Pancakes pans: what are they and how to choose them?

Pancakes are a favorite dish of many generations. Almost every family has its own pancake recipe. But ideal recipes do not help anyone: pancakes still turn out to be thick, stick to the pan, and burn. It is very likely that the matter is in the pan, so it's time to buy a crepe maker, which will solve the problem of imperfect pancakes.

Three conditions under which pancakes will always turn out tasty and aesthetic are the quality of the dough, the quality of the pan, the good care of the utensils. The last two points are clearly important. Therefore, for frying pancakes, it makes sense to buy a separate pan and nothing more to cook on it. If you occasionally use the product for cooking meat or vegetables, it will become worthless in a short time.

The material of manufacture, shapes and sizes of pancake pans may vary, but they all have common characteristics. All crepe makers have low sides, so the culinary expert easily turns the pancake over (it is the high sides that often interfere with overturning, which is why pancakes do not turn out perfect).

The next feature of the pancake pan is a thick bottom and thick walls. This design gives the utensils special strength and durability. Thanks to the thick walls and the bottom, the dishes more easily adapt to temperature extremes. Cold dough is poured onto a hot skillet, so the temperature adaptation should be good.

The handle at the crepe maker should be long and not heating up, which will allow the chef to cook with comfort. But the round shape of the pancake pan is not its integral feature.If you buy a square crepe maker, you can bake crepes that are very convenient to wrap the filling.

There are mistresses who can’t give a frying pan, they always get good pancakes, and in an hour they bake a mountain of flour of pleasure. But not everyone can boast of such a culinary gift. Therefore, it is worth relying on a technically competent approach to baking pancakes: the right pan is half the success.

What is the difference between a frying pan for frying pancakes from an ordinary one.

• It is not universal. You will not use it for making morning scrambled eggs, hearty scrambled eggs or fried potatoes. The only thing you need it for is frying pancakes.

• She has low sides. In some models, the sides are so low that it seems they are almost nonexistent. If you saw professional crepes, you can note their perfectly smooth round surface, more like a turntable than a frying pan. The dough is rolled on the surface, it instantly sets. Turning such a pancake over is very easy.

• Convenient handle. Be sure to pay attention to the handle when choosing a pan for pancakes. If it is short, fragile, shaky, you will not be comfortable working with such utensils. The handle should be well attached to the base, be light enough and not very heated.

• Portioning. In the shops you can see portioned crepes. These are pans, at the base of which there are round recesses designed to fill with dough. On one frying pan there can be 4 such recesses. Pancakes in such a pan are small, but perfectly flat.

The choice of crepe makers today is very large: there are ceramic and marble-coated, aluminum and cast-iron. To say which is better, objectively difficult - they need a detailed description.

The coating on such a product is non-stick and should be ideal for baking pancakes. The main thing in this dish is that the pan allows you to bake without oil (or literally with a drop of oil). Ware is inexpensive, sold everywhere.

But Teflon pans have a significant minus - they require very careful handling. If you scratch the surface, there is a risk of significantly reducing the life of the product. Teflon with deformation when heated can release toxic substances. But not only deformed Teflon is dangerous: if the Teflon pan is heated above 220 degrees, overheating is also fraught with a toxic reaction.

Cast iron and aluminum can be the basis of the pan, but cover them with ceramics, which gives the utensils the right to be called ceramic dishes. Since it outperforms Teflon in quality, the price of such utensils will be higher. A huge plus of ceramic crepe maker is that it is not afraid of high temperatures. And it is safe for human health - ceramics are environmentally friendly (it contains only stone, water, sand), toxic emissions during overheating are excluded.

Before using the ceramic pan, rinse it with water, wipe it dry, set it on a fire, pour a drop of oil. The coating is very soon saturated with oil, and in a couple of minutes you will be able to fry pancakes in a new skillet.

These pans are in trend today - a beautiful spraying, somewhat reminiscent of space pictures, looks very modern.

Pluses of such utensils:

• pancakes do not stick to it and do not burn;
• coating composition is environmentally friendly;
• a stone pan does not emit toxins;
• dishes are not afraid of high temperatures.

But it was not without flaws - a marble frying pan costs more than a teflon and ceramic one. But the product with a marble coating, according to the manufacturer, will last longer than its cheaper counterparts. She is not afraid of metal blades and knives, which simplifies the handling of dishes. But still, you should not arrange extreme tests for her: use silicone and wooden spatulas as the main tools for turning pancakes.

Ideal for conservatives. People began to use cast iron many centuries ago. This material is versatile and time-tested. In terms of durability and strength, hardly anything can compare with it.

A cast iron frying pan does not have a special non-stick coating, but if oil is poured into it, the material itself becomes non-stick. The longer the cast-iron skillet served, the more delicious pancakes are made on it - such a kitchen paradox. But an ideal cast-iron skillet can only be called with the condition that you don’t fry anything on it. It absorbs smells well, and pancakes after other dishes cooked on cast iron will be a little strange to taste.

You cannot scratch a cast-iron coating. Such a pan is durable, durable, well-cleaned and hardly deformed. Every second mistress of the house has a frying pan “from mom or from grandmother”. These dishes are often often inherited. It is noteworthy that such utensils are relatively inexpensive.

Cast iron has two drawbacks: it is prone to rust (therefore it is impossible to leave utensils wet) and heavy. If you just bought a cast-iron skillet, bake the salt on it until the last goes dark. Salt takes away cinder, as well as oily substances that were used in the production of cast iron dishes. Salt annealing, repeat several times. After that, you can start cooking pancakes.

Copper is a valuable metal, which is also used in the manufacture of kitchen utensils. But you can buy such a pancake only if you are ready to part with a large sum for a beautiful purchase: copper pans are very expensive. Copper utensils heat up well, keep warm for a long time, and look beautiful in the interior of the kitchen.

Those who cooked pancakes in a copper skillet say their taste is more elegant and subtle. Perhaps this is a placebo effect, but it is possible that the noble metal really affects the taste of food.

An interesting option for those who keep up with the times. Electric pancakes are flat pans with recesses that allow you to quickly bake perfectly flat pancakes. On one such electric crepe maker, 2 to 8 recesses are placed. Pancakes that are baked in this way do not stick and do not burn.

The dough is distributed on the frying surface using a special spatula. Most models have a function to select a heating temperature. It is noteworthy that more and more manufacturers of such products produce electric pancakes with removable surfaces: they can change the shape and size of pancakes, make them textured, with a pattern, etc.

This adaptation makes life easier for housewives, who not only have the first pancake lumpy, but all the subsequent ones do not want to succeed. First you need to knead the dough (without deviating from the recipe), then you should turn on the submersible convex pancake in the mains. The heating indicator in a couple of minutes will inform you that you can start baking. The pancake should be dipped directly into the container with the dough for literally 2-3 seconds (for pancakes thicker - for 5-6 seconds). After a minute, the first pancake can be removed from the surface.

If you need rosy pancakes, turn the pancake over and hold it for 10 seconds on the surface. Turn it over only with silicone blades. When everything is cooked, the crepe maker is disconnected from the mains, cooled and wiped with a damp cloth.

In their design, these pans are somewhat reminiscent of a waffle iron. They are more like a small electric stove, rather than a frying pan. Two recesses for the dough help to make pancakes the same size, give them even edges.

Pancakes with removable surfaces are in great demand: so you decide to bake two large pancakes or six small ones. Children really like pancakes with a pattern - whether it's a simple smiley or a hare. You can bake pancakes with an interesting texture.

There is no universal option: if you like stuffed pancakes, you need a large frying pan, up to 30 cm in diameter. In such pancakes, it is easy to put the filling and twist into tubes or envelopes. If you do not fill all the pancakes, then the diameter is 20, 22, 24 cm - quite suitable sizes for the pan. Very small crepes are purchased by those who love miniature crepes.

Square pancake products even frighten some buyers - they don’t fit in their heads, as you can make non-round pancakes. Yes, it is initially round, it is a standard. But many probably noticed that it is very convenient to wrap the filling in the squares of pancakes. In this case, they produce square pans, which are also functional.

Curly crepes can not be called unclaimed. Cute kitchen utensils in the form of faces of piglets, daisies or droplets are a good option for a family with small children.

The main criteria for choosing a pancake pan are as follows.

• The bottom should be thick and smooth. If the pan is completely "thin", it is unlikely that its highly controversial strength guarantees long-term use. Uniform warming up and heat transfer are the merit of a thick and smooth bottom.
• Low sides. Turning pancakes in a pan with high sides is very difficult.
• Non-heating handle. If you purchased a product with a removable handle, the material from which it is made may begin to melt at high temperatures.
• Diameter. It can be less than 20 cm, then the pancakes will be compact. If you like huge pancakes, which will include any filling, buy a frying pan 26-30 cm in diameter.

Often the buyer does not delve into the features of the purchased product: if you like the frying pan outwardly, like its price, then be a purchase. And when after a couple of weeks the crepe maker fails, the buyer is outraged. It is important to know what kind of pan is ready to become a “resident” of your kitchen, how to handle it. If it is Teflon, you must provide the product with the most delicate care: when this coating is deformed, the pancakes will stick and burn.

After a mountain of rosy pancakes is on the table, some housewives rush to quickly put a frying pan in the sink and pour water. You can’t do this. The crepe maker should cool by itself, only after that it can be washed. But to leave the pan on the stove for several hours is also not worth it.

Take care of both the base and the handle. Wash the utensils and wipe them dry, and only in this form put it in its place. Be sure to wash and wipe the shoulder blades that you use to turn the pancakes. It’s great if there is a separate shoulder blade for this. Very often frying pans for making pancakes are sold complete with shovels.

If you bake pancakes for bast, prepare the basthole itself in another pan. Do not use crepe maker to prepare other dishes.

Having bought a new product for cooking pancakes, carefully read the instructions for it. Do not break it, wash and dry the crepe maker in a timely manner, then you will not have to go soon for the next pancake pan.

For tips on choosing a cast-iron frying pan for pancakes, see the next video.