Even the best set of pans eventually will lose the perfectly flat bases one needs to evenly cook food. Pans we use every day for cooking succumb to the relentless cycle of heat-cool-wash-repeat by warping ever-so-slightly.
Test your pans. Lay them flat on a flat surface. Press down on them and see if they wiggle or rock. Now pour some water in the pan and see if it doesn’t collect around the edge or pool in the middle. The results of the two tests will show you how the pan has lost the even flat bottom that’s necessary for the proper distribution of liquids and fats. Sautéing in a warped pan can lead to uneven cooking or burning instead of searing. The larger the pan, the worse the problem usually is.
So, what can you do when you have a beloved pan that isn’t on the level? That is where the hammer came down. I had a problem with a trusty 14-inch Calphalon pan that was no longer made. (see The Art of Cooking)
What to do? I had purchased a rubber mallet to use positioning stonework on a walkway. Its 3-inch rubber face was designed to not mar the surfaces where it struck. Since the choice was trying to flatten the pan or finding a replacement for a discontinued pan, I decided it was hammer time.
I placed the pan top-down on a piece of carpet remnant over flat decking and carefully struck the middle of the pan where the pooling water had shown it had warped. (If the pooling was on the edges of the pan, I would have set the pan face-up.) I used a few light blows instead of harder ones, moving the impact slightly each time. Lo and behold, after a few strikes, the water test showed the pan had become perfectly flat again—almost as if it had a memory of the way it used to be.
Since then, the pan has worked well and hasn’t re-warped. Time will tell.
