Christopher Kimball’s Kuhn Rikon Durotherm Casserole at Sur la Table

Christopher Kimball’s new line at Sur la Table hit the shelves last month and I am loving the items I have tried so far. Be sure you read more about these quality products and enter our giveaway for a chance to win a copy of Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street: The New Home Cooking, a  Traverse Power Whisk, and a $50.00 Sur la Table gift card! 

Today, I am back to tell you about the Kuhn Rikon Durotherm Casserole. It was the first piece that caught my eye and particiularly this sentence: “Revolutionary DUROTHERM double-wall construction saves up to 60% energy by requiring less heat and cooking time, and keeps food hot for up to two hours for stress-free cooking – no need to reheat.” 

As I stated in my original post, one of the issues that causes me anxiety when entertaining is keeping a meal hot while waiting for others to get to the table. This piece lessens that worry considerably. I am resharing this from the Sur la Table website:

“This state-of-the-art casserole comes with interior quart markings for precise measurements, a removable heat-retaining base that protects our surfaces, two ergonomic side handles for easy transport, and delicious recipes to take full advantage of the cookware. The double-wall insulated stainless steel pan and lid lock in vitamins, minerals and flavor by circulating moisture to the middle of the pan. Meals will cook consistently thanks to the even browning and rapid heat absorption of the Superthermic solid aluminum sandwich base.”

I always judge a pot by its weight. Quality, sturdy pots with some heft are my preference. This product passed that test. My second requirement is style – it has to look good. This one is a beauty so much so I really didn’t want to break it in. I wanted to preserve that new shiny pot look. But I caved and have used it twice now. 

For Easter this year I made my stove-top macaroni and cheese in this beauty. Before I talk about that I want to point out a few things. Read the instructions before beginning – specifically as the pot is double-walled there is no need to cook on high heat. You are able to obtain the same results at a medium temperature. But most importantly remember to take the base off before using. The latter tip seems obvious but if you have a lot of balls in the air, it might slip your mind as the trivet base locks in well and you may forget to twist it off. 

The water boiled quickly at medium temperature and I cooked my pasta. After draining the pasta, I started my cheese sauce and pulled everything together. I used the Traverse Power Whisk to make my bechamel. It does get into those corners better and made quick work of the sauce (and it looks great too).

About 3 p.m. the macaroni and cheese was finished and piping hot. At 4:30 p.m. we sat down for dinner and I am happy to say the mac and cheese was very warm – almost hot. I had left the pot on the stovetop as I finished the rest of the dinner preparation so that may have contributed to it staying so hot. Today, I used the pot to make Marcella’s Tomato sauce with onion and butter – it has been slowly simmering all day. 

This is an incredible piece of cookware – for performance, style, stove to table serving – it hits all the marks. The Kuhn Rikon Durotherm Casserole would make the ideal gift for a wedding shower, busy family who needs that extra assurance that dinner remains warm and waiting and for someone who entertains – potlucks, game day parties and the like will all be easier with this vessel.

I am using the gorgeous photos from Sur la Table on this post because while I wanted to take photographs on Easter – our guest showed up over an hour early and threw me off my game. I should add that the pot cleans up perfectly and comes with a Swiss cleaner but I used plain dish soap and dried it well.

Thanks to Sur la Table for providing me with a sample of the Kuhn Rikon Durotherm Casserole for review and to Kuhn Rikon for sending me the Traverse Power Whisk. I have my eye on the Christopher Kimball pop-up steamer/colander with the adorable bow ties for Mother’s Day.