Review: Ozeri Green Earth frying pan

One of my fondest memories and most wonderful occasions of the year growing up was Shrove Tuesday... My mum had a small frying pan that was to be used exclusively for pancakes, and she swore by it. My mum made an excellent pancake, flipped, tossed and scoffed. I inherited this pan when mum passed away and I confess that it was no longer used exclusively for pancakes. Students don't wash up often enough or have the foresight to tell their housemates/boyfriends that they own a pan exclusively for pancakes. I carried on using that little pan but unfortunately it no longer made for a good pancake and it ended its worldly life earlier this year. 

So, I was over the moon when I was offered the opportunity to review the Ozeri Green Earth frying pan which just so happened to be the size of my old pancake pan, 20cm/8"... I just had to hope it made a good pancake.

First impressions of this little pan were good. I'm no pan expert, but it's weighty, without being so heavy you struggle to pick it up one handed, and I consider weightiness to be a good feature in a pan. The handle, which is silicon coated, has a slight curve to it, which makes it comfortable to hold, and it seems to be really well secured to the pan (this was my husband's first observation too - what a man!). The pan comes in an attractive lime green colour (the only colour available I believe) and is pleasing on the eye. So far so good.

Ozeri provide clear instructions on how to care for your pan, including seasoning and washing the pan, so without further a do I followed the instructions, which were written in simple english, gave it a good rub with olive oil and took a couple of minutes to take in the rest of the 'bumpf' as I call it. The pan is oven and induction stove friendly, a versatile piece of kit! 

The Green Earth Pan is greblon coated.  This means that the ceramic coating is not only non stick and super durable but it's also eco-friendly, releasing no nasties into the atmosphere while being cooked with. I must admit that I wasn't aware that any pan could be releasing nasties while cooking, but I guess there's something a teeny bit altruistic about cooking greener. At least there is in my head. It also boasts a textured surface which has thee functions; stops food from sticking, makes it easier to clean and helps create air pockets which distributes the heat under the food to improve cooking. Big claims. 

Aesthetics and weightiness aside, the proof of a good pan MUST be in the cooking, so I decided that there was only one thing for it. Pancakes. Cooking a pancake would test it's non-stick coating and it's claims to distribute heat underneath the food evenly. I did nothing different in my preparation of the batter or the pan than usual and I can only report good things. With virtually no oil in the pan, the pancakes curled away from the edge of their own doing as they cooked, allowing me to flip them with ease with no need to ease them from the sides. There were no crispy edges that got stuck and burned meaning that the pan needed to be cleaned before the next ladle of batter went in. The colour of the pancakes were even, and the textured nature of the surface of the pan left the pancake with an attractive mottled pattern - not particularly important, but quite cool none the less! They cooked quickly and the whole experience was pain free... And D will tell you that my old pan had left me in several pancake related meltdowns. As I served dinner, my first remark to my D was "this is a really good pan. I really like it". First impressions count for something. This pan is clearly excellent for pancake making but great for eggs or bacon for a family of three... That's my weekend breakfast sorted! 

I guess the other proof of a good pan is it's longevity. How long does it remain non-stick? How long does the coating last? How long until the handle drops off? Well, time will tell, I suppose, but I think a good quality piece of kitchenwear performs from its very first use. 

There were only two minor snagging points for me. Firstly, the end of the handle closest to the pan did start to get quite hot to the touch while I was cooking. I suspect that this is the downside of using a smaller pan however, as obviously the handle is closer to the heat source than with a slightly larger pan. Just worth bearing in my mind when in use, but I doubt this is a problem exclusive to this pan. Secondly, while I love the fresh lime green colour, my kitchen is adored with blue, blue and more blue and I would love this pan even more if it came in a selection of funky colours, although I appreciate that the colour of the pan fits beautifully with Green Earth, eco friendly branding.

The Ozeri Green Earth Pan (20cm/8") has an RRP of £39.95 although it is currently available on Amazon UK for £24.95*. Having never bought a pan myself as all of ours were inherited or wedding gifts, I did a little research into comparative pans. £40 seems reasonably average and certainly not unreasonable, and it's current price strikes me as a really good deal. 

So, this for me is a 5 star pan and a superb piece of kitchenwear. While I currently have no need for bigger pans, I wouldn't hestitate in splashing out on the larger pans in the range if I needed them in the future and would 100% wholeheartedly recommend these to a friend. Thank you, Ozeri, my mum would be thrilled with this replacement for her Shrove Tuesday shenanigans! 

Moderna Housewares kindly supplied the above product for free for the purpose of review, however all opinions are my own and completely uninfluenced by any other party. *Prices correct as of 15/10/2013.