Pampered chef stoneware - hygiene

[deepfriedcupcake]

I'd quite like to get a baking stone and have been thinking of getting one from a friend working as a pampered chef consultant.

Everyone seems to rave about the stoneware but I'm just a bit wary of the washing side of things from a microbiology point of view.

I've been told / read that you need to season the stoneware by oiling or by cooking fatty foods for the first few uses, and the residual oils/fats coat the surface. You then wash with hot water but no soap, scraping off any food and then air dry. The oils gradually darken over time and create a non-stick surface.

I'm certainly not over the top on things being spotless but I am hesitant about not using soap at all and wonder how this sits with residual oils & bacteria.

Does anyone know anything about this?

I ignored all of that and dishwashered it and nothing bad has ever happened even though people keep telling me it will be ruined.

I'm glad to hear that! Dishwashering it seems to be the most criminal thing you could ever ever do according to some, but it's usually our one criteria for any new kitchen stuff. This would have been my one of my few exceptions as I'm really getting into baking bread & pizzas.

Surely the heat of the oven would kill more bacteria than the dishwasher anyway? I don't use soap on mine.

I love my stoneware.
I have now binned all metal baking trays.

However, I used washing up liquid on mine a couple of times, as I generally ignore all this type of instructions, and one day it cracked whilst in the oven!

I didn't realise it was the washing up liquid that caused the problem, until it happened to my replacement stoneware after the first time I used WUL on it.

Now on my third stoneware, have probably had it 3yrs+ and I just swish the dirt off with hot water. It does take a few uses to build up that coating/non stick surface, but it is worth the patience. If you cook something like lasagne in it, your coating will be achieved quicker as it covers the whole of the dish as opposed to cooking salmon fillets on it, IYKWIM.

Order one, they are worth every penny if you will use it regularly eg once a week. I don't do a lot of baking (fat emoticon), but anything that goes in the oven is cooked on one of my stoneware pieces. I use mine 3-4 times a week.

And I have to say, Pampered Chefs replacement policy was truly no quibble. They sent me a replacement dish without any debate, once I had posted them a piece of the broken one. So although it seems an expensive initial outlay, you will have your stoneware as long as the company exists.

Be warned though, once you have one and got used to it, you will want to build your collection up. I have 2 large dishes and find that enough but rarely host for others. But when I get my hands on a catalogue, I suddenly realise how many more I 'need'.

Maybe I'll have a go with the baking stone, see if I get to like it for bread. Still not entirely convinced about the seasoning thing.

I diligently seasoned my medium bar pan, but hated the feel of it - seemed to always feel a little dirty. So have now been dishwashering it for about 2 months and it is lasting up fine. Gets used 3 or 4 times a week to cook sausages/chicken nuggets/oven chips/fish parcels.

I use hot water on a piece of kitchen towel to clean mine. You know if its clean when the piece of towel stays white. I own nearly every piece of stoneware than pampered chef sell! You really don't need to use soap. The scraper will get rid of most of it and you can soak it in warm water for the heavy stuff. Use the scraper before you do anything else otherwise iut gets mucky! Stoneware really doesn't need to go black or be dirty, you just don't need detergent as its naturally oiled and antibacterial by itself.