About our products

Q1. Why can’t I leave the food cooked in the pot?
　　　Can I keep the pot in a refrigerator with food in it?

If you leave food in the pot, it may cause discoloration or corrosion of the pot. Please put the food in some other container.
Salt and acid contained in the food may cause discoloration or corrosion if you keep food in the pot. (* Note that leaving food in the pot for a very short period of time does not cause discoloration or corrosion)
Dry it well before putting it away. There is no need to worry even if food is kept in the pot for a long period of time, because any toxic substances are not likely to be produced.

Q2. Can you tell me the difference between a normal pot and a full multilayered pot?

A full multilayered pot is made of layers of aluminum which has high thermal absorptivity and conductivity, and stainless steel with excellent heat-insulation and durability.
Vita Craft cookware is made out of one multi-metal sheet produced by thermocompression bonding using no adhesives, and is the first ideal cookware holding extremely high heat-diffusivity and durability while maintaining the advantages of aluminum (thermal absorptivity) and stainless steel (heat-insulation).
Heat is evenly and quickly distributed to the whole pot, and it is nothing like any other normal cookware which is not full multilayered. Waterless or oilless cooking, oven cooking and residual heat cooking are all freely chosen as you wish because our cookware has excellent heat-insulation.

How to use our products

Q3. The lid sticks to the pot and won’t come off. What do I do?

Re-heat the pot at a little higher than medium heat all at once.
It may take some time for the lid to come off. Do not try to cool it off in water. That would make it harder for the lid to come off.
When you cook using residual heat, or if you steam the rice, wipe drops from the underside of the lid after stopping the heat to prevent the lid from sticking to the pot.
Reheating the pot may cause food to burn if there is only a small amount of water in it, such as when cooking rice.

Q4. The lid sticks to the counter and won’t come off. What do I do?

If a hot lid is left on a flat surface such as an artificial marble kitchen counter, the warm air shrinks inside of the lid when it cooled down, and it causes the lid to stick. Warm up the air inside the pot and slide the lid to a spot where air can get in from the bottom:

1. Cover the lid with a towel and pour hot water over it to heat the air inside.
2. Wet the surface with dish detergent or water to make the surface smooth before sliding the lid to where air can get in from the bottom (edge of the counter, etc.).
3. Use a rolling stick or cutting board (wood or resin) to tap the side of the lid to move it to the ideal spot. Air will get under the lid and allow the lid to come off. Place the hot lid with its top knob down, or on a cloth when placed face down.

Q5. Can I put the Vita Craft cookware in the oven?

Our products with phenolic handles and lids with phenolic knobs are not made to be used in the oven.Use Vita Craft Ultra pots for oven cooking, because they come with removable handles. Simply remove the handle before putting the pot in the oven.

Q6. Can I use Vita Craft cookware for IH (Induction Heating) cooking?

Almost all Vita Craft cookware on the market can be used for IH cooking.
The cookware on the following chart, that was sold in the past, was not IH cooking compatible (except for IH cooking with all metal heating*).
In the case of a multi-layered pot, you can use it if the magnet sticks to the bottom of the pan outside. The magnet may not stick to some single-layered kettles, but it can be used for IH cooking.

Vita Craft series not compatible with IH cooking
(4 digit numbers under the logo on the side of the cookware)

“Vita Craft PENTA-PLY” 5200, 5201, 5202, 5203, 5204, 5207, 5212, 5300, 5309, 5310, 5503, 5504, 5505, 5506, 5508, 5511, 5522, 5512

“Vita Craft Neova” 8102, 8103, 8202, 8203, 8204, 8205, 8301, 8302, 8304, 8400, 8403, 8506

“Vita Craft Neova Gold” 8152, 8153, 8254, 8352, 8453

“Vita Craft Viva” 0512, 0513, 0524, 0532

Q7. How can Vita Craft cookware be used for IH (Induction Heating) cooking?

Vita Craft cookware can be used for IH cooking because of its excellent thermal efficiency generated by its full multilayered structure.
You can cook efficiently even using IH cooking which is sensitive to outside air, because our cookware seals well and has excellent thermal insulation.
Vita Craft Ultra, in particular, is a full 9-layered symmetric structure which has not only thermal efficiency but facilitates IH cooking at 200V because of its durable and warp resistant bottom.

Q8. I can hear noise like a boom from the pot during cooking with an IH (Induction Heating) cooking heater.

The resonance frequency between the pot and IH may generate resonant sound. (You may see the handles of the pot reverberating)
It is not intended to affect humans and or cooking. Change the position of the pot, or re-close the lid if the sound bothers you.

Q9. What do I do when it is boiling over, even over low heat?

Turn it down to a much lower heat. Dumping the water is another way to stop it from boiling over, because there may be too much water or food in the pot.

Handling after use

Q10. How do I clean off ordinary stains?

Use a sponge with detergent. Do not leave the pot after using it, but soak it in water while it is still warm for easy cleaning.

Q11. How do I clean off burned food?

Put enough water in the pot and bring to a boil. Dump the water and scrub the spots with a sponge.

Q12. What do I do to clean off stubborn burned food?

Put enough water in the pot and bring to a boil. Dump the water, put in cleanser, such as Kleen King Liquid, leave it for a couple of minutes. Scrub off with a cloth or nylon scrubbing brush and a couple of drops of vinegar.

Q13. What do I do when there are blue, yellow or rainbow-colored stains?

They will come off with a cleanser such as Kleen King Liquid.
When they do not come off easily, put water in the pan and bring to a boil. Dump the water and use Kleen King Liquid to clean the pot with a nylon scrubber while it is still warm.
Use rubber cloves, etc. to avoid burning your hands. The surface of the stainless steel is covered with a very thin invisible oxide film.
This very thin film prevents the oxidation of stainless steel, but when some substances (such as magnesium, calcium or iron) contained in foods or tap water stick to this film, they appear to be blue, yellow or rainbow-colored stains.

Q14. What do I do when there are white spots or stains at the bottom of the pot?

They will come off with a cleanser such as Kleen King Liquid.
When they do not come off easily, put water in the pan and bring to a boil. Dump the water and use Kleen King Liquid to clean the pot with a nylon scrubber while it is still warm.
Use rubber cloves, etc. to avoid burning your hands. Stainless steel is originally a relative of iron, and “18-8 stainless steel” is an alloy composed of iron, 18 % chromium and 8 % nickel.
Stainless steel is covered with an invisible thin oxide film by the action of the chromium, and this film is the secret of stainless steel.
Nickel stabilizes the oxide film which becomes resistant even to acid. Scratches to this oxide film do not harm this function, because the film is recovered immediately (if it is left in direct contact with the air) by the stainless steel surface combining with the oxygen in the air.
If the surface is not left in direct contact with the air, but covered by moisture, salt, iron, or encrustation, the oxide film on the very spot cannot function, resulting in discoloration, or even corrosion.
Please follow the instructions to prevent such cases.

• Do not leave our products in contact with other metal products such as iron knives or pans.
• Clean completely without leaving any burned food or stains.
• Do not leave food in the pot.
• When you add salt, please stir well to make the salt completely dissolved.
• Dry after using, and do not leave in a wet area.

Q15. Can I put the Vita Craft cookware in a dishdryer?

Do not wash Vita Craft cookware in a dishwasher or dry in a dishdryer.
Reasons:

1. phenolic handles and knobs may be damaged when exposed to high temperatures for long hours.
2. Stainless steel parts are resistant to such conditions. But the outer edge of a multilayer aluminum pot may be corroded from the strong detergent used in a dishwasher.

Customer service

Q16. Handles become loose. What do I do?

Check if the handles and the pot are well attached. Use a screwdriver to fasten them.
If the handles are still loose after fastening with a screwdriver, or the handles cannot be fastened with a screwdriver, contact us or a dealer.

Q17. Can I actually see how to use Vita Craft cookware to learn about it?

We demonstrate cooking using our products at department stores and in cooking classes.
(* In Japan only)

Q18. Would my warranty be valid without a store seal?

A warranty and a pay stub, or a warranty and a receipt, which show when, what and where you made your purchase, are necessary for your warranty to be valid.
(* In Japan only)

Q19. Can I exchange or repair parts?

Yes.
We have (A) product series whose parts can be replaced by customers, and (B) product series whose parts are replaced by us.

• (A) are available where you purchased our products.
• Please send to us the pot of (B), so we can replace the parts. 2 weeks may be needed to replace parts. (* In Japan only)

Q20. I burned my frying pan. Can you tell me how to use it?

Preheat the pan over medium heat before you put in the food. (2 minutes) If drops of water become balls rolling around in the pan, it is a perfect temperature.
It is ideal to reheat the pan well before you put in oil.

Q21. The bottom of the pot is deformed. Why? Can I repair it?

The main causes are high heat or heating an empty pot. IH (Induction Heating) cooking heaters, in particular, easily overheat the pot, because you cannot see the flame. We will repair it. Please contact us, and send in the pot.
(* In Japan only)