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leahcate

what is this pan? Please help!

leahcate
16 years ago

Having a crowd for lasagna, and needing pans found these at Homegoods. They are made in Germany...that sounds good. The names(s) are "emja" / "Vivario", made of "ceratherm: special ceramics", and described as "lasgana dish. They are heavy and the same deep charcoal black as my AllClad. It's because I've never seen or heard of them that I'm feeling just a little leery of using for first time for company. OH! They look $$, but were $4.98, so I do wonder. SO much to do this time of year, I'm not wanting to cook a trial dish. Any of you used this type of pan? I don't post on here, and hope you won't mind my seeking help. Thank you!

Comments (6)

  • lindac
    16 years ago

    I wouldn't hesitate at all....they sound great!
    Linda C

  • momj47
    16 years ago

    Well, here it is in German, and it looks very nice. Enjoy

    Here is a link that might be useful: That pan of yours

  • leahcate
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Hi momj47...nice to hear from you again:>) How's your new grandbaby...pushing two by now, I believe? Now if someone just could read German! :>) Thanks for your vote of confidence, lindac, but I am hesitant to make their debut the night I'm serving 20 :>O for annual party...tomorrow night. We'll see. Appreciate your replying!

  • momj47
    16 years ago

    My grandson is wonderful, he's 2 and thinks he's the king of the world. He'll get a jolt next spring when his sister is born! They moved to San Antonio, Texas last summer, so I visit every 6 weeks or so. I miss them so much. Thanks for asking.

    Doing a search for ceratherm turns up only plumbing products in the US, but it looks like it's used in cookware in Europe. Interesting.

    Have a good dinner, anyway.

  • leahcate
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Hi momj....I know, we have an 18 mo. old 3,000 miles away:>( We are now jetsetters...all to one place:>) Thank you for googling for me. Do not think I'll risk them on a party, though probably fine....it's a type of silicone coating, I'm guessing. Merry Christmas to you and yours:>)

  • oneillcountry
    16 years ago

    I have been searching for an answer to the same question. I recently purchased 8 Vivario baking dishes, in various sizes and shapes at our local TJ-Maxx (Homegoods is a subsidiary of TJX/TJ-Maxx).

    Not being familiar with the brand (Vivario by EMSA) I wanted to verify that these dishes were okay to use. On some of the packages there were websites mentioned (for more information... http://www.emsa.com and http://www.vivario.info). Both of these URLs take you to the "emsa.com" homepage. There is no mention of the Vivario brand or any ceramic cookware on the site. However, one of the pics on the homepage features the large Vivario lasagna dish with a cooked lasagna in it.

    I wasn't able to find much on Google.com, so I tried Google.nl (the German version of Google). Although I don't read any German, I was able to find various UK sites offering a limited selection of Vivario cookware. Most notably, Amazon.de/ebay.de and cookplanet.com list several of the Vivario cookware styles. Several positive comments were left on the Amazon.de site, however the most recent comments were from 2005.

    My assumption at this point is that EMSA produced the Vivario line a few years ago, but has discontinued it for some reason. Maybe the ceramics material used (CERATHERM) is too fragile and breaks easily, or perhaps the new ceramic line couldn't compete with all the new silicon bakeware products that became available during the same time period.

    TJX (aka TJ-Maxx/Homegoods/Marshals/Winners/Bob's Stores/HomeSense/AJ Wright) presumably got a deal on some of the discontinued Vivario cookware and put it on the shelves in their stores.

    On the label of some of the items, a fitted silicone cover was shown and described as an optional accessory. If anyone knows a way to get the silicone covers, I would be interested.

    This stuff seems too good to be for real. According to the label it goes from freezer or refrigerator to oven, can be used on a gas stove, an electric stove, or on a grill, is microwave safe, is dishwasher safe, has a non-stick surface, and is "non-allergenic". The accessory silicone lids can be frozen, baked, microwaved and washed in the dishwasher. The Vivario cookware that I purchased at TJ-Maxx was My wife has a cousin who speaks German. We're going to try and contact him to see if he can shed any light on why the Vivario line may have been dropped. If we get any more info, I'll post it here.

    Hope this helps.
    ONeillCountry

    Here is a link that might be useful: EMSA Homepage