Buying dishes today is not too difficult: the shops’ shelves are full of various goods and attract with attractive prices. We all would like to save on something and sometimes do it at the cost of the things we shouldn’t save on. I attribute the dishes to that category, where it is better not to save money as the quality usually depends on the price. I have an experience of cooking in a cheap kitchen ware. After the first use it’s bottom got warped at best and the coating peeled off at worst. It goes without saying that eating something cooked in those kind of dishes is dangerous for your health. That’s why choosing a new pan or pot I give my preference to the reliable brands. Tefal is among them as many people came to love it for it’s quality during the long years of it’s presence on the market.
Those following the novelties should already know about the kitchen ware from the Tefal Jamie Oliver Professional Series. Today we are going to review a sauté pan from this product series.
There was time when I did not give thought to the sauté pan, pan or wok specifics: they were all the same to me. But if you cook often you start understanding ins and outs of all of this and you see that this variety has it’s purpose. Each utensil has its own purpose: some are for speed frying, others – for a grill while the sauté pan is for stewing. Whats is the difference between a sauté pan and a usual pan? High sauté pan boards allow to stew different dishes and cook various sauces. Thick walls and bottom provide uniform heat distribution. Thanks to the technical features the liquid does not boil over immediately, but stays until the cooking is done.
Before me is the Tefal Jamie Oliver Professional Series sauté pan. The first thing I have noticed is the comfortable handle on a top. We are accustomed to the usual round handle, which, if soiled with fat, begins slipping out of your hands, besides you have to occasionally tighten up a screw in such handle. But the Tefal top handle is very comfortable to hold and more importantly it is attached with rivets. The top has a hole for steam. The sauté pan handle is rather long, gets wider towards the end and has a hole for hanging it up. I never hang pans and sauté pans so I can not evaluate this option, but this sauté pan is very comfortable to hold in your hand. It had the same rivets as the top handle.
I would call the design stylish and modern primarily thanks to the ergonomic engraved handles both on the top and on the sauté pan itself. The sauté pan differs from its brothers by a decorative matt line going all along its side. It seems to be nothing special, but it attracts attention, looks very smooth and pleasing to the eye. The sauté pan and its handles are made of stainless steal and the thick bottom is suitable for all kinds of stoves. Such bottom allows to heat the sauté pan uniformly. I thinks that this feature would be mostly appreciated by those who cook on gas and induction stoves. Earlier, when I cooked on a gas stove my food always got burned as my dish-ware had thin bottoms which rapidly overheated. Perhaps you could not tell at first glance, but the sauté pan seems fairly heavy when holding it.
Taking off the top we see the bottom with the non-stick coating and the Thermo-Spot. Non-stick coating is nothing new to us, so what makes this one special? The difference is in its durability. The product information says you can use metal spatulas with it. It’s been a long time since I had any metal spatula at home to check and I do not feel any need in them, but perhaps for someone it will be an advantage. This coating makes use of oil unnecessary. Recently everybody has tried to adhere to the proper nutrition rules frying without oil, so this is certainly a huge plus. Washing the sauté pan is incredibly easy: you do not need to do anything, just wipe it with a sponge under running water and you are done.
A long time ago I came to appreciate the advantages of the Thermo-Spot – a great helper in the kitchen in a form of a small red circle. If you have never seen it I will tell you about it. Thermo-Spot becomes uniformly red when heated up to 180º. This is a sign for us to begin cooking. This is very handy as before that everything got burnt if I missed the moment and heated the oil too much. Now, this is not a problem. You don’t need to keep a hand over the surface or drip a drop of water (not in the oil, of course!). I have gladly given up these manipulations in favor of the Thermo-Spot.
Overall, my impression of the sauté pan is very positive. It has a beautiful design, easiness in the details, the optimal size and quickly and evenly warms up. I have tried to find at least one negative point but could not. Of course, time will tell, as the saying goes.
