6 Comments on “Cuisinart 722-30G Chef’s Classic 12-Inch Skillet with Glass Cover Review
  1. 61 of 61 people found the following review helpful
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    Great pan but quite large, March 19, 2013
    By 
    Eric

    Verified Purchase(What’s this?)
    This review is from: Cuisinart 722-30G Chef’s Classic 12-Inch Skillet with Glass Cover (Kitchen)
    I think that this pan is terrific and the price makes it even better. Some complaints about this product was that the sides feel flimsy. The sides are unquestionably thinner as they are purely stainless steel whereas the bottom is a stainless steel, aluminum, stainless steel sandwich. That being said the sides are still thick enough to not be concerned about. I work with metal routinely and you would have to do some pretty bad stuff to this pan to worry about it warping. All around it is quite handsome and has been fantastic to cook with. My one complaint is that I wish I could have bought this pan in a slightly smaller size but at the same great price and with a lid. For one person this pan is comically large but for a couple or a family this would be perfect.

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  2. 78 of 80 people found the following review helpful
    1.0 out of 5 stars
    I cooked some veggies today. After it was done …, April 7, 2015
    By 
    muro

    Verified Purchase(What’s this?)
    This review is from: Cuisinart 722-30G Chef’s Classic 12-Inch Skillet with Glass Cover (Kitchen)
    I cooked some veggies today. After it was done, I turned the heat OFF, took some on my plate and put the lid on to keep the rest of the food warm. Then after about 15 minutes, I heard the loud BOOM! I freaked out, ran to the kitchen, and saw the glass lid shattered! It’s supposed to be oven safe and this frying pan was on the stove without the heat! If you are buying this product, don’t use the lid! I am returning it and making a complaint to the Cuisinart before someone get hurt!

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  3. 54 of 57 people found the following review helpful
    4.0 out of 5 stars
    Great for the price, July 5, 2013
    By 
    V. Evans (Baltimore, Maryland) –
    (REAL NAME)
      

    Verified Purchase(What’s this?)
    This review is from: Cuisinart 722-30G Chef’s Classic 12-Inch Skillet with Glass Cover (Kitchen)
    I was a bit nervous about giving up my nonstick pans, and as soon as I ordered this I read a lot of blogs about how to cook w/ stainless steel. So far it’s worked well for me. Something I’m confused about is that much of the advice I read says to preheat the pan, but the instructions say not to heat the pan up w/ nothing in it. Indeed, it makes a sound like it’s buckling when it gets hot (It doesn’t look like it’s buckling though). This is at medium heat or slightly lower, and I have a gas stove. I’ve been using that sound as my cue that it’s preheated and I the fat to the pan at that point, food shortly after. So far I’ve used this pan to carmelize onions, sear turkey cutlets, scramble eggs, and make fried rice, and there’s been a little sticking but nothing a short soak doesn’t take care of. I didn’t have $$$$ for a more expensive pan and figured it was better to have a cheaper pan to learn on anyway in case I ruined it. I’ve been happy with my choice.

    Updates:
    I have since made pancakes and quesadillas in this pan and it has definite hot spots, those things did not cook evenly. (Maybe that is normal for this type of cookware, I don’t know.)

    I also wanted to add that I make eggs in the pan all the time -from a dozen scrambled to a single fried – and never have any sticking as long as I follow the routine: start from a clean pan, preheat, cooking spray, then add the eggs. Much better than my nonstick pans ever were.

    Because this pan is so huge, I’ve been using it for chili and taco filling I would previously have done in my dutch oven.

    I’ve also noticed that the buckling sound I mentioned in my previous review doesn’t happen anymore, and the pan is still in perfect shape. Still happy with my purchase!

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  4. 126 of 131 people found the following review helpful
    4.0 out of 5 stars
    Emeril 10 Inch Cast Iron Skillet – Great Product, With The Proper Preparation, March 22, 2009
    By 
    Mark (East Coast) –
    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)
      
    (VINE VOICE)
      
    (#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)
      
    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)
      

    The Emerilware Cast Iron 10 Inch Skillet is a very good cast iron skillet for the home cook on a budget. A well-seasoned cast-iron skillet is an essential for anybody that wants to cook beyond the basic level. There are several reservations, which are more based on knowing your needs than any limits with the product. The first thing to keep in mind is that, though most cast iron skillets, including this one, come pre-seasoned, they still need to be seasoned further before you can get the benefits of a nice non-stick surface for cooking. This factory seasoning is definitely a great start, but the main benefits will be that it will prevent rusting and keep your food from getting the metallic taste that is common with completely un-seasoned cast-iron. Some people knock these products for their claims of being pre-seasoned. I give them the benefit of the doubt on that. I have simply never used a pre-seasoned skillet that didn’t need to be really seasoned a few times before it was useful for cooking purposes.

    The second consideration is regarding size. It is pretty common to make the mistake of looking at skillets and their prices and choosing one that is simply too large. Cast-iron is heavy, so bigger is not always better. This 10 inch skillet is the perfect size for general use. Even if you choose another brand, unless you are cooking regularly for 5-6 people I would advise you against getting anything larger than 10 inches. The 12 inch skillet is only a few dollars more but that extra weight and bulk will ensure that you will get to use it much less. The larger skillets often crowd out most stove-tops and are harder to maneuver.

    Seasoning is a good deal of work and there is more than one approach. In my experience, you will definitely want to get your oven hotter and do your seasoning longer than what the instructions indicate. I personally think you need to heat your oven to at least 425 degrees, though some people recommend seasoning your pan at up to 550 degrees. No matter what the temperature, you will want to keep your pan hot for the better part of an hour and allow it to remain in the oven for several hours afterwards as it slowly cools. The 30 minutes noted on the instructions are just not going to cut it.

    If you find that food is sticking, even after seasoning, you are going to want to season it again. Seasoning is just meant to speed up the longer term seasoning that happens from cooking in your pan and oiling it consistently over time. Eventually you will reach a nice non-stick surface that will require only infrequent re-seasoning and very little oil for cooking.

    One common benefit of cast-iron is that it will generally produce a more even heat than other types of pans. My only real negative observation about this pan is that I noticed that it ran center-hot, meaning that there was a hot-spot towards the middle of the pan that didn’t exist around the edges. I think with further seasoning this should be minimized, but some more expensive pans seem to have less noticeable hot-spots even before they have been seasoned.

    I had a friend who had a cast iron skillet that I used to marvel at. With no additional oil, that skillet produced great food with wonderful flavor and in less time than other skillets. When I asked how long it took to obtain that wonderful patina on the inside of the surface, their answer was daunting: years of cooking and continuous seasoning.

    Their post-cooking ritual was as follows: first they would slowly rinse out the pan, making sure it was totally clean. Then, they would reheat the skillet to dry it out completely. Finally, they would recoat the inside of the skillet with a thin layer of vegetable oil. Upon further research, it seems like some people substitute mineral oil for vegetable oil. I think it depends on how often you use your skillet, since vegetable oil will go bad if it sits in your pan for more than a few days. Using your cast iron skillet is the most important thing you can do to break it in and start to build a permanent seasoning on the surface. If possible, you will want to spend the first month using this skillet as much as possible. If you use it daily, and clean off the excess oil before each use, vegetable oil should be fine as it won’t have time to go rancid.

    I still recommend this skillet as long as you are willing to do the research needed to properly prepare it for use and care for it. For the price there are few cast-iron skillets that are as good and give you as much of a head-start with the pre-seasoning. Be mindful of the hot-spots and make sure you keep track of how *non-stick* the surface feels after seasoning. If food sticks at all, you have not seasoned the pan enough. With repeated seasoning…

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  5. 145 of 159 people found the following review helpful
    3.0 out of 5 stars
    Okay, but ultimately “made in China” trumps everything else…, March 4, 2010
    By 
    Julia Greer (U.S.A.) –
    (REAL NAME)
      

    This review is from: Emeril by All-Clad E96407 Pre-Seasoned Cast-Iron Skillet Cookware, 12-Inch, Black (Kitchen)
    I purchased this skillet after reading every review here, believing that the negative reviews were probably due to a lack of understanding how to work with cast iron.

    At first, I did like the skillet. I took it through my own seasoning process (even though it was pre-seasoned) and was happy with both the appearance and (more importantly) the cooking qualities the first couple of times I used it.

    I have been using it 1-2 times daily for the two weeks I’ve had it. A cast iron skillet is supposed to become better and more seasoned the more you use it. This one, however, is becoming worse. It doesn’t heat as evenly as my other cast iron pieces, and no matter how carefully I clean and re-season it (I clean with kosher salt and a lint-free cloth, rinse with hot water, towel-dry then heat-dry it, then re-season with oil), the “seasoning” is becoming more and more uneven.

    I had hesitated to buy this skillet since it’s made in China and I don’t want even the smallest chance that there is lead in this skillet. I should have gone with my hunch because now, more than ever, I’m upset at the idea of unknown elements being in this skillet, especially since the skillet isn’t up to par with my other cast iron. I’ve also heard more and more stories of Emeril cast iron cracking… which I had thought initially due to too-rapid heating or cooking, but now I’m wondering if the Chinese cast iron itself is an inferior compound with sub-par “filler” material.

    By point of comparison, four days ago I bought two Lodge 8″ skillets. Of course, after my Emeril pre-seasoning experience, I had low expectations. But I was amazed as I gently washed them for the first time and water actually beaded on the surface and rolled right off. I decided to do something bold and daring, and cooked some eggs in the Lodge — only the second time I cooked with it. Amazingly, those eggs slid right out as if the pan were Teflon — a minor miracle with cast iron.

    I can’t return this skillet since I’ve used it, but I will be buying a Lodge 12″ skillet instead. I’d rather waste my money and KNOW that I’m buying a safe, time-tested, made-in-the-USA item from a company with a longstanding reputation. The Lodge skillet is much less expensive, yet worth so much more… the superior pre-seasoning and the highly reputable manufacturer make Lodge the better deal even if it were higher-priced. Sorry, Emeril, but my vote is with Lodge.

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  6. 82 of 93 people found the following review helpful
    4.0 out of 5 stars
    Voice of reason, January 7, 2009
    By 

    This review is from: Emeril by All-Clad E96407 Pre-Seasoned Cast-Iron Skillet Cookware, 12-Inch, Black (Kitchen)
    If hadn’t looked any further than the reviews here, I wouldn’t have purchased this pan, but the reviewers seemed a little ‘green’ when it comes to cast iron and so I looked around some and ended up buying it. I have to say I am very satisfied.

    First of all, I have never seen a ‘pre-seasoned’ piece of cast iron that was actually meant to be cooked in straight away. The instructions that come with this pan (for those who bothered to read them) recommend further seasoning anyway.

    And yes, it does need further seasoning and careful integration into your cooking setup. Cast iron rewards patience, and this pan is a great big piece of iron, heavier and thicker than the Lodge equivalent and made to last for generations. It also is a bit rough textured for a cast iron pan and you will find that it takes longer to build up a nice slick surface, but it’s far from impossible as has been suggested. Only the years will tell, but my guess is that it will hold on to its seasoning particularly well once it’s fully established.

    For the record, this is the method I use to season my cast iron:
    -Rub a thin layer of lard or vegetable shortening on the pan, inside and out
    -Put the pan in 300 degree oven for 15 minutes, pull it out and pour off any fat that’s pooled in the bottom
    -Put it back in for a couple hours
    -Turn off the oven and let it cool in there
    -Repeat this process a few times afterward, but in a 450 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour
    -If the pan is sticky when you’re done with a seasoning, you didn’t cook it long enough

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