Review Stone Wave

I was invited to review the Stone Wave Microwave Cooker and agreed to do so. The company sent me a sample for review. My only obligation was to provide a fair and unbiased review whether it be positive or negative.

I received the product today and immediately put it to the test. After washing the cooker in warm sudsy water ( it is also dishwasher safe) and drying it, I purused the recipe "book" that was included in the box for a quick and easy recipe that would allow me to get my first impression of the cookware. I choose the first recipe in the book... a poached egg.

Here is the recipe, verbatim:

"Poached Eggs
Put about 1/4 teaspoon of water in the cooker. Crack an egg into the cooker. Add salt & pepper to taste if desired. Place on lid. Microwave for 20 seconds (on high). HERE"S THE TRICK... Leave it in the microwave and wait 20 seconds to let it all set. Cook again for 20 more seconds and remove from microwave. If you want cheese, sprinkle finely shredded cheese on top as soon as it is done. Simply place lid back on for 45 seconds and the cheese will melt nicely. No need to place it back in the microwave.

Cooking tip... Seasoning food with salt and pepper or other herbs and spices before cooking will make the food taste better than seasoning after cooking."

So that is exactly what I did. The yolk of the egg was cooked solid, not exactly what I"d call poached. There was some egg white that was still liquid and not cooked. The cheese was mostly melted. To be honest, the egg tasted fine and was OK. But I'm not so sure I saved any time cooking it this way as opposed to whipping out my frying pan and cooking it in there instead.

But the key point here is that the egg did not slide out of the cookware. It was stuck to the inside... not terribly badly but it definitely did not slide out even when I tipped the entire crock upside down and shook it.

To be fair, this is a nicely manufactured stoneware crock. The handle did not get too hot to handle in my little egg cooking test. I actually like this little thing and will experiment with some more of the recipes. I'm just not convinced how much more convenient it is to use this instead of a regular pan. Perhaps some of the other recipes would be more forgiving and not stick to the inside of the crock. Time will tell I guess.

Oh the perils of advertising hype. Had this Stone Wave Microwave Cooker not been advertised as "non-stick" I would have given it a higher rating. But it was clearly not "non-stick" in my test so I have rated it accordingly. If I had sprayed it with cooking spray, I'm sure it would have then been non-stick. But that isn't supposed to be necessary.

I guess my biggest reservation is whether this is clearly superior than the microwave compatible dishes and containers I already have... do I really need this? That's a question only you and I can answer for ourselves.

Happy Microwaving!
Review from Mr Erb.Thanks for watching.