okay gastrodonians gimmie a hand with this

[solarbird]

So I have this skillet.

Obviously, it’s a skillet. And it looks like a cheap skillet – real cheap. But I don’t think it is.

The handle is cast iron or steel of some kind, despite being silver. The handle is also magnetic and heavy. The actual pan part, however, is aluminium, with no hint of magnetism, and also quite heavy – heavier than I feel it should be, like it has a slab of copper sandwiched inside layers of aluminium. There are three big thick bolts holding this thing together.

This is an object I feel like had to have been made with a purpose. I don’t know what that purpose was. And despite being a decent baker, I am no chef, and am merely an adequate cook in the sense of “I can follow directions correctly and produce the intended meal.”

So what the hell is this for?

Am I wrong about it having a special purpose? Is it in fact really cheap? Because it looks cheap. But it doesn’t feel cheap, and I think that’s important here.

Is it some sort of esoteric camping kit? Is that it? Feels way too heavy for that but it is nicely small.

What’m I missing here, Gastrodonians? Is this some sort of special #cooking implement? Or is it just a weird kind of cheap pan I’ve never seen before.

Do you know? ’cause I sure don’t.

#gastrodonians

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.

Comments

[jessie_c]

It may be an omelette pan. The copper sandwich bottom means that the heat will be conducted quickly and evenly over the bottom of the pan, which is what you need for a good omelette.

[canyonwalker]

Why do you think this a cheap skillet? Is it because you bought it cheaply, perhaps as used merchandise? It looks like a solid kitchen implement to me.

* It looks like solid and sturdy. It should last for a long time, holding up to daily use and cleaning for not just years but decades.

* It looks like solid, heavy metal. You said it's heavy. This is important for a skillet because it has higher heat capacity. When you heat up this skillet it will stay hot when you drop a cold piece of food onto it. This helps with searing meat, sauteing veggies, etc.

* The solid metal surface shows scratches but looks like it will last for a long time and will remain relatively non-stick.

* The slanted sides are important for a skillet. They make it easier to cook without food getting stuck in the corners.

Keep this pan and toss your lightweight Teflon coated mistake.

[solarbird]

Well, the bottom is aluminium, or doing a damned fine job of faking not being that. Which is nonsense, because of course it is.

[solarbird]

It looks cheap. In person, to me. It really does. Also: no maker's mark of any kind, anywhere. It's strikingly generic in a variety of senses. Also, the underside, being clearly aluminium, looks like ass, and also feels cheap.

It only looked less cheap on further inspection, including the weight.

The handle looks (and to a lesser degree feels) crude. It looks like it came straight out of a casting mould with little to no concern for finish, except for the fact that there's no obvious seam. Being cast metal (and a magnetic metal) it has absolutely no hint of heat protection for the user. That's a huge minus, particularly to me.

I've been told over on Mastodon that this makes it oven-safe and good for extremely high-temperature cooking, which I don't do, and they think it's either for high-temperature saute or mixed stovetop-oven use.

[jessie_c]

Which is also a pretty darned good heat conductor itself. And because it's oven safe, you can make this in it.

[jessie_c]

Being cast metal (and a magnetic metal) it has absolutely no hint of heat protection for the user. That's a huge minus, particularly to me.

Yes, that's a point. But it's a solvable problem.

[vatine]

I'd probably call that a "sautée pan", something that I would expect vegetables, eggs, and/or mushrooms to be fried in. Get the pan up to heat, add frying fay (my preference is butter), then add the food-to-be-sauteed. Scoop food out.

The weight is probably for thermal mass, to stop the temp in the bottom from crashing as you add cold stuff. May be designed more for a restaurant/diner kitchen than a home kitchen, as that thermal mass also helps with speed from one batch to the next.

I've only been paid for cooking "less than a dozen times", but I have cooked for 10+ people many times.