DaTerra Cucina Made in Italy 13 inch Wok and 8 Quart Dutch Oven Review and Giveaway

***Please feel free to scroll down straight to the review part if you want to skip this beginning part on different pot/pan materials.

Just like my quest last year to look for the “best” material and cutting board, I was set on another little journey to find the best material for non-stick pans. I’ve looked at many (usually through Amazon since it’s where I shop these days, read & compare reviews). There are pans that are made from materials that range from aluminum, cast iron, stainless steel and ceramic! I’ve read that aluminum cooks quickly, but can leech into food. I’ve read cast irons were a good choice being non-stick, but I find it incredibly heavy. I read that often times, non stick pans come coated in things that are not so good for you such as materials that may not be free of lead, PTFE, PFOA and Cadium. Healthline has a pretty good comparison of what the materials are, along with the pros and cons of each.

On the Amercian Cancer Society Website, they state the followikg about PFOA:

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is part of the World Health Organization (WHO). One of its goals is to identify causes of cancer. IARC has classified PFOA as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” (Group 2B), based on limited evidence in humans that it can cause testicular,  kidney cancer and limited evidence in lab animals.

They also ask:

Should I take measures to protect myself, such as not using my Teflon-coated pans?

Other than the possible risk of flu-like symptoms from breathing in fumes from an overheated Teflon-coated pan, there are no proven risks to humans from using cookware coated with Teflon (or other non-stick surfaces). While PFOA was used in the past in the US in making Teflon, it is not present (or is present in extremely small amounts) in Teflon-coated products.

The World Health Organization (WHO)’s definition of lead and cadium :

Source: https://www.who.int/ifcs/documents/standingcommittee/lyc_09.pdf

I am not a professional researcher or scientist, but I do like to read and research things before I buy something… especially things I use daily to cook for my family and that will be touching the food I cook everyday. Essentially, PTFE and PFOA are man made plastics. Based on my reading, there isn’t anything significant enough I guess to say that they arent safe for cooking; however after reading about Teflon Flu and how people can experience flu like symptoms or deal with it possibly getting into your food if it gets over heated, that info is compelling to me enough, to say that I wanted to find a safer material to cook food for my family.

Without further adue, here is my full honest review on the DaTerra Cucina Wok and Dutch Oven below!

DaTerra Cucina Wok and Dutch Oven Review

After all my research, I came upon DaTerra Cucina’s line of ceramic cookware while I was searching for a skillet that was lead free. What I was first drawn to was how attractive the pot and pans were. They did not look like what I’ve seen being made out of stainless steel, aluminum or cast iron– I really appreciated the slim modern look and the attractive silicone grip and glass silicone lid. I’ve never seen a pan set with a lid like that before, nor a handle– not to mention that their interior reminded me a lot of the background of my Hopscotch Mom Logo I created when I first started my blog.

The first pan I have ever purchased from DaTerra Cucina was their 11 inch skillet two years ago to replace my then Teflon and the stainless Cuisinart pan/skillet. The stainless steel was relatively new and supposedly non-stick, but everything stuck to it! The Teflon worked pretty good with the non stick, but I felt as if scratches were easily made in it– especially since I’m the type of hearty cook that cooks almost all day and puts all sorts of stuff in her pans from tomato sauce, vinegar , soy sauce, stews and all and the bottom peeled so often I think I must’ve went through 2-3 of those Teflon pans.

Their skillet is the longest lasting pan we’ve had to date. I must say I over used it and had mostly stainless steel spoons and spatulas on it and it was still working week for over 2 years. I think it would last forever if I used the proper recommended cooking utensils to cook.

I love the silicone grip in their glass lid and how gorgeous it is, however I noticed a little bit of water trapped right under the handle where the handle connects to the lid. I asked them to share their thoughts on it And they said they meant to leave it that way so that when tilted, the little residual water in there would drain out when it is drying. It’s true that it eventually drains and it doesn’t effect what’s cooking inside my pan at all, so that would definitely not be a reason not to try it. The screw connecting the lid can be tightened if needed- but I haven’t had to. I must also point out and wonder if the reason they have for not completely tighten it, is to prevent the glass lid from shattering? I must’ve encountered 2 other brands of glass lids in the last that crack entirely when I use it to cover a pan. This glass/silicone lid I’ve dropped once and even so, there was no shatter or broken glass at all.

I have now used the Dutch Oven and Wok regularly for everything I cook, almost every meal for more than once a day and it’s been over a month and it’s still working good as new. Now that I’m using proper cooking utensils on it and treating it with even more care than my first, I notice the difference.

I absolutely love their ceramic cookware because I feel safe using it and am really impressed with all the “homework” they’ve done, creating such a line of cooking pieces that I can use daily and guilt free. I found it intriguing that the natural nonstick is actually made from forged volcanic mineral coating— how cool is that?! I didn’t even know you could make materials out of things that came out from volcanoes.

I was honored when DeTerra Cucina agreed to send me their 8 Quart Dutch Oven and 13 inch Wok for honest review! After using their skillet for 2 years, I was thrilled to be cooking in these two new beauties!

Here are some reasons we love them:

– Made in Italy

-PFOE Free

-PTAE Free

– Lead free

-Cadium free

– Non-stick made and Volcanic ceramic coating

– Sandblasted Aluminum base for optimum conductivity

-Oven Safe formula to 450F

-Dishwasher safe!

-Silicone grip for glass lid with silicone seal

– Silicone grip for handles

Below are some photos of what I’ve made in them:

Lobster and Shrimp Boil

I used DaTerra Cucina’s Dutch Oven for the seafood boil and it was able to fit in 1.5 lbs of shrimp, 1 large thick piece of kielbasa, 5 small lobster tails, a handful of baby potatoes and 2 corns broken into halves . Ok, it did fill all of it, but I definitely tested it’s limits! I took out some of water from the pot to prevent overflow.

Japanese Sweet Potato Tapioca

Tapioca is always sticking together and to the bottom of the pan . Every time I’ve made it in the past, it has a habit of clumping if I don’t stir frequently enough and it ends up sticking to the bottom of the pan. This wok I first used to steam the sweet potatoes. After steaming until soft (about 20 minutes), I rinse the wok quickly and use it to heat up the coconut milk, sugar and water for the tapioca. I add the cooked sweet potatoes at the end once the tapioca is done cooking. Whatever non stick volcanic coating they use is truly AMAZING! Makes me brave and want to cook everything– a true non stick! You can find a similar purple yam and taro recipe here.

Mushroom with Sage, White Wine and Butter

This mushroom method was discovered when my husband sent me some of Franks Prinzvilli’s methods on Instagram. The seal from the kid was perfect for this recipe as it pretty much requires a quick stir fry and then you just keep the lid on for about20 minutes to let the mushroom milk happen.

Garlic Stir fried Kale with thyme and white wine butter

We bought a box of mixed herbs from Fresh Direct the other day and wanted to make use of them. This was easy, tasty and a quick side dish sautéed on the wok.

Japanese Sausage Fried rice using Kielbasa

Fresh fried Fried rice loves to stick to pans, especially if you are using fresh cooked rice to cook it, rather than frozen or leftover rice. Not with this wok.

Zero

Sticking.

The onions, peppers, kielbasa sausage glides gloriously through and through the pan.

Wontons

Wontons anyone? They bubbled and cooked evenly in the Dutch Oven. I share my most versatile wonton recipe here.

Eggs

I cooked so many eggs on this wok! It just slides around, even with minimum oil. I think I may take the challenge one day and attempt to cook something with no oil at all on this wok, and I’m counting on it to still be non stick! This egg, I had put a spatula under and as you can see, no holes or tears.

Vietnamese Porkchops

I haven’t gotten around to writing the post or recipe for this yet, as it was my first go at it. I was too tired to take out the Vitamix to puree the lemongrass to make the paste for it, so I ended up just finely chopping it. All I know is that this was one thing I marinated and held my breath for when I cooked because every time I cook something with a sweet marinade (about half of this marinade was brown sugar), it sticks to the bottom of the pan and ends up getting somewhat burnt. There were no burned parts on these pork chops. If you, like me, tend to burn things that have been marinated in sweeter marinades, give this wok a try. It’s so easy to cook things in and I don’t need to check on it as often as I do with other pans. For some reason, I feel it works even better than teflon. I wish there was a more scientific way to explain this, but it feels as if it regulates it’s heat so well that it never gets too hot (as long as the pan isn’t cranked on the highest setting).

Pasta with Meat Sauce

I make my pasta different most of the time. Sometimes I add peas and/or carrots and sometimes it’s strictly just onion, garlic and meat with salt and pepper and tomato sauce/ marinera sauce.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Good old comfort soup, chicken noodle soup! The DaTerra Dutch oven perfect for soups. You can cook your broth down and still have ample space to add in your noodles.

Boiled Okra

The 8 Quart Dutch oven is perfect for cooking a family size serving of vegetables! I served okra with Japanese Curry that evening (chicken tenders for Japanese Curry is frying up nicely in the wok next to the okra).

Pan Fried Crispy Potatoes

This was the first 11 inch DaTerra Skillet that made me fall in love with their ceramic pans! Found this photo and just had to share!

Take-out Style Fried Chicken Wings

This chicken wing recipe is my dad’s. It’s flavorful and so easy to make. The secret ingredient here is using.hot sauce as the marinade. Surprisingly, when you get it, it isn’t even really spicy (but I suppose that would depend on what brand of hot sauce you use). I haven’t taken out my deep fryer after I’ve gotten this wok. I used to find it easiest to use the small deep fryer I have, but the whole setting it up, washing and having to put it away after, deters me from taking it out unless I’m cooking enough for a party or something along those lines. This DaTerra Woo works marvelously for frying anything! I used them to run up chicken the other day to make chicken tenders for a Japanese Curry I made!

Chicken JapChae (recipe to follow- Korean Mixed Vegetable Noodles made from usually sweet potato starch!)

Another recipe in which these bouncy, chewy noodles always stuck to the on, but it didn’t here.

Pork Green Chili Stew

I already shared my tomato based chili recipe on my blog, that I made for Olivia’s Thunderstorm party last year, but made my first green chili recently using cans of fire roasted jalapenos with my signature combination of pigeon peas and kidney beans that are Staples in my.my house-sitting we eat a lot of beans!

Filipino Mussel and Corn Soup (recipe to come)

Pan- fried Cauliflower

Miso Soup

Miso Soup is a family favorite here! I don’t ever recall there being one time.that the girls ever said they weren’t in the mood for miso soup. This large pot holds enough for a family of five and with lots of room to spare and would hold enough for a small dinner gathering or girls yield an extra quart or two to share with friends or family.

Why did I Choose DaTerra.Cucina for my Hopscotch Mom Turns Two Giveaway?

I chose to partner wirh DaTerra Cucina for my two year giveaway this year because I feel like my main focus this year was on food and family.

Yes, I posted lots of food recipes last year too (maybe more than this year even), but this year I felt a connection to food even more when it comes to being myself, as an individual and learning about myself and my family, through the food I make them.

I learn about food I crave and miss before I had kids; I learn about foods that have become my children’s favorite and their top requests, especially when they are feeling under the weather or the joy they express when they get to bring a snack home that was from their school that they are so eager to share with their sisters.

Though my husband and I don’t have too much time to go out on dates these days, I feel like we get to live through or “dates” again by either me finding new recipes or him, requesting interesting recipes that he’d love to see me try.

I feel where there is food, there is love…love towards my self discovery on what I used to like, what I don’t like anymore or what new ingredients and recipes I discover and create and make every recipe I make with my love and heart.

The DaTerra Cucina Pan I’ve come to love even more now that I got to try out more of their line of ceramic cookware. If you read their inspiration for the reason behind how their line came about, it comes down to: family, learning, traveling and eating together. You can read more about them on their website ( DaTerraCucina.com)

I really appreciate the safety, quality affordability and design of their line; and how they family put their hearts into creating this line.

Right now, they have a 15% off sale that will last until Sunday, so please take advantage of that by using code StayHome15 either on Amazon or on their website. They also have amazing deals on bundles. If you are torn on which one of their pans to try first, I asked and they said that their favorite item from their line at the moment is probably their wok because of how versatile it is! I agree with them- great for cooking and perfect size for soups and to deep fry things (not as wide or heavy as many other woks). Sometimes it cleans so easily that I just wipe it down as I would, with a cast iron— it sears meat just as good as a cast iron!

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