Thursday, November 12, 2009

Calphalon Commercial Hard-Anodized 2-1/2-Quart Shallow Saucepan with Lid


Product Description

Backed by a lifetime warranty, Calphalon's Commercial Hard-Anodized Cookware is made to professional standards, offering the home chef unsurpassed cooking performance, superior construction and lasting durability. The 2.5-Qt. Shallow Saucepan with Lid is designed for making and reducing sauces, roux and for heating soup or, boiling eggs. The thick bottom and sides absorb heat evenly and help protect delicate sauces from overheating. The wider, shallower design allows liquid and moisture to evaporate more quickly, so your reductions and sauces are ready sooner.Each piece in the Commercial Hard-Anodized line is made of a heavy-gauge aluminum, all-metal construction with the advanced technology of the Cool V stainless handles. The aluminum construction provides superior cooking performance by distributing the heat evenly so there are no hot spots as you cook. And because it's made entirely of metal, each pan can be used in the oven and under the broiler. The hard-anodizing seals the cooking surface, making it stick-resistant and non-reactive to the foods being cooked. The Cool V handles are designed to stay cool on the stovetop, and are balanced with such precision that the pans feel lighter when you pick them up.


Product Details

* Amazon Sales Rank: #1136 in Kitchen & Housewares
* Brand: Calphalon
* Model: D87821/2P
* Dimensions: 16.00" h x 5.25" w x 8.50" l, 5.75 pounds

Features

* Straight-sided pan ideal for sauces; use also for stews and casseroles
* Heavy aluminum with thick bottom to heat evenly, quickly
* Anodized for hardness and stick-resistance
* Riveted, oven-safe handle is cast stainless steel, resists heat on stovetop
* Hand wash with mild detergent; made in China


Amazon.com Review
This straight-sided 2-1/2-quart pan can be used for sauces and, covered with its flat lid, for stews and casseroles. Shallow (3 inches) in relation to its capacity and diameter (8-3/8 inches), this pan, unlike conventionally proportioned saucepans, exposes lots of surface and is therefore ideal for reducing sauces or even stocks and broths. Though it's not nonstick, like some Calphalon cookware, the matte-finish pan is anodized for stick-resistance as well as hardness. Metal utensils won't harm the surface. The contoured, textured handle is cast stainless steel and resists heating on the stovetop; it's also triple-riveted for durability and balance. Made of heavy-gauge aluminum, the pan cooks without hot spots or warping and carries a lifetime warranty against defects. --Fred Brack

Customer Reviews

A great saucepan5
I recently ordered this based on my appreciation for Calphalon products and the great price. This is a fantastic saucepan that can practically double as a saute pan. It is surprisingly large and roomy, and the extra diameter gives it plenty of room for fitting in two or three chicken breasts, a modest steak, or a handful of veggies. I love it for making coq au vin since it isn't too large and goes right in the oven.

Nothing sticks to this pan if you add just a dab of butter or oil, and it heats up and cools quickly. One great feature of pure aluminum cookware is the fact that aluminum dissipates heat quickly, so pulling the pan off the heat is a great way to regulate the temperature when making a sauce. This is a great product and a wonderful addition to my Calphalon cookware collection.

what a steal!!5
Ok, let me get this straight...Amazon has 2 different 2.5 quart Calphalon Commerical Hard-Anodized saucepans, the regular, and the shallow. Inspecting the technical details of the two pans, one quickly realizes that they are identical except for the diameter and the height of the pan. The shallow is, naturally, more shallow (3 in. compared to 3 7/8 in), and therefore wider (8 3/8 in compared to 7 in) to accomdodate the fact that they hold the same amount of volume. What does this mean? More SURFACE AREA. What does surface area do? Well, think about it for a second: more of the pan is in direct contact with the heat because of the larger bottom. As a result, more of the food is exposed to the heat. The result? Faster cooking!
And this is a "sauce" pan after all. So what does this mean for sauce? Same thing as above, but remember, more of the sauce comes in contact with the air. More surface-to-air ratio = faster reducing times for sauces.
So we've established that from a technical standpoint, the shallow saucepan seems superior. It cooks faster because of a greater area for heat to contact food and for the surface of a sauce to contact the air. With that in mind, take a guess which one costs more. Surprsingly enough the pan with the lower amount of surface area costs at least %50 more than the more useful shallow saucepan.
So unless you are looking for a pan that reduces more slowly and has a much lower amount of versatility (try browning a couple of chicken breasts in the regulation sized saucepan...you'll have squished chicken), I recommend this pan whole-heartedly. The anodized aluminum does not react with acidic foods such as tomato sauces, looks really cool, heats quickly and evenly (aluminum is an incredible heat conductor), and won't bust your budget. This is the perfect way to own a piece of excellent cookware for a bargain basement price. Just remember, it is stick-resistant, not non-stick. This browns up much nicer than the Calphalon non-stick stuff, and you don't have to treat with kid gloves. About the only thing you can't do is throw it in the dishwasher (which you shouldn't do with any decent pot or pan) and use a knife or electric mixer in it (a hand blender is fine...the blades never touch the pot).

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