Japanese enamel ware

[_john]

Recently Muji released a new series of enamel food storage containers. Most people who live in Japan know about the iconic dark green and white enamel ware that has a long history. Now there are only a few companies still making enamel ware in Japan. Most notably Noda Horo

I'm thinking of going all enamel ware in my kitchen. Do any of you have experience using enamel ware? Does it have any advantages over stainless steel? The plastic lids/seals commonly used seem like a major weak point. Any enamel ware with a non-airtight lid that that is made entirely of enamel ware?

Muji

Noda Horo

Classic Japanese enamel ware

[Dakki]

What kind of enamelware? Cast iron or steel?

I'm moderately familiar with both.

Enameled steel is cheap cheap cheap and more or less the default cooking vessel in Latin America. Most people will tell you it is utterly useless but I think it's OK as long as you can deal with throwing it out when the enamel chips, exposing the underlying steel so it can rust. Frankly stainless is superior.

Enameled cast iron is a whole other kettle of fish. It runs from quite expensive to laughably expensive but IMHO it can't be beat for braises and other slow cooking methods. It has all the properties of "naked" cast iron plus a non-reactive surface, so it holds heat well but conducts it badly. You also should not expose it to extremely high heat, unlike regular cast iron. I'm under the impression that the enameling is different from the sort used on enameled steel, as it has a different appearance and doesn't chip as easily, although you should definitely care for it.

I wouldn't want to go all anything in my kitchen. Different materials have different properties that make them better for different things.

[_john]

This post was mostly about enameled steel. not for cooking but for storage and prep. Not as cheap as you would think a small storage container cost about US$7.

[Dakki]

Ah, my bad. I should have noticed when you mentioned plastic lids.