Stellar Beech Woodware

Stellar Beech Woodware, one of the latest ranges in the Stellar Cookware range will be a welcome addition to any kitchen. Stellar products have become firm favourites in my kitchen and the reason is simple – they’re stylish, hard wearing and always functional.

This Beech Woodware range will undoubtedly add style and class to any kitchen table and I was delighted when Stellar sent the pizza paddle and the beechware extendable trivet for review. Two pieces of  kit I knew would be well used in the Wee Pinch of Sugar kitchen.

Pizza Paddle

The pizza paddle while perfect for serving up pizza, also doubles as an attractive board for canapes and it can also be used as a bread or chopping board. The paddle has quickly become a favourite in my kitchen as it really suits the style of food I like to serve. It’s also an ideal size for a large pizza and it makes a great sharing platter for just sticking in the middle of the table for everyone to help themselves.

Its certainly been well used in my kitchen for serving food and apart from its stylish modern appeal, the quality of the beech wood and the durability is what I’ve come to expect from Stellar Kitchenware products.

Stellar Beechware Extendable Trivet

A kitchen can never have enough trivets, well at least my kitchen can’t.  With oak and granite worktops and an oilcloth on the table, I’m always careful about marking or burning the surfaces. The extendable trivet is a real flexible friend. It’s a neat and attractive 14cm square that extends to 21cm. The 2cm depth keeps hot pans and serving dishes away surfaces and will stretch out to hold pans from 14 to 20cm.  The trivet has a smooth finish and extends with partially concealed anodised steel batons.

Other products in the beechware range include a butcher’s block and 5 sizes of chopping boards.

Prices start at £8.40 for the extendable trivet

Disclaimer. Stellar Cookware provided the Beechware Pizza Paddle and Extending Trivet for this review. All opinions are expressed are my own.

Judge Radiant Cookware

Judge Radiant Cookware perfect for the modern home cook.

These beautiful red coloured pans are part of the new Judge Cookware Radiant range designed to satisfy the demands of the modern home cook. The collection is made up of a 16cm milk pan, a 26cm crepe pan, a 24cm chefs pan, 22/24/26 cm frying pans and two stir fry wok type pans – 24/26cm.

I tested the pans with some home cooking and top Scottish chef

Mark Heirs also helped me put them though their paces at the recently held Scotland’s Salmon Festival.

Over the two days the chefs used the chef pan and the 24cm frying pan to cook a wide range of salmon dishes. The Judge Radiant Cookware range is made of thick aluminium and is coated with PFOA Teflon Radiance. This combination provides speedy and most importantly an even heat transfer making it ideal for fast efficient cooking. This really suited the type of food the chefs were cooking and of course one essential was crispy skin on the salmon. It’s easy to see why this range is particularly suited to the modern cook. The chefs pan was used extensively for many dishes; sauces, stir frying and braising and the chefs were impressed with the general performance.

I also tested the pans in the Wee Pinch of Sugar kitchen and as you can see from the images the results were good

Perfect for cooking salmon and of course a crispy skin is essential.

Golden and crispy skin on chicken without sticking to the pan.

Brisket seared and browned with the minimum amount of oil before going in the oven for a slow pot roast.

Features

All pans in the range have matching red soft grip handles, are oven and dishwasher safe up to 150c and of course come with the Judge 25 year guarantee with 10 year on the non stick coating.

Prices

Judge Radiant are a great value for money range – on line prices start at £17 for the 20cm frying pan and the multi use chefs pans pan can be found at £23.

Judge Cookware supplied the for this review. all opinions expressed are my own.

Stellar Hob Top Espresso Maker

Good coffee, especially in the morning is essential in our house and over the years the Gillon boys have amassed a collection of different types of coffee makers. In addition to the standard coffee machines, they have a portable espresso maker, an aero press, an electric percolater, slow drip coffee maker and a bean to cup machine. Interestingly I’m told they are all essential and the Stellar espresso maker is a welcome addition.

Then there’s the essential top quality coffee and sadly as their coffee making skills improved, I was banished from ever grinding beans or making coffee.

The new Hob Top Espresso Maker from Stellar Cookware has offered hope for me.

Easy to use

The stylish polished steel pot holds 400ml and makes 6 cups. It’s suitable for use on all hobs types and the phenolic handle remains cool when in use.

It’s so easy to use and the six cup capacity makes it an ideal size for serving a crowd. The three part pot works exactly like other espresso makers. Fill the base with water, add finely ground coffee to the holder, screw the base and jug back together and its ready to make perfect coffee.

Expresso Cups

The stylish double walled espresso glasses from Judge Cookware are the perfect match for the espresso pot and will have so many other uses. I loved Serving affagato in them but they’ll also work well with other small desserts and starters. The glasses have a thermally insulated air pocket construction so no need for coasters. Hot drinks stay hot and the exterior remains cool.

One of my favourite quick desserts is affagato and the capacity of the Stellar espresso maker is ideal, especially if there’s 6 to be made

Afagatto is so quick and easy to assemble

Place a scoop of ice cream in a coffee cup and pour over a shot of espresso. Serve sprinkled with chocolate curls, chopped hazelnuts of crushed amaretto biscuits.

Stellar Cookware provided the espresso maker and Judge Cookware supplied the espresso glasses for this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Stellar Rocktanium

I’m not sure when I started amassing a collection of pots and pans, but what I have come to realise it the fact that I cannot help myself when it comes to a good pan. I’ve brought them home from holidays abroad, got them as presents and more recently I’ve been happily reviewing pans for top cookware company Stellar Cookware. Good pans are essential in a kitchen.

This month I’ve been testing out two of Stellars’s Rocktanium pans in the Wee Pinch of Sugar kitchen and if you’re looking for new quality non stick pans then this review is for you.

Stellar Rocktanium – Stylish, Versatile, Durable

The stylish and versatile pans have a tough, non stick coating with a distinctive and stylish ‘stone’ appearance. Thanks to a new titanium based formula, Quantanium, this PFA-free coating gives a scratch resistant surface that is claimed to be more durable than conventional non stick.

There are five frying pans in the Rocktanium range and they are available in the following sizes – 20/24/26/28/30cm.

The 24 cm sauté pan comes with a stylish vented glass lid.

The Rocktanium range has been created from thick aluminium with an induction base to ensure even heat distribution; they are suitable for use on any hob type and are oven safe up to a temperature of 210c.

I put the pans to the test on my induction hob with a number of different foods and was impressed by how well they performed. In addition to the non stick performance and versatility I was very impressed by the heat distribution and pans ability to hold heat.

The images below are from actual dishes I cooked for family meals.

The non stick coating is ideal for breakfast frittata and the metal handle allows for the dish to finish cooking in the oven.

When cooking fish with skin on in a stainless steel it can be difficult to get a nice crispy skin that doesn’t stick to the pan. The ‘Rocktanium’ surface was ideal and the salmon cooked with perfect crispy skin and no problems with sticking.

The saute pan is a real winner on versatility. It’s become a real favourite in the kitchen as it lends itself to so many different dishes. With its stylish stone finish it’s also a perfect oven or hob to table serving dish.

I cook a lot of fish in stir fry recipes and curries and again the saute pan is a good choice for cooking this type of one pan dish with no risk of the ingredients sticking to the pan.

Pasta sauces are another quick favourite in our house and the saute pan came out on top for this. Also ideal for adding the pasta straight into the pan to serve.

Browning meat for casseroles is essential and I prefer to do this in a non stick pan rather than a stainless steel pan. No chance of that happening with the ‘Rocktanium’ and also the added advantage of using less oil.

We used the Stellar Rocktanium pans in the Marine Harvest Kitchen Theatre at the recently held Scottish Salmon Festival. Over two days the saute pan and the frying pans performed well with some heavy duty road testing at high temperatures and the chefs were very impressed with the performance. Even after constant cooking and washing by five chefs, the pans looked like new.

The two Stellar Rocktanium pans have been well tested both in the Wee Pinch of Sugar Kitchen and by the Chefs at the Scottish Salmon Festival and did not disappoint.

Stellar Rocktanium come with a lifetime guarantee and a five year non stick guarantee.

Prices start at £25 for a frying pan. Information on stockists can be found on the Stellar Cookware website.

Disclaimer Stellar Kitchenware provided the pans for this review. A ll opinions expressed are my own.