Free to good home: Calphalon Anodized 8-Inch fry pan

M

marilynfl

Moderator
I hate this pan.

Apparently, anodized and I do not play well together. Lord knows I've tried to make it work. Everything sticks for me: eggs, meat, onions.

The pan is too good to toss and rather than donate it first, I'd like to give it to someone here who has discovered the secret to working with this type of surface.

I've got enough stress in my life to let an 8" piece of metal add to it.

http://www.amazon.com/Calphalon-One-Infused-Anodized-8-Inch/dp/B000162N9Y

 
I'm not in need of it, Marilyn

But I've never found non-stick to be truly non-stick. I ALWAYS spray (with cooking spray)the hell out of any of my non-stick pans when using.

Would love to hear if other's use theirs without a cooking spray and if things actually don't stick?

Thanks,
Debra

 
See...I don't get that. If they say it's non-stick, that should be it. End of story.

I shouldn't have to second-guess them. They should just declare full disclosure and say right out there in 24 point font in glossy black:

HEY....STUFF STICKS, ALRIGHT! GET OVER IT. PUT A FEW TABLESPOONS OF BUTTER IN THE DARN PAN AND STOP YOUR WHINING. SO I LIED. IT ISN'T NON-STICK. SHOOT ME. OH WAIT. THAT'S RIGHT...I'M AN INANIMATE OBJECT WHICH YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO PERSONIFY. NO WONDER YOUR EGGS STICK! NO WONDER YOU CAN'T GET AN OMELETTE TO ROLL OUT OF THE PAN. YOU'D BELIEVE ANYTHING. HEY, I'VE GOT A 900 WATT KITCHEN AIDE FOR $50 JUST FOR YOU. IT FELL OFF THE BACK OF A RUBE.

...or something like that.

 
I only have one -- a griddle pan, and I spray it. Anyone who washes

it is under dire threat -- use salt to scrub it if it needs it, and as little soap as possible, if any. It's great for omelets, sauteed dredged meats and grilled sandwiches.If properly treated it doesn't stick and distributes heat well. I just looked at it, and it's not Calphalon, but something called Commercial Aluminum. Very heavy, with a non-stick coating.

I never put my pans (mostly All-Clad) in the dishwasher.

Long live the manufacturers of PAM!!!

 
I agree Mar. You shouldn't have to season or put a lot of oil or butter on a so-called

nonstick pan for it to be "nonstick" unless the manufacturer clearly recommends to season it which is ridiculous for a general purpose nonstick pan to cooks eggs or such without extreme heat.

I have a Scanpan crepe pan that I've used for making a couple of French rolled omelettes and I had great success after properly heating 1 TBS of nonsalted butter on medium-high heat until the butter lost the foam and was hot enough and just beginning to brown. French rolled omelettes are a bit tricky with exacting heat, but you shouldn't have a problem with scrambled or fried eggs on a nonstick surface. The only problem I had with the Scanpan was that I had to be careful that the egg did not spill over the edge. Of course, the rim is more shallow because it's a crepe pan and not an omelette or general purpose nonstick fry pan. Other than that, it was truly nonstick and a great conductor of heat. I've also used my Paul Revere nonstick fry pan with not as much success simply because it's getting old and has some tiny little scratches. Before it got old, it was truly nonstick and foolproof. I only needed one TBS. of butter as the recipe called for in each scenario and I didn't have to "season" the pans.

Mar, I'm in need of a new nonstick fry pan and I'm going to buy a Farberware Millenium that's recommended by CI, or another Scanpan. You can get Farberware Millenium at Bed, Bath & Beyond for a reasonable price and more so with a coupon from them.

Mar, you're in enough pain, please stop banging your fry pan on your forehead! Let's talk pain management here... LOL

http://eat.at/swap/forum/index.php?action=display&forumid=1&msgid=57050

 
My one Calphalon is a saute pan and stuff sticks to it like nothing else! Anodized, schmanodized.

food flies across the kitchen to adhere to that pan. It was expensive too.

I only keep it because it is the perfect size pan for tomato sauce, and for other things where sticking isn't an issue.

 
Additional comment: I also have a 12-Qt Calphalon anodized stock pot--and it sticks too. That's

never been in the dishwasher. I even sacrificed a few chickens in the effort to get it to stop sticking....you should have seen the dancing that went with that ritual. No luck.

My new motto is: "Marilyn, just say NO to aNOdized."

 
I own a 12" Scanpan and use it like I would a seasoned cast iron skillet. I was taken in...

...by their marketing, and thought I'd get a non-stick pan that could brown foods and create a fond like stainless steel.

I does brown very well, and the heat distribution is excellent, but I don't consider it 'non-stick'. I may be wrong, but my definition of non-stick doesn't include having to add fat to get that result. I can fry eggs in a stainless steel pan if I use enough butter!

I have had the Scanpan for more than 10 years, but I haven't bought another one.

Michael

 
Of all of the various sorts of nonstick that I own, this one reacts the most immediately with

dishwasher det. I've replaced my favourite large sauteuse pan and am washing only by hand.

In fact, I have a huge load of pans to do by hand every night since I am such a nonstick fanatic.

for nonstickness, I really prefer the ordinary, full clad TFal with the heavy bottom.

 
Steve, would you mind sharing your Pear Tatin recipe. My tree is loaded and I am looking for pear

recipes. Thanks!

 
Happy to share, Dawn. REC: Pear Tatin

Pear Tatin

Nobody said this would be easy so, before you begin, read these directions and make sure you understand ALL of ‘em!

1 sheet PUFF PASTRY, slightly defrosted (I mean, why make your own?)
4 Tbsp UNSALTED BUTTER, at room temperature
6½ Tbsp SUGAR
4-5 ripe BOSC PEARS, peeled, cored and quartered
¼ cup PEAR BRANDY
CRÈME FRAÎCHE

Roll puff pastry out to form a circle 1/8 inch thick. Trim dough to fit top of a 10” inch skillet. Moisten edges & use trimmings to form a rim around outside of circle. Cut a dime sized hole in middle of circle, place on a cookie sheet & freeze for at least an hour.

(NOTE: Once you’ve made the rim for the pastry circle, put the skillet BACK over it to make sure the edge will fit down snugly inside the pan. When this thing is frozen, you want to be sure rim doesn’t hang OUTSIDE of pan! It wouldn’t be pretty.)

Preheat oven to 375°F then prepare tart filling: Spread butter on inside of a heavy ovenproof 10”skillet. Sprinkle 4 Tbsp sugar over butter. Reserving one piece of the peeled, cored and quartered pear, arrange pears, cut-side down, in a tight-circle around edge of pan, points to center. Cram as much fruit in as possible and place the reserved piece, on top, in the center, round side down. Sprinkle 1½ Tbsp sugar over the top.

Cook pears over high heat (depending on your stove, obviously) swirling gently until sugar has caramelized. If you’ve never done this before, you’ll see the butter melt, and as the pears release some of their liquid, a pale yellow “sauce” develops. The sauce then starts to turn an increasingly darker shade of gold. You want the sauce to get to the color of Kraft caramels but I also use my nose as tip off. If it starts to SMELL burnt, it’s well on it’s way there! (Keep a close eye and/or nostril on this as you don’t want to let it go too far or everything will burn, you’re screwed and you’ll have to start all over again and we HATE it when that happens.)

When the pears are ready, remove pan from heat, take crust from freezer and place it snugly , rim-side down, over pears in skillet like a box top. Place skillet on a baking sheet in the oven (to catch any overflow) and bake on center rack until crust is browned, anywhere from 30-45 minutes.

Carefully remove skillet from oven, and place it briefly over high heat on the stove-top to loosen any caramel that may have stuck. Next, the trickiest and most critical step . . .

De-pan the tart by placing a wire cake rack, top side down, on top of the skillet, then put a flat 12” plate, large enough to hold entire tart, on top of the rack, face down. Using a heavy towel or oven mitts, grasp plate, rack and skillet in both hands and upend so that tart is on rack over plate. (Diagrams MAY be available). You should now have depanned tart on top of rack, over plate. Phew!

Cook pear brandy with remaining 1 Tbsp sugar for 2-3 minutes until sugar melts. Gently spoon this mixture over cooling tart. Some juice will escape through the hole in the bottom of pastry. Just pour it off and re-spoon over pears until it stops flowing. This needs to cool at least 45 minutes. Slide cooled tart off rack and serve from a platter or what-have-you. As always, I strongly recommend crème fraîche as the topping of choice.

 
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