Calphalon Grill Pan Question

[mugsy27]

hi all...im am thinking about getting a calphalon grill pan to replace my old cast iron one. the cast iron is just too messy to use and clean.

the calphalon one i am lookin at has 2 inch sides to hep with splatter.

have you guys ever used calphalon before?

are they dishwashable?

do i need to season it? (if so, how do i do this?).

TIA!

 

[kleenex]

calphalon is very good qualikty wise.

I have not used something from that company before though.

 

[GB]

Calphalon makes a great product. I am not familiar with the grill pan you are thinking of getting though. Do you have a link to it that you could show us or something?

What kind of material is it made out of? If it is just regular cast iron with no other coating then yes it will need to be seasoned. If it is cast iron with an enamel coating then it will not need to be seasoned. If it is any other type of material then chances are it will not need to be seasoned.

What it is made out of will also determine if it is dishwasher safe.

 

[mugsy27]

i believe this is it:

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.htm...4?_encoding=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B000BZ4X0M

do u think this will give a nice even cooking like cast iron does?

 

[GB]

Yes that should work pretty well. It will not be as efficient at cooking even as cast iron because cast iron has a lot more mass to be able to distribute the heat more evenly, but this pan will work well.

I am not 100% sure, but I would be willing to bet it is dishwasher safe. Personlly I would not bother with the dishwasher though. Something like this should clean up pretty easily in the sink and it would be a bit of a struggle to get it into the dishwasher I would think.

This pan will not need to be seasoned. You will be able to use it right out of the box after a quick wash.

 

[KellyM]

Most Calphalon with which I am familiar is nonstick. Remember, when you buy nonstick cookware, you need to plan on replacing it in a few years, no matter how careful you are. After a while the coating will wear off, and even if it doesn't, nonstick surfaces lose their nonstick qualities after a while.

Cast iron lasts forever, and needn't be messy and hard to clean. If you deglaze it right after you use it, you can then just rub a little oil and salt on it and put it away.

To deglaze, just pour enough water in it to cover the bottom by a half inch or so, and then brush it with a brass bristle brush. Then pour the water and debris out, and set it back on the burner for a few seconds to dry. Then rub some vegetable oil and kosher salt onto the cooking surface with a paper towel. Wipe the excess off with another paper towel, and put it away. Once you get used to this operation, it's quicker and easier than dealing with nonstick pans, and you needn't treat your cast iron with kid gloves to make it last a couple of years.

Nonstick is evil!

Kelly

 

[Michael in FtW]

Calphalon's "Kitchen Essentials" line (made exclusively for Target) is comperable to their "Simply Calphalon" line.

It is made of hard anodized aluminum with a nonstick interior - so no seasoning is needed.

Cooking will be a little different - since it is nonstick you can't get the blazing hot searing temps you could with cast iron. You're looking at a max temp of MED to MED-HIGH.

It should be oven safe to 450-F .... but is NOT safe for use under the broiler.

Dishwasher safe - probably not since since none of their anodized line is - not even their new super expensive revolutionary "Calphalon One" nonstick is not dishwasher safe. The only thing they recognize as being dishwasher safe is some of their Stainless Steel line.

And, they say to use only nylon or wood utensils.

I have 3 pieces of Calphalon hard anodized aluminum (2 nonstick skillets and a saucier which is not nonstick from their now dropped "Professional" line) and love them ... and I have a set of hard anodized from a now defunct company in New Orleans (it's twice as thick as Calphalon and was less than 1/2 the price) that I love just as much.

Of course - if this is something that you are going to purchase "hands on" at the store ... open the box, fish out the instructions that come with it, and read what it says for use and care.

I agree with KellyM that cast iron isn't really any harder to clean than anything else ... and the big trick no matter what material you are using is to deglaze with some water while the pot/grill is still hot from cooking. But I would never use a brass brush - it will scratch the polymer layer built up during seasoning (use a nylon bristle brush, a green-scrubbie, or a paper towel/sponge and a paste of salt and water to scrub with if necessary) and ruin the nonstick quality of a cast iron pan/grill. After washing, rinsing and drying - only coat with oil. Salt is corrosive to iron, water is corrosive to iron, and salt absorbs water from the air.

 

[mugsy27]

ok...the verdict is in....

GREATEST PAN EVER!!!

wow, what a pleasure to cook with! even cooking, splash free (almost) and a very easy clean. i love this pan!!!

 

[GB]

I am so glad it worked out well for you mugsy!

 

[GB]

Nonstick is evil!

Kelly

I am not sure if I would really agree with that. Non stick has it's place. I would never use it solely and if I were to pick one type of pan to have then it most certainly would not be nin stick, but it does have its place.

Remember, when you buy nonstick cookware, you need to plan on replacing it in a few years, no matter how careful you are. After a while the coating will wear off, and even if it doesn't, nonstick surfaces lose their nonstick qualities after a while.

I also would not agree this. While this may be true for the inexpensive cheapo non stick pans, my experience with the more expensive (Calphalon being one of those) noin stick pans is that they last a very long time and can remain almost as non stick as the day you bought them. Sure they do lose a little bit of the non stickiness (I am delaring that a real word) over time, but not to the point that anyone would really notice unless they were comparing side by side a new pan against a used one.

I even have a pretty deep large scratch on one of mine which happened a short while after I got it years ago. Nothing has ever stuck to the scratch and none of the coating has ever come off. The scratch has never gotten any larger.