Best grill pan, what is it?

Many women like to cook. Or pretend that they love. But culinary innovations are of interest to everyone. And this applies not only to stunning recipes, but also to kitchen utensils that help to realize the dormant cook talents. The best grill pan, or rather, the right one, will help you not deny yourself delicious and wholesome food. We will figure out what it is and what model it is better to give preference to.

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What is it for?

Grill pans are rapidly gaining popularity. In any case, for a hostess who loves to conjure at the stove, this will be a valuable acquisition. The main distinguishing feature of this variety of frying pans is a raised bottom imitating a grill. Hence the name.

Important! Due to this feature, strips remain on pieces of fish, meat and vegetables, as from grill gratings, with a fried crust. The rest of the product is fried, but tender and soft. This is a great alternative for outdoor barbecue lovers when there is no way to carry out a suburban outing.

The bottom of the pan consists of bulges and grooves. Thanks to the protruding ribs, the heat is distributed evenly. It is possible to cook products without the use of oil, which makes them not only tasty, but also dietary.

Juice from meat, fish or vegetables, standing out during heat treatment, gets into the grooves. This layer of liquid is quite enough to prevent the formation of a child from frying. Evaporation of juice does not occur directly under a piece of meat, but in the grooves. In this case, the product fully retains its usefulness.

Important! The only drawback of the grill pan is its large mass. But for optimists this is also a plus: it is possible to cook healthy food and pump up muscles. What is not a fitness club at home. Combining business with pleasure is always great.

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Features

The cooking process in the grill pan has its own characteristics:

• Use a minimal amount of oil. It is quite enough to lightly grease the product or the bottom topography.
• Only stack food in a well-heated pan. Otherwise, they will sink to the bottom, and it will be difficult to separate a piece of meat or fish.
• The optimal thickness of a piece of meat or fish for cooking in a grill pan is 1.5-2.0 cm.

Now - about choosing this wonderful utensil.

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Grill pans - how to choose?

In a hurry, you can’t even choose matches, not to mention the kitchen device on which you are going to cook for the whole family. There are no trifles here and cannot be. Therefore, we describe each of the criteria in more detail.

Production material

It is the material that determines the working life of the product and ease of use:

• Cast iron products are the embodiment of strength and durability. Cooking in such a pan is a pleasure. In addition, a good cast-iron grill pan has a fairly reasonable price. Cast iron warms up evenly, and cools down quite slowly.

Important! The disadvantages include: slow cooling of the product and a sufficiently strong “metallic” smell.

• Aluminum pans are relatively lightweight and have non-stick coatings. However, there is a serious drawback: under the influence of high temperature, the non-stick coating can break down.
• Ceramics.It tolerates high temperatures, can be used for cooking in the oven. The material conducts heat well, it does not contain harmful substances.

Important! The disadvantage is that such pans cannot be called durable, since ceramics are a brittle material.

Which grill pan is better: cast iron or aluminum, or ceramic - you decide. It all depends on your taste.

View of the inner surface

It is thanks to the inner surface with alternating ribs and grooves that the dishes are tasty and healthy. The duration of the steak depends on the height of the strips (in fact, this is the distance from the frying surface).

As for the coating, the following options are possible:

• Teflon. Teflon is considered a safe material because it is chemically neutral with respect to food. However, at high (more than 200 degrees) temperatures, the coating may break.
• Ceramics. Ceramics can withstand high temperatures without emitting harmful substances. It is easy to wash and can be used on different types of stoves. However, it must be protected from shock and significant temperature changes. This causes the coating to crack, and the product becomes completely unusable.
• Marble. Marble coating is durable and durable. It warms up well and evenly, retains heat for a long time. One drawback is the rather high cost.

The size

Now let's talk about which grill pan is better - large or small. Naturally, the larger the diameter of the pan, the more products you can cook in it. But you must take into account the features of the plate:

• If the subject is too large, then cooking on it will be, at a minimum, inconvenient. Or you will have to purchase an adaptation disk at the same time as a frying pan.
• The height of the sides also matters. The higher they are, the better the foods are fried.

Important! Shallow dishes are ideal for preparing vegetable dishes.

Handle Material

No matter how high-quality a pan is, a high-quality handle cannot be dispensed with. If it quickly becomes worthless, the product will simply have to be thrown away. Most often, handles for grill pans are made of heat-resistant plastic, wood or silicone. Solid cast handles are used in cast iron pans.

The form

It all depends on your personal preferences. The device can have a round, oval or square shape. Each of these options has its advantages. If desired, you can buy several pans of different shapes, and use them to prepare various dishes.

Important! For the preparation of omelettes, a round product is ideal, and for baking fish, you can use a square pan.

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Manufacturing company

It is very easy for an inexperienced buyer to get lost in the ocean of offers from different companies and make an unmistakable choice. Here is a review of manufacturing companies that have proven themselves in the field of kitchen utensils.

The given rating of grill pans will help you determine correctly:

• Ballarini (Italy) is one of the recognized leaders in the manufacture of non-stick cookware.
• BergHOFF (Belgium) - tableware of this brand is always in demand among those who want to use high-quality and safe items.
• GIPFEL (Germany). This company specializes in the production of cast iron grill pans. Products from Gipfel are distinguished by a variety of coatings. For example, you can purchase a ceramic product or model with an innovative three-layer coating. Handles are made of bakelite or silicone, so they do not heat up and do not burn during cooking.
• LODGE (USA) - specializes in the production of high-quality frying pans of the middle price segment. Cast-iron frying pans with non-stick coating.
• HOME CLUB (Russia) - a company for the production of grills, roasts, barbecue, pans.
• Tefal (France) is one of the first companies in the world to produce Teflon-coated cookware. All models are made of lightweight aluminum alloy with a high-quality non-stick coating. Pans are equipped with heating indicators.
• VINZER (Switzerland). This company has a line of relatively inexpensive, but high-quality aluminum grill pans.
• Grill master. Of the products of this company, a double model is interesting. No need to turn the product over. It is enough to close the lid and turn the pan over. Two parts are fastened with a magnetic lock, so you should not be afraid that they will open when turned over. Production material - aluminum with non-stick coating. If desired, two halves can be divided and used as independent frying pans.
• Biol. Products from this company have a characteristic square shape with rounded edges. Frying pans are made of cast iron, so they are quite heavy. The bottom warms up evenly, so the products do not burn, but well fry. The handle is removable.

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Grill pan: how to choose a good device for different types of stoves

It is important that the purchased pan is compatible with the type of stove in the kitchen. Otherwise, there is no point in buying:

• Any pans are suitable for gas stoves. The main thing is that the diameter of the product should not be excessively large in comparison with the burner.
• For glass-ceramic surfaces, the size is not important, but the bottom should be flat. Unless a heavy cast-iron pan should be used carefully because of its large mass.
• For induction cookers the best option is a pan with a steel bottom (aluminum or cast-iron product with a steel insert).

Important! Be sure to pay attention to the instructions for the product. It necessarily has information for what type of plates you can use the pan.

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Stock footage

In this article, we have helped you figure out how to choose the best grill pan. We hope your choice was really successful, and you do not regret the purchase, but use this dishware regularly.