This review is for a GreenPan, Valencia Collection, 11” square non-stick, induction ready, griddle. First off I have to say I was appalled to find so very few choices for an 11” square, induction compatible, griddle. Even All-Clad, with it's reputation for induction cookware, only offers a non-induction compatible griddle – ridiculous. Let me be clear, I'm talking about a GRIDDLE; not a grill. They are different pieces of cookware. In addition, it was even harder to find one with a good quality, safe, non-stick coating. Finally, I have yet to find a griddle with all these features and an actual insulated handle. In 40+ years of cooking, I've always bought insulated handle cookware as I have never had a need to put any of my cookware into the oven. Cookware, by name, should mean for range top use only, “bake-ware” for oven use and combination-ware (or some other unique term) for dual purpose. I spent a lot of time searching until I finally opted for this particular pan. There were so many matches in my searching that supposedly were “induction compatible”; but further reading often resulted in finding the words “not induction compatible”. If you are looking for induction cookware – check the ad until you are sure it's clearly stated. I initially thought it was great when Amazon sent a notice that I was going to receive this order a day earlier (Fri vs Sat) than scheduled; but on the scheduled morning there was a note on the tracking information that said USPS had already attempted delivery to my rural location at 825am and my box was full! My regular mail delivery has been 3pm or later for many years. I immediately went and verified that my mailbox was empty. That afternoon I received the package notice (after 3pm), with “too large for mailbox” circled, and that I would have to go to the post office to pick it up. When I saw the size of the box the next morning, it was clear it would never have fit in my large USPS mailbox. It then became obvious that the carrier had issued the attempted delivery message already knowing it would not fit; sloughing off their required delivery task. USPS Handbook PO-603 Section 331.21 says the carrier is to attempt delivery as long as the home is within ½ mile of the mailbox (I'm under 300 yards away) and roadway is passable (mine definitely was). Amazon and it's sellers really need to resolve these rural customer delivery problems with USPS. Since there is no choice for who is performing the delivery; the only thing I (we) can do is shop somewhere else. Interestingly, while I was at the post office, two women arrived to pick up their Amazon Prime packages that were not delivered by the post office. I confirmed their homes were also compliant with the handbook criteria. The Valencia's slightly blue-gray, non-stick coating is, well, different from non-stick cookware coatings that I'm used to seeing. I really wished it could have been like the light gray ceramic of my Tramontina cookware set. I hadn't paid much attention to the non-stick color when I ordered the griddle. I was just so happy to finally find an induction, non-stick griddle after hours of searching. The color, when I was looking at it on-line, came across as more light gray than what it looks like in person. It may grow on me; but it's definitely not my favorite. I'm very pleased the pan has an actual 11” across inside dimension and is almost a true square. My old Pampered Chef griddle was sold as 11”; but the inside cook surface is only 10-1/4” and the corners are much more rounded. So now I have plenty of room for the batches of four 5” pancakes I like to cook on the griddle. It will also allow me to cook more bacon at one time – a definite plus. So far I have only used the griddle on my NuWave Gold PIC unit. I bought this griddle and the NuWave to reduce my use of my gas range given the current “concerns” about them. I also wanted induction heating for it's higher efficiency vs a regular hotplate. For my very first use of this griddle I found it was literally like trying to hang onto a greased pig when it was placed on the NuWave. While the bottom of the griddle is a textured surface vs usual smooth bottom of other cookware; there was next to no friction to keep it on the NuWave glass top. Any attempted movement of the food on the griddle required holding and /or re-setting the pan position. (at one point I noticed the cooling fan vibration was slowly moving the pan off center!) I reached the point I'd hold pancakes down with the fingers from my free hand while using the turner in my other hand to flip them. Holding the pan handle didn't work as the pancakes would simply slide all over the pan as I tried to get the turner underneath. These problems decreased slightly as the pan was used more often; but I still have to be careful of it moving on the NuWave. Ultimately, the non-stick coating has been working well, although it is not quite as slippery now as when it was new. I might try to re-season and see if that restores the original, more slippery, conditions. Heating of the griddle on the NuWave is fairly quick taking about 4 to maybe 5 minutes to reach proper temperature. In comparison, my old single layer stainless steel skillet reaches cooking temperature in about 2-3 minutes with the same settings on the NuWave. The griddle is still significantly faster heating than my Tramontina pot/pans using that thin, holey, stainless disk on the bottom for “induction ready”. While I expected putting four 5” pancakes on the griddle would likely have the outside edges a bit under cooked; they all cooked well with a slightly lighter color for the perimeter locations. This is probably due to the thick, hefty construction of this griddle. I did notice that the initial 2-3” diameter of the pancake pour would turn out noticeably darker than the rest of the pancake. The pour location looked to be right over the induction coil, so that location was probably a bit hotter than the rest of the griddle. I also have tried making grilled cheese sandwiches. Bread is toasted first, coated with butter, a slice of American cheese added and then the sandwich is put on the griddle with some additional butter. Although I increased the initial medium temp setting by 20-30 degrees after the first few minutes, I still do not get the cheese to melt like I've done with my old Pampered Chef griddle. I have been hesitant to use higher heat settings with a new non-stick pan; but I've gradually increased my initial starting temps and the results are improving. Oddly the GreenPan documentation says to use low to moderate heat settings. Most cooks will recognize that just won't do. The extended length, and special design, of the oven safe stainless handle has stayed cool enough to touch so far; but I haven't used it for more than about 30 minutes at a time on medium heat. I definitely do not like the added ~1.5” length of the handle to incorporate the “Y” shape at the griddle end. This griddle handle measures 8.5” long while my other cookware is 4.5” to 7.5” long. I've accidentally knocked the pan around several times due to catching on the very pointed end of the handle. All my old cookware has blunt, rounded ends. The added handle length also had me reorganize the cabinet that I had planned to store this pan in. Plus, if the rest of the collection uses similar handles; they will simply be wasting too much storage space; such as when I put sauce pans with leftovers in the refrigerator. I seriously doubt I'll buy any of the other Valencia collection (or any other manufacturer's cookware using a similar handle design) due to these problems. If the end of the handle was shortened one inch, much more rounded, and the hanging hole (which I don't use) moved in as well, it would be a great improvement to this product. I recently left the griddle centered on the right hand front burner of my gas range with the handle turned towards the left front burner. The end of the GreenPan handle is ac
