Crepe Pans!

[Jenn Star]

I would like to add a crepe pan to my Christmas list, however, I am at a loss to which brand to ask for. I would like one that works well and is not too expensive. Most of the pans that I have seen on the net (I've tried to research, but came up empty handed) seem great, but I would like to purchase, or receive, one of good quality. I would only need it for light use, if that matters in my decision. I am not a chef, simply a homemaker who loves to entertain. Help!!
Thank you,
Jenn Star

[mudbug]

You may find the following information useful:

Crepe Pan opinions and reviews

[Kimmie]

Hello Jenn Star and welcome to Cheftalk.

I prefer the classic French crêpe pan. It's available at Williams-Sonoma for a reasonable price.

[Jock]

I bought a "classic" French crepe pan made of steel for about $15. What a dud! Contrary to the manufacturer's claims, it did not heat evenly and when the center spot was done to perfection, the outer edges were pale. (Or the outer edges were done and the center was burned.)
I bought another one at Sur la Table. It is heavy aluminum with a non stick surface and it works great every time. It doesn't need to "get in the mood" as Jaque Pepin would say, unlike the steel pan. I don't recall the brand name but it was about $16 and worth every penny.
A friend has a crepe pan that is slightly convexed. The idea is, you dip the surface of the pan in the batter and are thereby assured of a thin, even crepe every time without having to swirl the pan. I'm sorry, but again I forget the name of it. (I should know too because I seem to recall it being a Scottish name.)
Anyway, for my money non stick aluminum is the way to go.

Jock

[bouland]

I have a large nonstick aluminum pan I use for large crepes, but for smaller ones I just use a nonstick frying pan -- which also works fine. The ones that dip in the batter are a gimick IMHO. The advantage the flat crepe pan has over a frying pan is the low edges make it easier to remove the cooked crepe from the pan with a long spatula. For more a crepes click here.

[Isa]

A Skillet's as Good a Crepe Pan
By REGINA SCHRAMBLING


NLIKE tarts, Bundt cakes and soufflés, crepes do not need a special pan. You can buy one, made of thin dark steel with a low, slightly sloping rim, but is it worth the investment? I put a classic seven-inch crepe pan to the test against my all-purpose Wear-Ever nonstick skillet. For both, I tried two standard recipes from Julia Child and Madeleine Kamman.

Both pans are perfectly nonstick. The crepe pan heated evenly, very quickly, and retained the heat through the cooking of many crepes. All the crepes got a uniformly speckled brown surface, and I was able to make them good and thin. One serious disadvantage is the handle, which is steel and gets hot fast.

But the skillet worked just as well, and it has a rubber shield on the handle. The only downside was that its rounded sides kept the batter from spreading evenly before it set, and so I had to work to keep the edges of the crepes from thinning out and turning crisp. But that problem was far outweighed by the Wear-Ever's ability to do so many other jobs besides cooking crepes.

The crepe pan is $13.98 at Zabars, the skillet $27.98.



The New York Times, January 2, 2002