小夫妻 Overcooked 有留意開小夫妻Overcooked既朋友都知道我地係Le Creuset既fans，屋企有成超過30件既Le Creuset廚具同碗碗碟碟，足以每餐飯都淨係用佢。我地知道有d朋友中毒比我地更深，可以屋企儲幾百件Le Creuset廚具，對我地黎講，回頭是岸同中毒更深之間，我地走左第3條路，就係開始探索其他品牌既優質鑄鐵廚具（內心OS: 其實咪又係中毒更深lol），而今次想分享既就係我地用左Vermicular一段時間既體驗同感想，同埋講下Le Creuset同Vermicular既比較。
利申：小夫妻Overcooked既網店依家都有售賣Vermicular鑄鐵鍋，不過我地既分享都係真實用後感，因為我地相信只有俾到真實既內容讀者，小夫妻Overcooked先可以走得更遠。
Our readers must have known that we are fans of Le Creuset and we possess 30+ units of Le Creuset cookware/ tableware which is very sufficient for us to only use it in every meal. We know going forward we may end up like many folks who have hundreds of items of Le Creuset at home but for us, we think it’s the time for us to explore other premium enamelled cast iron cookware brand. That’s when we came across Vermicular and in this article we would like to share our experience of using both brands.
Disclaimer: in Couple Overcooked’s online shop, we are selling Vermicular’s cookware. However what we are going to share is our genuine experience. It’s our belief that only by providing genuine content can Couple Overcooking be walking a longer journey.
小夫妻Overcooked的Le Creuset & Vermicular Sharing
我地既Le Creuset珍藏晒冷，依度有媽咪鍋、buffet、圓形鍋、琺瑯鋼鍋、平底煎鍋，仲有一系列既餐具。LC一個好強大既賣點就係佢有好多種唔同既顏色可以選擇，好容易買下一件買下又一件，買買下就成屋都係orz 想睇多d可以去我地分享LC經驗既文章睇睇。
當初買Le Creuset都係被佢外型吸引，可以煮完直接連鍋上碟，又美觀又方便。而且我地試過用佢黎整無水蒸既食譜之後，發現鑄鐵鍋並唔係得個樣，佢保溫、鎖水同不沾既特性係好特別既功能，可以用無水蒸煮出好好味既美食，有關無水蒸，我地亦寫過一篇長文去介紹更多。
This is our Le Creuset range of collection. You may see a Marmite, a buffet, a round casserole, a enamelled steel pot, a skillet and a number of tableware here. A very powerful advantage of LC is its availability of a wide range of colors. It’s very common for families to buy a lot of its items before realizing that. For details you may take a look at our previous LC sharing.
Not only is LC cookware beautiful, the heat insulating, water retaining and non-stick properties of it also makes it a tool for making waterless steaming dishes.
Le Creuset既配件豐富程度都係令人入坑越黎越深既一大原因，我地用既碗碟餐具就唔洗講，就連我地兩隻貓梵高同墨硯既飯碗都係LC心型碟
The abundant range of accessories of LC is also a big reason for us to have bought many items of it. Even our cat bowls are from LC.
至於我地現時既Vermicular收藏就無鋪到成台都係咁誇張，依度主要有22cm圓鍋、14cm圓鍋同埋26cm平底鍋。Vermicular既設計上帶自然清新既感覺，拎上手睇，每件鍋具既造工細緻，亦有細節位去提升煮食功能性（下面講多d），依點係我地好鍾意既地方。
On the other hand, our Vermicular collection is with less items. Here we have 22cm and 14cm round pots and a 26cm frying pan. The design of Vermicular is in natural and earthy tone. When you take a closer look you will find out the craftsmanship being exquisite. What we like most is its thoughtfulness in design where plenty of details for enhancing its functionality can be found. We will elaborate below.
值得一提既係Vermicular既周邊配件（手套同隔熱墊）都係好美觀，連埋個鍋放出黎好似件珍藏品咁。
The accessories of a Vermicular pot (pot holder and trivet) look beautiful. This is also what we like about it
品牌背景 Background
唔知大家會唔會去到一個鍾意廚具既程度，係會了解埋廚具品牌既歷史同背景，係度都同大家分享少少。我地覺得一個品牌既背景同抱負，或多或少都會投射到產品本身，而去到好似LC同Vermicular依類收藏級別既廚具，品牌背後既故事都會係有趣既了解對象。
Have you ever liked a brand to an extent where you would also learn about its background and history? We think that the background and vision of a brand would, in a certain way, project to the products it makes. For premium cookware like LC and Vermicular, the stories behind the brands are interesting subjects to study.
Le Creuset
Le Creuset品牌係1925年就成立，至今已經差唔多係百年老店，係佢未成立既時候，當時法國既廚具都係以實用性為主，大部份用色都係黑黑灰灰，絕少有廚具品牌會以外觀作為主要設計考慮。當時Le Creuset既兩個創辦人，一個係鑄造專家，一個係琺瑯專家，就覺得用色大膽又實用既廚具可以走出一條新既路，結果佢地就係法國北部小鎮大弗雷努瓦開左間工場，並鑄造出鮮艷橙色琺瑯既「flame」色作為頭炮，當時推出市面大受歡迎，奠定左品牌成功既基礎。
所以打從一開始，用色繽紛已經係Le Creuset既DNA入面，接近百年後既今日，走入Le Creuset既鋪頭，見到既都係色彩多樣，琳琅滿目既琺瑯鑄鐵廚具，難怪客人買完一件，又想再買多件唔同顏色既。買廚具買到好似集郵咁既體驗，Le Creuset可以話係開創左一個先河。
Founded in 1925, Le Creuset was born at an era when cookware was generally utilitarian in nature. Majority of the cookware was in black/ grey tones which provided a very good chance for Le Creuset to tap into the colorful cookware market niche. The two founders, a casting expert and a enamelling specialist, established their first foundry in the town of Fresnoy-le-Grand in Northern France where they casted pots in the signature “flame” color. The rest is history.
So from the beginning colorful design has been in Le Creuset’s DNA. Almost a century later, when we enter a Le Creuset outlet we can always find new variants of cookware. In terms of making cookware collectable, Le Creuset has really done something avant garde.
Vermicular
Vermicular我地聽就聽左好耐，不過一直未有入手，因為本身都係覺得佢係另一款唔同樣既鑄鐵鍋，但細心了解之後發現佢都有唔少值得欣賞既細節，結果用下用下我地都好鍾意佢。
Vermicular產自日本愛知縣，出廚具既歷史比較新，2010年先發佈第一款鑄鐵鍋，但公司既前身土方鑄造所，成立於1936年，本身係做重型機械油壓臂，係一間以技術精準見稱既機械鑄造廠。後來因為重工業市場萎縮，土方鑄造所既後人就帶住家傳既鑄造技術創立左Vermicular。
日本物產豐饒，自古以黎日本人都不斷鑽研點樣以最能夠帶出食材本身美味既單純調理方法去處理時令既食材。承繼住依種精神，Vermicular鑄鐵鍋係整個研發過程都係思考點樣可以對食材唔施加多餘壓力，單憑細火慢煮，去突出食材鮮味。整個鍋既設計細節上都有好多地方朝向依個設計理念，再睇落去我地會介紹多d。
就咁睇品牌既故事，大概都體會到Le Creuset係要將高質既鑄鐵鍋透過豐富既顏色將收藏廚具既快樂帶俾客人；而Vermicular就專注係鑄鐵鍋既造工，令佢成為功能性更強既煮食神器。係使用兩個品牌鑄鐵鍋既時候，我地唔多唔少都感受到背後咁樣既設計理念，好有趣味，以下都同大家再分享多d。
We have heard about Vermicular for quite a while but didn’t really have one. We used to think that it’s just another cast iron cookware brand. However, after some study we started to appreciate the thoughtfulness of the design.
Vermicular has its origin in Aichi-ken, Japan. While its first oven pot round was launched in 2010, the Hijikata family’s foundry has been renowned for its capability to cast and machine iron with extreme accuracy. When the heavy industry in Japan went downtrend, the later generation of the Hijikata family launched Vermicular with the casting skills they acquired.
Lands of Japan are rich and desirable. For centuries Japanese focuses on bringing out the original flavours of food when they come to cook. Inheriting this spirit, the design of Vermicular round pot is a journey of reflecting how to make a pot that can bring out the umami of food simply by cooking it slowly on stove. Details of the pot are pointing towards achieving this goal and we will share more below.
我們的Le Creuset與Vermicular使用旅程 Our Journey
我地既Le Creuset旅程啟自依個媽咪鍋，依個款用黎做第一個鍋其實亦相當適合，因為用佢黎炆野或者整圖中雲吞雞咁既湯品都得，而且成鍋上台感覺亦相當體面。
而有左第一個鑄鐵鍋，開始了解到無水蒸依種全新煮食方法之後，我地就明白鑄鐵鍋唔單止係得個樣既玩意了。有功能又好睇，shut up and take my money!
This is our first ever LC pot – a Marmite which is ideal for braising food or making Wonton Chicken Soup as shown. Food looks beautiful when served together with the pot.
With this first cast iron pot, we came to realized the cooking method of waterless steaming. Then we knew that a cast iron pot is more than good looking. It can actually make better food!
我地第二個買既就係淺鍋，用黎無水蒸鱔、雞翼、蝦等等，依個咁淺既設計就大派用場！
Our second pot from LC is a buffet. The shallowness makes it very useful for making waterless steamed eel, chicken wings and prawns etc
而Vermicular既鑄鐵鍋主要都係圓鍋設計，比較深，我地會用佢黎煮份量較多食物，而用佢黎做無水蒸魚都係相當正，因為可以成條企身咁蒸，兩邊魚身受熱更平均，食起上黎亦更方便，因為唔洗翻轉。用22cm圓鍋用黎整魚fit晒。
On the other hand our Vermicular’s pots are deeper. We use it for larger portion food or it’s a great idea to use it for waterless steamed fish because the fish can stand alone in the pot so that it’s more evenly cooked. The 22 cm round pot fits for cooking fish.
至於之前有講Vermicular其中一個主要特色係佢鑄鐵鍋既功能性，依度都講講佢有咩設計令佢更能夠帶出食物鮮味。簡單黎講，Vermicular思考過點樣可以令鑄鐵鍋更好咁應用唔同傳熱方式去帶出食物鮮味：
傳導－鍋底既坑紋係用黎托起食材，減少鍋底金屬同食材接觸，減少熱傳導帶俾食物過多熱力
對流－鍋體鍋蓋打造至0.01mm極度氣密，冚蓋後真係郁佢都感覺唔到虛位，咁可以更有效鎖住蒸氣，保留食物水份，依個係我地覺得Vermicular手工出色既展現。而蓋上亦有集水釘，都係可以減少烹調時既水份流失
遠紅外線－Vermicular表示佢地鑄鐵鍋有三層琺瑯塗層，加熱後可以有效咁發出遠紅外線，令食物結構受較少破壞，鮮味更突出之餘，亦更能夠保持食物營養。小夫妻才疏，都要上網搵多d資料先可以嘗試介紹到依點，簡單黎講就係遠紅外線穿透力強，亦較接近食物有機粒子既共鳴頻率，可以極快速令成舊食物裏裏外外都加熱起黎，唔洗等熱力慢慢由外傳導到內，所以食材可以更均勻受熱，整體既口感同味道都更一致
再講落去就變科學文章，有興趣了解多d就自己睇睇依篇講紅外線處理食物既文章（注意：劇毒，大把時間無地方用先好睇），而係資料搜集既過程，我地發現原來日本有個遠紅外線協會…知識少限制了我的想像…
Vermicular既鍋有咁既技術深度俾我地了解到更多廚具可以應用既技術，其實依件事對我地黎講好有趣﹐而話說回來，咁既技術深度對實際煮食效果有咩提升？我地留意到最明顯既係煮無水蒸菜式所保留既水份真係多d，至於再細緻既比較，就要下次黎個apple to apple既測試先可以分享更多。
So we mentioned that Vermicular is designed for better functionality, here comes more. Basically, Vermicular is designed to hack different ways of heat transfer for better bringing out umami inside food
Conduction – There are ridges in the bottom to reduce the contact area of food with the pot. This is to get rid of excessive heat transferred to the food by conduction
Convection – The pot body and lid are handcrafted until they fit at a 0.01 mm accuracy which maximizes water retaining ability of the pot
Far Infrared – Vermicular points out that their pot is with 3 layers of enamel which can effectively emit far infrared during cooking. This helps reduce damage to the food structure during cooking so both the original flavor and nutrients inside food can be better preserved. We tried to find out more about this point and we came to learn that far infrared can penetrate the food easily, it also resembles the vibrating frequency of organic food particles. This helps heat up the food simultaneously as a whole and create more even flavor. You may find out more about this from this science article but we don’t really recommend to read…
It’s quite interesting to learn about the technical part about Vermicular but what does it imply to actual cooking? To us, the most obvious thing is that more water is retained when we make waterless steaming dishes. For more details, we may have to make an apple to apple comparison next time.
依個LC 18cm圓鍋就係我地煮飯既良伴，用鑄鐵鍋坎飯，原理有d似日本人用土鍋黎煲飯，口感更飽滿結實，有興趣可以睇睇我地之前既介紹！
This is our 18cm LC round pot. We like using it as rice cooker. Using cast iron pot to make rice is a bit like making rice by a Japanese clay pot by which rice is in more fluffy texture. You may take a look at our previous article
用黎煮二人湯都好好用，依個係港版韓式泡菜豆腐鍋
It also fits for making soup for 2. This is Korean Kimchi Tofu Soup in Hong Kong Style.
而後來我地就轉用左依個Vermicular 14cm圓鍋黎煲飯，2個人既飯量岩岩好
Later we switched to use this Vermicular 14cm round pot for cooking rice. This is the ideal dimension for making rice for two
14cm其實係好細個，好多人都覺得無乜用，但我地反而好鍾意，佢除左可以煮飯，用黎處理小份量既無水蒸菜式都超級好用，仲可以用黎整梳乎厘等既甜品
Many would think that 14cm is too small to have any function but we actually like it. Apart from making rice, we can also use it for making small portion waterless steamed dishes or desserts like soufflé
然後都介紹埋我地兩個牌子有既煎鍋，依個Le Creuset既skillet可以煎到牛扒有好靚既格網坑紋，我地好鍾意慢煮牛扒完就用佢煎返靚個面
由於儲熱性極強，將鍋加熱到油出煙，放塊扒塊去每面煎一分鐘，話咁易就煎到餐廳級賣相既牛扒！
Let’s also take a look at the pans we have. This Le Creuset skillet can sear grid pattern on the steak. We like to sear our steak by it after sous vide it
至於依個Vermicular既26cm鑄鐵平底鍋我地就用得比較多，除左用黎炒野（例如乾炒牛河），就連平時煮個蕃茄炒蛋咁都會用佢，因為佢外觀好靚，可以成個鍋放上台，而且鑄鐵鍋可以一路暖住食物，咁就無咁易放涼
This Vermicular 26cm enamelled cast iron frying pan is used more often. Not only we use it for stir frying food (like rice noodles with beef), we use it even if we are just making a simple dish like Scrambled Eggs with Tomato as shown. Food can be nicely presented in it and the pan can also warm the food all the way until we finish eating
有一點有趣既都想分享，片中個鍋以中火燒左30秒左右，然後加一匙水落去，水份就咋一聲咁蒸發左大部份。Vermicular話隻鍋有「水份瞬間蒸發」既特點，用佢黎做小炒，可以令食物表面乾脆，中間仍然鮮嫩多汁。依點同樣貫徹品牌出品有技術深度既風格。
Another interesting point to share. In the video we heated the pan for ~30s, we then added a spoon of water in. Water evaporated simultaneously. A Vermicular pan comes with this “instant evaporation” character. Using it for stir frying can help creates a crisp on the food surface while the inside is still juicy.
總結 Summary
對好多人黎講，廚具既重要性係在於可以可靠實用咁煮到好味既食物俾心愛既人，而對小夫妻Overcooked黎講，了解廚具背後既品牌故事同收藏精美既廚具，就為我地在家煮食既經歷增添額外既樂趣。
Le Creuset同Vermicular都係俾到我地依種額外樂趣既廚具品牌，我地享受使用Le Creuset，因為佢色彩繽紛，為餐桌增添上唔少生氣，而可以選擇既產品類型非常廣泛，每次去行鋪都會發現到d新野，總有辦法用佢既產品去滿足我地既煮食需求。
而Vermicular俾到我地既享受就係可以欣賞到佢極出色既日本職人造工，當中佢創造既細節，例如圓鍋既0.01mm氣密同埋平底鍋既水份瞬間蒸發特性，令人印象好深刻，而依d技術又可以令食物既美味更進一步，依點係我地最讚嘆既地方。仲有佢既所配搭既配件精美，每次用鍋都好似用藝術品去煮食咁，依個亦係我地享受用佢既地方。
估唔到寫寫下都寫左幾長篇幅，能夠睇得到依度相信你都係廚具既愛好者，我地都好鍾意同唔同朋友交流下廚/廚具心得，如果你睇完我地既分享都想搵我地傾下計，好歡迎你透過下面既方法聯絡我地！
For many, cookware is important because it can be used for cooking food for our loved ones. For us, understanding the brand stories and having a beautiful collection of cookware are also important because through that we add extra enjoyment to the cooking experience.
Both Le Creuset and Vermicular give us this extra enjoyment. We like LC because it’s colorful and it makes our table more lively. Also its product range is very wide which never fails us when we go to their outlets for exploration.
On the other hand, we highly appreciate the exquisite craftsmanship of Vermicular. The technical details of the pot and pan are impressive and the casting techniques can translate into better tasting food which is amazing. Also the collection of accessories is good looking which elevates the using experience to an artistic level.
If you are interested in sharing your cooking/ cookware using experience with us, feel free to reach out to us via the channels listed below!
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利申：小夫妻Overcooked既網店依家都有售賣Vermicular鑄鐵鍋，不過我地既分享都係真實用後感，因為我地相信只有俾到真實既內容讀者，小夫妻Overcooked先可以走得更遠。以下係我地既Vermicular開箱文，有興趣可以睇睇：
Disclaimer: in Couple Overcooked’s online shop, we are now selling Vermicular’s cookware. However, what we are sharing is our genuine experience. It’s our belief that only by providing genuine content can Couple Overcooking be walking a longer journey. Below you may also find our Vermicular unboxing article:
我地又入坑了 Vermicular 2款鑄鐵鍋開箱連簡單試用 Unboxing Vermicular Pot and Pan
另外，仲可以睇睇小夫妻Overcooked的LC故事
Also you may take a look at our LC story
入坑經歷分享 我們超過30件的Le Creuset收藏 Happy Sharing of Our LC Collection
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