I have just moved into a new house that has a glass Euromaid freestanding. It is new, and I have used it about three times. I took the tray out of the oven to use it and popped it on the cooktop at the back. I went to turn on the water at the front to boil it and I have accidentally turned on the back element. The glass melted where it was touching the trayand when I have taken it off a huge chunk of glass ceramic has been taken out of the cooktop. $900 to replace the glass! I’m sitting with a decision but I’m leaning towards replacing the stove which is absolutely ridiculous giving that it’s a brand-new stove! Of course Euromaid want nothing to do with it!

Slick, Facebook does it all. My wife and I were pitched last Saturday. The meal was okay, only because there was fried chicken "mashed" potatoes and corn and peas. The rest either got eaten by my wife (a very close "cousin" to a pure Vegan) or tossed out. I've read this entire thread. Thanks to all who contributed, but especially to Dan the "resident chemist" (retired). Anyone who has purchased any of these extremely expensive pots and pans is thinking differently about money than I/we do. But hey, money is a tool. I won't find fault with, or mock, anyone for spending their money however they want. We were given the "acid" test too, and the saleslady really wanted us to concentrate on what was happening as we moved from the tip of the tongue to baking soda, to the SM brew, then a SS brew and finally to the brew bubbling in our aluminum Teflon coated (with scratches) fry pan. Eeew! Yes, the SM brew was like tasting liquid baking soda. The SS brew was like licking ferrous metal, and the scratched Teflon and aluminum was like tasting poison. We were expected to withdraw from our own kitchen utensils in horror and pick a SM pots and pans set immediately. My wife only scheduled our "free" dinner on the chance that she would get the SM hand shredder, or maybe even want to buy one. But, the danged thing won't handle kale. It just wiggles right through all the shredding cones. She was really hoping to save time on the chopping of her daily kale with a knife. So the saleslady lost us on that disappointment alone. The over-priced items. The skepticism I instantly had over the boiling baking soda "test". And finally the Net providing good information. This thread is the Bomb! Thanks again. I specifically wanted information on the baking soda gimmick and the concentrated information contained in this years-long exchange has been most appreciated. So, Salad Master is still at it. But their methods are so "old school". The Net provides everyone with instant reality check at their fingertips. I can just see someone pulling up this thread "in situ" while the "soda test" is going, and reading off Dan's educated denouncement of it. That, would be funny! I bet it's happened already more than once.

Wow funny this thread is here...My sister and I share the holidays now (Thanksgiving and Christmas) We both own china service of 12 but of course different patterns...Anyway we usuallay seat between 24-30 so we use good quality paperplates (YUK!!) so we decided were gonna buy a good set...we like the traditiinal Lenox Christmas with the ribbon and holly and this morning i was online and came across Corelle's holiday dishes...granted its not China but the Lenox will run us at least 4000.00 and the Corelle 500.00 and we wont have to cringe everytime someone makes a move at the dining room banquet table!!! Big fan of corelle and the holiday patterns are beautiful. Think were gonna go this route I emailed them to ask if they had and plans to make ones for Thanksgiving....My dream for sometime now is to purchase JOHNSON BROTHERS AUTUMN MONARCH!!!!!! Will buy at some point off Ebay or Replacement Ltd i think Hubby will choke me LOL!!!

I have many pyrex pieces and use them daily. I don't have trouble with loaf pans sticking, but I do grease and often use parchment paper, too, when baking. My pyrex is older. I believe the exploding issue has been with the newer pieces and the vision line. I have many pieces of the french white Corningware and love it, too. I've had it long enough that I don't think it was made in China. I have both a Calphalon anodized aluminum set (not the non-stick) and many pieces of stainless steel (All Clad and others) and love both. The cast iron pieces are heavy, but the dutch ovens are great for roasting. The beauty of the skillets are they are non-stick without having any non-stick coating if they are cared for properly. That said, some people don't want to deal with the weight for a skillet that they use daily. I'm not sure I have answered any of your questions. I think it is a matter of trial and error to find what works best for you.