Smaller, inexpensive fry pans that won't lay flat on my gas burners !
We have a good set of AllClad, one smaller pan w/ Emeril label, and another w/ KitchenAid that DON'T do this, but a few other pans we've bought over the past couple years seem to get 'wobblier' with time. Is this a simple function of "You get what you pay for"? or is there something to know about this that can help avoid the problem when buying?
We have a GE Monogram 6-burner gas cooktop which has commercial looking burners that are all flat to the surface of the top, but the 'bar pattern' seems to cause this problem on pans around 6"-7" at the bottom and less. No problem with higher quality or larger pans.
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Yes. Generally, you get what you pay for.
I experience this to a much greater degree with my ceramic smooth cooktop, since a pan that isn't perfectly flat on the bottom spins or wobbles dangerously. I have had to retire assorted pieces of Calphalon, Cuisinart, and All Clad LTD, (which warped noticeablely from the time it was new after several years of use). I have since decided that Demeyere disk bottom and Clad pans are the best, followed by Paderno Grand Gourment, All Clad, Sitram, LeCreuset/Staub and cast iron -- but not in any particular order. A thick bottomed pan tends to hold its shape best, while all types of Aluminum seem to warp over time. Cheap skillets can warp too. My best cheap skillet was a T-Fal, which actually helds its shape for years until the non-stick coating started to wear off. Also, smaller pans tend to warp more, and I have not really considered why. Perhaps there is a physical reason that some of the other CHers can offere.
