Customer Reviews

CorningWare French White 5-Piece Bake and Serve Set

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This product is not the original pyroceramic Corningware, which is what most people think of when they hear the word "Corningware." It's not bad for what it is, but you need to know what it is not.

The original "French White" Corningware was made of Corning's famous pyroceramic glass, which could be used on the gas stove, put directly in the freezer, put under the broiler right from the freezer, and oh yes, also used in a microwave. And it was very unlikely to shatter if dropped. If you pounded on it with a hammer and nail you might have gotten it to break.

When World Kitchens bought the license from Corning, they decided to halt production of a line of cookware that would take anything and last forever, and dupe customers, especially brides, into thinking the stoneware "French White" was the same thing as the wonderful French White pyroceramic cookware previously available to their mothers and sisters.

The pattern is very attractive and can be used with any decor, and they do offer many sizes, but this stuff is not, repeat, really not, what people mean when they say "Corningware."

Le Creuset can do most of the above mentioned, but it being metal you cannot use it in the microwave. Stoneware cannot go on top of the stove, and repeated trips from the freezer to the oven will eventually cause it to craze and crack. And stoneware will also chip, and break if dropped, etc. Pyrex glassware cannot go on the gas stove although you can take it from the freezer to the oven, and also microwave it.

The only product which could do anything was pyroceramic, and World Kitchens has chosen to remove it from the market because it is "too good."

They have recently brought back a few of the old square shapes, with the Cornflower, or plain white, calling it "vintage," but the French White shape is not making an appearance yet. If you want it, email them and ask for it!

Meanwhile, get Le Creuset for cooking and roasting and baking (yes it is expensive but it lasts forever and cooks beautifully), and reheat things in Pyrex in the microwave.

Other than the lid not fitting on the casserole dish its like warped...but great casserole set