Longaberger's pottery is vitrified, which is why it's so durable. Vitrification is a process that begins with the very clay that the pottery is formed with, it involves such a high firing temperature that the clay actually begins to turn into glass.
The fact that the pottery is vitrified means that it is stronger than typical stoneware so that it can resist chipping, cracking and crazing (cosmetic cracks that still allow the piece to be used). Vitrification is also the reason that Longaberger pottery is safe for the dishwasher, oven, microwave and freezer. The process is also what makes Longaberger pottery so smooth and glassy, so cleanup is a cinch!
Longaberger pottery is done with a mold, but it is finished to remove the seams so that you can't tell, it is a hand touched, quality finish. Much of our pottery today is made in china, but we do have an American Made Fine Dinnerware line as well. It is currently in the plans to bring all of our pottery to American production. Any pottery made by Chinese suppliers will feature a blue and white CCIB sticker on the package which means that their factories are inspected and certified to be lead-free and that they perform regular lead-release testing on the products they import to the USA. So that means that Longaberger pottery is completely lead free. Longaberger also performs additional testing to certify that we meet FDA safety requirements as well as California Proposition 65 standards
Care and Usage Ideas:
-Longaberger pottery can be used in the oven, for best results please make sure the pottery is room temperature before putting it into a hot oven, you can move refrigerated pottery into a cold oven. This is due to the fact that our pottery is oven safe, not oven proof.
-If you place your pottery into the freezer or oven prior to serving, it will keep cold foods cold or hot foods hot, we also sell oven bricks that you can put in the bottoms of baskets to keep warm things warm.
-Longaberger pottery should not be used on the stovetop, under the broiler or over an open flame, avoid extreme temperature changes Longaberger pottery is fired at temperatures in excess of 2000ºF, It can sustain any temperature your kitchen stove can dole out, but it must be heated evenly, which is why it can't be heated on the stovetop or under the broiler.
Integration:
-Longaberger pottery coordinates extremely well with our baskets, which means that protectors can be filled with ice and pottery nested inside for a chilly server, or the pottery can serve as dividers between dips and chips.
-Pottery that has been heated up to 400ºF Can be safely placed directly into Longaberger Baskets,
-Pottery that is 300ºF or less can be placed directly into baskets with liners
-hot pottery should never be placed directly into a plastic protector
Cleaning:
-For baked on goods, allow the pottery to soak in hot, soapy water and clean with a non abrasive scouring pad
-Metal utensils like beaters or whisks can cause black/gray marks on the surface of the pottery because the pottery is stronger than the metal in the utensils! These marks are easilly removed with a non abrasive cleaner like Bar Keeper's friend or Zud
I will be making more posts like this over the coming weeks to talk about all of our Longaberger products :)
-Missy
