Riess from Ybbsitz in Lower Austria is not only regarded as the epitome of enameled cookware, but also as one of the fewer and fewer manufacturers whose products do their job in a completely unagitated manner without falling out of joint (or out of setting). The history of the company goes back over 450 years, and that of the production site even 650 years. Riess has been a family business for six generations and is one of the oldest companies in Austria - the only manufacturer of enameled cookware in the country since 1980. Production techniques have been continually improved and new products introduced. The switch from iron to enamel cookware took place after the First World War with the highly durable double enameling process. The glass-hard, hygienically perfect coating ensures an almost eternal durability, which has established the company's worldwide reputation.

The raw material, which is similar to glass, is first melted at 1200 °C, quenched in water and finely ground with the addition of around a third of water, clay, quartz powder and coloring oxides. The resulting enamel slurry matures for a few days before being applied to the objects to be enameled. At a temperature between 850 and 900 °C, the layer melts together to form a solid coating. This base enamel prevents oxidation of the iron during firing, after which a top enamel layer is applied, which is fired at 800 to 850 °C - it protects the base layer from wear. Compared to the base enamel, the top enamel contains less borax, quartz and sodium nitrate, but more feldspar, fluorspar and cryolite. If you occasionally see tiny black spots on enameled goods, this is not a defect, but a sure indication of the more valuable double enameling. The blue color of cobalt enamel is also a sign of quality: The Egyptians and Greeks used this substance to color their glass blue, and cobalt is still used today to color glass, enamel and ceramics. Cobalt enamel is particularly resistant to acids and alkalis and is especially hard.

Enamelled pots and pans are basically steel utensils coated with silicate glass. The glass-hard surface of enamel is amazing: it is safe for use with food, tasteless, corrosion-resistant, scratch-resistant, heat-resistant, and easy to clean. We offer cooking utensils in a particular colour combination: black on the outside and cobalt blue on the inside. These were the colours once exclusively reserved for cookware and cooking utensils used by professional chefs.