed like good ideas early on.. they are now collecting dust. The pizza stone eventually broke. So I bought a much heavier duty one (and larger too) from Williams-Sonoma (and I rarely buy there becasue they're so much pricier on most things) and I LOVE it and use it all the time.

The idea seemed like a good one (stoneware.. even heating.. blah blah blah) before culinary school. Then I realized that baking muffins or a loaf cake in these things is what you DON'T want to do. Use the dark aluminum professional grade (heavier gauge). Made for the task and does it well.

[yitlan]

I have the square baker and really like it. Use it all the time. I would probably buy some more, but they are really heavy and we have no space for more. I think I'll get the cookie sheet one, but that's probably all I'll be able to do. I really like PC stuff, though, and am having a party next month to help pay for these!

[MikahsMomma]

How pathetic is this - I have some that was given to me as a wedding gift almost 2 years ago, but have never used it because it intimidates me! I have a round pizza stone and a cookie sheet version and they're just sitting in my cabinets. I'm so comfortable with my regular cookie sheets and I'm afraid I'll wash the stones and ruin them so I've never tried them. Sad, huh?

[3girlsmommy]

THere are some cheap stones that have something(sorry I can't remember what off the top of my head) that can bebad for you.

I have a bunch of stoneware from Pampered Chef and love it. My favorite is the bundt pan. It cooks the best whole chicken. You just stick the chicken on top of the cone thing and put it in the oven. All the fat falls into the bottom and the chicken is all nice and juicy! YUM!

The one thing to remember is that you need to cover the majority of your stone w/ whatever you are cooking. If you are just cooking a couple of chickenbreasts don't use a great big pizza stone use one of the smaller ones.

[Meiri]

My pizza stone was a Xmas gift from one of my sisters. It lives in the oven for anytime we want to cook something on it.

I also have the bar pans. Mostly I use the rectangular baker and lid for roasting chicken and vegetables.

That's a cool idea for using the bundt pan for chicken!!! Do you ever bake cakes in it, or is it reserved for the chicken?

I love this stuff, but it is heavy. I can see how some people might not want to use it for that reason. It may be that mine will be passed on to the grown children someday in the distant future when I can't lift any more. Way distant future if I have anything to say about it. I hope I get to give it to grandchildren.

[Midnightowl]

I have a large Pampered Chef bar pan, and I use it almost every day for something. It works wonderfully for bacon. I worried at first about ruining mine by doing something wrong, but no problems yet, and it has taken a bit of abuse. I would love to have the small bar pan next.