Saucepans !

[ambuletz]

Just a heads up for anyone interested, LIDL are going to be selling cast iron pans and cassrole pots from dec 12th

https://www.lidl.co.uk/c/kitchen-kit/c2138/w2?ar=1...

[anonymous-user]

ambuletz said:

Just a heads up for anyone interested, LIDL are going to be selling cast iron pans and cassrole pots from dec 12th

https://www.lidl.co.uk/c/kitchen-kit/c2138/w2?ar=1...

Lidl?! Get thee off of my thread !

[Harfi88]

Aldi have some in at the mo, I bought a cast iron dish today.

[LordHaveMurci]

Harfi88 said:

Aldi have some in at the mo, I bought a cast iron dish today.

I bought a casserole pan & a roaster, impressed with both & will grab a griddle pan if they have any left!

[Harfi88]

It’s the roaster I bought, couldn’t remember the name of it Ignore the messy kitchen

LordHaveMurci said:

I bought a casserole pan & a roaster, impressed with both & will grab a griddle pan if they have any left!

[UTH]

I added a couple of Le Creuset delights to my collection over Christmas, including this: https://www.lecreuset.co.uk/en_GB/p/cast-iron-squa...

I used it for the first time last night. I seem to remember reading perhaps on another thread that someone wasn't a fan as it was too heavy and took forever to heat up.
Based on last night's experience, the jury is still out. I have an induction hob, so I put the pan on top heat (number 9) for what I considered quite a long time to compensate for how thick and heavy the pan is. When it was time to put the steak on I was hoping for huge amounts of sizzle and smoke.......but it was a light sizzle at best! The end result was actually pretty good, but I've always understood it that for a steak you want the pan as hot as humanly possible, and I really can't say that it seemed the pan was that hot.
Did I just need to leave it on the heat much much longer? Or does a pan like this just not get hot enough on an induction hob? I am going to read the manual again as I'm not sure if some parts of the hob are hotter than others, or perhaps the 'rings' are bigger (there are no obvious lines on the hob)

So, in short, lovely looking pan, but didn't quite deliver what I was hoping for, but fingers crossed I just needed to give it more time.

[21TonyK]

UTH said:

So, in short, lovely looking pan, but didn't quite deliver what I was hoping for, but fingers crossed I just needed to give it more time.

I'd suggest sticking an old backing sheet over it as a lid but not so sure how induction would handle the build up of heat?

If it doesn't work out try a cheap(er) aluminium griddle as this will conduct the heat better than cast iron.

[number2]

I have an induction hob and I'm happy with the sear.

Pic below of a recent steak on a medium-high heat on an induction hob, seared in an old non-stick pan with butter and 'erbs. Could have gone darker but didn't want to risk burning butter in the pan. Ergo, you shouldn't have a problem with yours - it's very unlikely it's the hob. If it is just the sizzle you were missing, and the result is great then don't worry .

I would consider using a flat plan rather than ridged - appreciate you've spent a lot if money on it! Stripes look fun but getting a good maillard reaction all over is preferable to a few dark stripes.






Edit: thought this was the steak thread for a minute, sorry for going slightly off track!

[UTH]

21TonyK said:

I'd suggest sticking an old backing sheet over it as a lid but not so sure how induction would handle the build up of heat?

If it doesn't work out try a cheap(er) aluminium griddle as this will conduct the heat better than cast iron.

The frustrating thing is that this pan is replacing a far cheaper, thinner (similar looking) pan, that did get very hot with all the sizzle and smoke you'd expect. So it feels a bit like I've gone backwards in terms of what I was hoping for!

[21TonyK]

UTH said:

21TonyK said:

I'd suggest sticking an old backing sheet over it as a lid but not so sure how induction would handle the build up of heat?

If it doesn't work out try a cheap(er) aluminium griddle as this will conduct the heat better than cast iron.

The frustrating thing is that this pan is replacing a far cheaper, thinner (similar looking) pan, that did get very hot with all the sizzle and smoke you'd expect. So it feels a bit like I've gone backwards in terms of what I was hoping for!

Problem with cast iron is it absorbs and retains heat, great for slow cooking but for searing it needs a lot of heat applied for a longer time. At home I use a le creuset griddle on gas but even on the wok ring on full blast with a lid it takes 10 minutes to get properly hot.

[UTH]

21TonyK said:

UTH said:

21TonyK said:

I'd suggest sticking an old backing sheet over it as a lid but not so sure how induction would handle the build up of heat?

If it doesn't work out try a cheap(er) aluminium griddle as this will conduct the heat better than cast iron.

The frustrating thing is that this pan is replacing a far cheaper, thinner (similar looking) pan, that did get very hot with all the sizzle and smoke you'd expect. So it feels a bit like I've gone backwards in terms of what I was hoping for!

Problem with cast iron is it absorbs and retains heat, great for slow cooking but for searing it needs a lot of heat applied for a longer time. At home I use a le creuset griddle on gas but even on the wok ring on full blast with a lid it takes 10 minutes to get properly hot.

Hmmm, pretty much as I thought then. Next time I use it I'll give it AGES on top heat so there can be no shadow of doubt I've left it long enough, then see how that goes. As mentioned above though, regardless of the sizzle etc, if the end result is good, I shouldn't really complain.