Ease of Use: Tramontina Saute Pan

   

The Arthritis Foundation’s Ease-of-Use Commendation recognizes products proven to make life easier for people who have arthritis and other physical limitations. These products are independently tested by experts and evaluated by people with arthritis. I have been asked to review a number of Ease-of-Use products during May, Arthritis Awareness Month in the US. My mother, who has osteoarthritis in her hands, is helping by testing some of these products, as well. 

The full name of this product is called the Tramontina All Generations10”Covered Sauté Pan - Porcelain Enamel Nonstick. Which is a bit of a mouthful, but it is a very high quality product which entitles it to toot its own horn.

The details of this product according to the packaging are as follows: it has larger handles for a comfortable grip, which along with the lid fixtures have a soft-grip black silicone grip, making it easier to… erm, grip. The handle is also larger, allowing for more comfortable (again) grip. And while we are talking about handles, there is a "helper handle" on the pan for extra support when moving, serving and cleaning. The pan itself has "Teflon Platinum Nonstick" coating, making for easy cooking and cleaning. There is also a tempered glass lid, allowing you to check the contents while you're cooking. It's dishwasher safe and comes with a lifetime warranty.

 

I have attendants who do the cooking for me, so I passed this one on to my mother. As the pan is recommended for "one pot meals," she set about making one of those. It involved a pork tenderloin, onion, mushrooms and tomatoes and was quite yummy.

As a piece of cookware, this is very high quality stuff. It is very well made and cooked like a dream. And my mother knows from cooking - my dad used to say she was a chef and I agree completely. My dad also used to have a frequent flight of fancy involving opening a restaurant where my mother could cook the meals and he’d wander about, chatting with guests and being the gracious host. My mother used to accept the compliment about her cooking, but shot him down in flames about the restaurant. Repeatedly

As a piece of cookware for people with arthritis, the reviews are more mixed. The larger handle with the silicone grip is an excellent addition - my mother has both osteoarthritis and a touch of neuropathy in her hands and found this very helpful. As well, the "helper handle" which allows you to use two hands to move the pan around is also a wonderful idea.

The primary problem which we both identified the minute we saw the pan and attempted to move it around is the weight. This is a heavy piece of equipment. My mother didn't find it too difficult to move around, but she has a lot of strength in her arms. She lives in a building with a lot of senior tenants who with age have become weaker and more achy, She was convinced that many of them would have trouble lifting the pan. As for me, even if I did my own cooking, I would not be able to lift this at all. I believe people who are fairly young and/or strong or who have well-controlled disease or a milder form of arthritis with not too much damage would find this a terrific product. People who have severe disease activity or damage might find it too heavy to be useful. 

Other bloggers involved in reviewing Ease-of-Use products are Felicia Fibro, Peachy Pains and Dog in the Dorm: Life with Holden.