Xtrema has long been a non-toxic cookware innovator, honoring centuries-old tradition in ceramic construction to craft pans perfect for a 21st-century cook. This cookware is the only option we know of on the market relying entirely on ancestral, traditional ceramic to naturally become nonstick when preheated properly — no coatings whatsoever. So if you’re looking for the best ceramic cookware, Xtrema is a great place to start.
While the nonstick performance may not be quite as slick as that of conventional PFAS-laden nonstick cookware, the time-tested safety of Xtrema products is unbeatable (and well worth the tiny sacrifice in your nonstick results).
Now, after nearly 20 years as an industry change-maker, Xtrema Cookware has just launched an all-new line. The new Founder’s Classic Collection blends top-notch performance with a nostalgic aesthetic, all inspired by time-tested tradition.
The Founder’s Classic Collection
The collection includes three skillets and three saucepans, united by a sleek fluted edge inspired by Ancient Greece. The classic touch lends an heirloom quality to this chic cookware.
“Each piece is hand-made. From the time the artisan starts to form that product from the time that it’s actually put in a box, it’s a 22-day process.”
Rich Bergstrom, Founder of Xtrema Cookware
“It’s a whole new look,” says founder Rich Bergstrom of the new design. “It’s gonna appeal to a younger audience, with a sophisticated, classic look to it. We’re really excited about this offering.”
Pure Ceramic: A Centuries-Old Story for the 21st Century
Xtrema is no stranger to marrying modern innovation with centuries-old tradition. In fact, this mission is at the very core of its business model: Xtrema’s technology is rooted in Chinese ceramics craftsmanship, taking full advantage of centuries of innovations in pure ceramic cookware.
Bergstrom has dedicated over 47 years to mastering the art of cookware that departs from more familiar metal bases. Before founding Xtrema, he spent over two decades working with CorningWare, a brand of cookware made with a pyroceramic glass laminate. This formulation made it perfect for stovetop use, but the pans, he recalls, were far from nonstick.
“CorningWare was a great product, however glass is not a very good conductor of heat,” he says, “so when you put it on top of the stove, it would stick and get really hot spots.”
By 2002, he recalls, CorningWare had been off the American market for two years. “There was a real void in the marketplace,” he says. It was then that he became aware of a new clay-and-oxide material coming out of Taiwan.
“It would not only function on top of the stove from a thermal standpoint — it would absorb the heat energy and retain that energy, but the performance… food would not stick on top of the stove with this new material!” he says.
Producing Xtrema Ceramic Cookware
In 2007, after three years of testing, Bergstrom launched Xtrema, becoming only the second brand in the world (after French brand Emile Henry) to craft a stovetop-safe pure ceramic cookware completely devoid of the metal, plastic, PFAS, or coatings that may leach into your food.
“Each piece is hand-made,” he says. “From the time the artisan starts to form that product from the time that it’s actually put in a box, it’s a 22-day process.”
To produce the cookware, Xtrema turned to facilities in Chaozhou, a Chinese city rich with 8,000 years of expertise in ceramics, china production, and more.
“The best ceramics in the world have always been made in China,” says Bergstrom. “There are, I believe, 2200 factories, in the city of Chaozhou alone. And I don’t know if there’s 2200 factories in the rest of the world that make ceramics.”
The New Collection Reaches into the Past
Never one to rest on his laurels, Bergstrom has spent the past two decades improving his ancestral formula for better performance.
“From when we first started making Xtrema back in 2007, we have been tweaking our clay formula and our glaze formula to make it so it has better thermal properties,” says Bergstrom. “So we’re always upgrading our material, our clay material, fire clay, as well as our glaze.”
So while the launch of the new Founder’s Classic Collection does represent the continuous advances from Xtrema over two years of development, the key upgrade is the cookware’s gorgeous new aesthetic.
“It gives a level of sophistication, a classic design going back to Rome and going back to Greece, the Parthenon, and all of those different buildings and structures.”
Rich Bergstrom
Given current trends among Millennials and Gen Z rooted in nostalgia, it’s no surprise the company has opted to tap a more classic look — literally. Bergstrom explains they took inspiration from the fluted columns of Ancient civilizations to create one of their best ceramic cookware sets yet.
“It gives a level of sophistication, a classic design going back to Rome and going back to Greece, the Parthenon, and all of those different buildings and structures,” he says.
What’s In the Collection
The new Founder’s Classic Collection has launched with six new products: 1-, 2-, and 3-quart saucepans, and 7-, 9-, and 11-inch skillets. There’s also the option to purchase the Founder’s Classic Skillets individually.
“Xtrema can go in the oven, on the stove, in the microwave, in the toaster oven, in the steamer oven, in the refrigerator, in the dishwasher, in the freezer. No other cookware can do that.”
Rich Bergstrom
Each piece is made with a deep black ceramic base, which Bergstrom explains is “ideal from a performance standpoint. We retain that thermal property.”
Aesthetics aside, these pans boast all of the benefits of Xtrema’s technical prowess, moving effortlessly around your kitchen. “Xtrema can go in the oven, on the stove, in the microwave, in the toaster oven, in the steamer oven, in the refrigerator, in the dishwasher, in the freezer,” says Bergstrom. “No other cookware can do that.”
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Exclusive code: Use code OA15 to save an extra 15% off your order at checkout.
