This is a question we are commonly asked.  After all, aluminum is ubiquitous in the cookware market – famous brands such as Teflon, Swiss Diamond, Le Creuset and Scanpan all use it, so why doesn’t Lotus Rock?  First, we won’t try to pretend that aluminum doesn’t have any major benefits for cookware utensils; it does, and that is why it has proven so popular ever since it was first introduced for cookware back in the 1960s.  The advantages of aluminum cookware include:

-          Conducts heat evenly – reducing difficulties with over-heating

-          Light weight – suitable for young children, the elderly or just people who want a cookware utensil that is easily moved around the kitchen

-          Good corrosion resistance*

-          Easy to manufacture –either pressed, cast or forged

-          Exterior of the pan can have a variety of attractive designs printed onto it.

*This isn’t entirely true, aluminum does rust, but the rust is a white powder, less noticeable than rust from carbon steel or cast iron.

However, because aluminum has become so embedded in the cookware industry over the past half century, with many cookware companies using and promoting it, many of the disadvantages associated with this type of substrate are overlooked and not fully understood.  These include:

-          Weak construction –easily dented and deformed

-          Not induction-safe

-          Poor heat retention – especially compared to cast iron

-          Does not conduct heat as evenly as copper

-          Does not heat up as quickly as carbon steel.

In previous posts readers of this blog will have noted the following benefits of Lotus Rock:

-          Fast heating effect – saves time and energy,

-          Highly durable – for long term use,

-          High heating effect – for better vitamin retention and a more delicious taste.

Ever since aluminum cookware became popular in the 1960s, carbon steel has been seen as a cheap alternative.  However, this was because it was always used in a thin gauge.  When carbon steel is used in a much thicker gauge, such as 2.0mm, the pan’s cooking performance and durability improve significantly.  If Lotus Rock used aluminum instead of carbon steel as the substrate for its coating, it would not have the following advantages.

Carbon steel vs Aluminum

1. Fast heating effect.  Although aluminum does heat evenly, it does not heat up quickly; carbon steel heats up much faster, reaching a temperature of 180 degrees long before an aluminum pan (the ideal temperature for cooking is between 140-180 degrees).  Moreover, because all Lotus Rock items are produced in a 2.0mm gauge, they not only heat up quickly but also evenly – so a fried egg will always be tastier and crisper on a Lotus Rock pan than on non-stick aluminum.
2. Highly durable.  Carbon steel is three times denser than aluminum, so a 2.0mm-gauge carbon steel pan is equivalent to a 6.0mm-thick aluminum pan, and very few aluminum pans are made with a gauge as thick as this.  A common complaint regarding most aluminum pans is that they dent easily when dropped; Lotus Rock, made with 2.0mm-gauge carbon steel, is much stronger and more durable than the average aluminum pan.
3. High heating effect.  Lastly, the density of 2.0mm-gauge carbon steel gives it much better heat retention than aluminum.  This means a pan does not lose heat when food is placed on it, which reduces the chance of burning or over-cooking the food and maintains its vitamin content and delicious taste.

Summary

Lotus Rock is a cookware collection with numerous benefits, many of them due to its thick carbon steel gauge.  It is precisely because a Lotus Rock frying pan, stir wok or crepe pan is made with 2.0mm-gauge carbon steel that it has a fast heating effect, a strong construction and an excellent heating effect for healthier and more delicious food.

Why choose a Lotus Rock Stir Wok?

1.      Material.  Carbon steel is the material that is used in all Lotus Rock cookware and bakeware items.  Because of the nature of stir frying most experts agree that carbon steel is the most appropriate metal for a stir wok.

In the market place today other types of metal substrates are used for stir woks, however they all have drawbacks for this type of cookware item.

These include:

-        Cast iron – Long pre-heat times and it is very cumbersome to lift, which is essential for proper flipping

-        Stainless steel – Doesn’t conduct heat very quickly, and especially not to the centre of the pan, where it is most needed for a stir wok.

2.      Thickness.  Most carbon steel manufacturers for stir woks will do a thin gauge, at either 0.8mm or 1.0mm, this can make a wok light and very price competitive.  However, all Lotus Rock Stir Woks are produced at a 2.0mm gauge.  This ensures a strong construction, even heating and a high heating effect for all of our stir woks.

3.      Induction safe.  Although carbon steel is magnetic and so suitable for induction use, if the gauge is too thin then the pan or coating on it will be damaged very easily if used on this type of cooking top surface.  Induction transmits heat very efficiently, however with a Lotus Rock stir wok, the thick gauge will disperse the heat much better and therefore not impair the quality of the pan.

4.  Heat resistance.  Lotus Rock’s surface is a specially configured design which has very high heat resistance.  Most general non-stick cookware, which is organic-bonded, can easily break under a high temperature.  This can, consequently, create a harmful chemical smoke which is bad on environmental and health grounds.  In contrast the Lotus Rock silicon-oxide crystal coating is made up of inorganic substances: it is in the form of a thin crystal, which has no traces of carbon within it.  Conversely, the type of ceramic material that the silicon-oxide crystal coating rests on can resist temperatures of up to 350 degrees centigrade, which is particularly advantageous for a high-heat cooking method such as stir frying.

5.  Scratch resistance.  The layer of silicon-oxide crystal that rests on top of it is extremely thin.  Even with modern day utensils humans are not able to peel off the material.  This makes the surface between the silicon-oxide crystal and ceramic very compact and difficult to scratch.  Furthermore, it means that, unlike most cookware, the Lotus Rock is metal utensil safe, making it very convenient to use in a busy kitchen.

Summary

Lotus Rock, with its excellent PFOA/PTFE-free non-stick silicon-oxide crystal coating, is ideally suited for use with a stir wok.  The heavy steel gauge and thick ceramic coating provides a Lotus Rock stir wok with amazing heat retention and dispersion, meaning the food is never steamed but instead always seared.  Easy-to-clean, metal utensil safe, with 350 degree heat resistance, a Lotus Rock stir wok can be used in a kitchen for as long as a cast-iron wok.

Background

Until the 1960s nearly all cookware in most households around the world was either cast iron, copper, or stainless steel with no coating on the cooking surface.  This began to change in 1954 when Marc Gregoire, a Frenchman, applied a coating which contained a substance called PTFE on a pan.

The rise of Teflon

The new coating, called Teflon, became a worldwide hit among consumers who wanted a more hassle-free, easy-to-use cookware item.  In western society Teflon became a household word, so well-known that it was given as a nickname to politicians who seemed able to survive any disaster with their reputations unblemished – for example Tony Blair was known as ‘Teflon Tony’.

However, the Teflon brand’s credibility (like Tony Blair’s political career) began to suffer in the late 90s when it was found that if the coating was applied under too much heat the PTFE, which provided the non-stick release in the coating, would breakdown and emit toxic fumes which would kill birds and possibly be damaging to human health.  There were also complaints that the coating would peel off after extensive use.

The emergence of ceramic coatings

Therefore, in the late 00’s coating manufacturers, such as Greenpan and Whitford, began to develop ceramic coatings, which were seen as a healthier alternative to Teflon because they contained no PTFE.  At first ceramic coated pans were a huge success, because not only were they seen as a healthier alternative to PTFE-based coatings, but they also looked very attractive with their cream and white colour.

However, after intensive use by various customers all over the world it was soon discovered that although ceramic coatings didn’t have any health concerns, they were affected by some serious quality control issues.  The biggest difficulty with ceramic coatings was that after sustained use the silicone oil inside the coating would dry out and the non-stick effect would become redundant.  Customers were therefore paying for cookware utensils with a non-stick release which would not, in some cases, last longer than a year.  In addition, it was also discovered that the colour stain and scratch resistance of ceramic coatings was not as good as previously thought.

Stone-finish cookware

Some cookware manufacturers responded to this by producing items with a stone finish.  Although these cookware items still contained some PTFE, they at least had a stronger, more durable appearance than lightly coloured ceramic coatings.  And yet, although these new coatings did appear to have a stronger construction, the stone finish was misleading, because they were not metal utensil-safe and, like every other non-stick coated cookware, intense use eventually degraded the coating, either wearing it away or reducing the non-stick release.

What next?

So by early 2013 there was a significant gap in the market: consumers wanted a high quality cookware item without possible health concerns (such as those associated with PTFE), a non-stick effect that would last for at least a few years (unlike ceramic coatings), and a pan which didn’t just look scratch-resistant but really was metal utensil-safe.

It is for this reason that the popularity of Lotus Rock cookware has risen exponentially in the last couple of years.  As you can see from the table below Lotus Rock has various advantages, all of which either match or exceed the existing competition in the market place.

Lotus Rock cookware is now sold in all 6 continents of the world, from the USA, to Venezuela, to various European countries such as the UK, Italy and Turkey, to South Africa, Australia and Hong Kong.  There are various reasons for this sudden popularity, but one of them is the natural, non-toxic, durable non-stick release.

Why does Lotus Rock have such a unique, long-term, and effective non-stick effect?

All Lotus Rock items contain a thin layer of nano-silica, which is lipophilic (fat-loving).  This coating, which rests on top of a thick ceramic layer, is permeable to cooking oil.  At the beginning of the cooking process the consumer must add cooking oil which then infiltrates the surface of the cookware.

By permeating the surface of the cookware the oil is able to rest inside the nano-silica, thus creating a natural, long-lasting non-stick release which, unlike all other general coatings, won’t significantly worsen over time.  Thus by the simple act of adding oil before cooking the customer creates a physical non-stick surface, perfect for a high-quality cooking experience – similar to cooking on uncoated cast iron, except that with Lotus Rock no re-seasoning is needed, so the customer need not worry about rust.

For China: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNjg3MTU1MTYw.html

For the rest of the world: http://youtu.be/eFWfQB8OyFg

Lotus Rock has an excellent, natural non-stick effect, for long term use without any PTFE included.  As you can see in the video, not only does the fried egg release easily but the heating effect is evenly spread and fast, thus creating a delicious, crispy taste.

I thought I would start our first blog about Lotus Rock with some reviews from consumers who have actually used the product.  Lotus Rock cookware is currently sold in the USA on a website where consumers often read reviews of the product before they make a purchase.  In this way it doesn’t matter how great the marketing is of the product, the quality of the cookware will always be the most important factor in whether or not it is a sales success.

On this website the Lotus Rock 20cm, 26cm, 30cm frying pan and 24cm crepe pan are sold.  The handle for each of these items is our own designed Zurich professional forged, stainless steel handle.

Lotus Rock Frying Pan

These are heavy, but not as heavy and awkward as cast iron.

Good for pan frying and pan searing and especially good for chops, steaks, frittatas and other foods that you want to finish in the oven.

Easy to clean and a good value.

Nick – Bay Area, California

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these pans. So great to have non-stick without the coating chipping and flaking. I feel guilty every time I use metal utensils. These are so GREAT, I ordered another set for me!!

Anonymous – Pensacota, Florida

These pans are great. the best non-stick pans I have ever purchased, they wipe clean and heat evenly, and they look terrific.

Bill – Magna, Utah

Although I’ve only just gotten these pans, I’ve used each of them at least once, and I love them! I had to replace my old, no-longer-nonstick pans, and, with growing concerns about nonstick coatings, I was looking for something safe but not quite as heavy as my beloved cast iron.

They’re a tiny bit heavier than my old nonstick pans, but not much – just enough that they feel substantive. They’re not too heavy, not too light, but Just Right.

And metal utensils! I almost felt naughty using a metal spoon to stir with! The ceramic nonstick coating is (so far) holding up beautifully, though I only just started using them.

Overall, I’m very happy with these pans and look forward to using them often for a long time to come.

Kris – Greece, New York

I purchased the small pan for my husband. He cooks up scrambled eggs every morning as part of his breakfast ritual. The stirring he does for those eggs every single morning was too much for every other pan I have purchased. This pan appears to be the one. Very well built with a great surface and instructions on how to keep it in great condition. First cooking experience was perfect only time will tell how it will hold up, but I am very pleased.

A lucky wife – South Carolina

These pan’s are excellent. I like the fact that they have a bit of weight to them. The non stick surface seems bullet proof, they heat evenly and cleaning is a breeze.

Anonymous – Oregon

I love this pan. It works great with my induction stove top. I enjoy cooking stir fry with less oil as well as making omelets with no sticking what so ever.

Cocoa66 – Dover, Ohio

Lotus Rock Crepe Pan

This is the most versatile pan I have ever used and it is just the right size. The biggest bonus is easy clean-up and the stay-cool handle. It is just perfect for eggs over easy, scrambled, or omelets, hash brown potato patties, two to three hamburger patties, sausage patties, toast buttered sides of hamburger buns, and more and more. I have yet to try crepes! Love, love, love this pan!

Barbara – Illinois

This pan is heavier than I anticipated and seems to be well made. I’ve only had it for a week, but it’s been used regularly for heating tortillas which was the primary reason for getting it. I like the construction of the handle on the pan. The overall quality is very good. One day I may even make crepes with it.

Katy – TX

Best pan ever, makes crepes is seconds, also great for cooking eggs sunny side up

Jerry – Cocoa, Florida

My husband loves his new pan..fries his corn meal mush great

Kitchenboss – Monongahela,Pa

Today, we are thrilled to launch our new blog about Lotus Rock cookware and bakeware.

The Lotus Rock blog is the place where food and cooking enthusiasts can meet and better understand this new and highly innovative cookware and bakeware collection. Our goal for this blog is simple: to educate and explain the benefits of Lotus Rock.  In the year ahead and beyond we hope that by sharing our knowledge and expertise about Lotus Rock more people can enjoy the advantages that this unique type of cookware and bakeware can bring to the modern day kitchen.

The most important part of the Lotus Rock blog is you. Our hope is that after reading a post or using one of the various pots or pans, you’ll let everyone know what you think. Share your thoughts in the “comments” section found at the end of each post. This is also the place to chat with us and other readers, ask and answer questions, share tips and stories and give feedback about your Lotus Rock experience. Come join the conversation – we can’t wait to hear from you.