KITCHEN PANS - Grill Pan to Omelet Pan

The grill pan is a kitchen appliance that is supposed to be the closest thing to the cooking results of an outdoor grill. Grill pans can be a nice solution for people who live in an apartment and don’t have a backyard where they can place a grill or a barbeque. However, the pan grill does have some advantages that make people prefer it over an outdoor grill. First of all, you can’t use a grill outside if there is rain or a stormy weather, which wouldn’t be the case with indoor grill pans. Moreover, it is definitely more convenient to use the grilling pan in your kitchen while cooking other foods (like vegetables, sauces or spices), since you can monitor everything that is being cooked and grilled.Griddle pans come in round, square, oval or rectangular; some fit over a single stove burner, while other varieties fit over two burners. Some griddles have raised ridges while others have smooth surfaces. Griddle pans are made to be used on top of the stove, such as stainless steel and cast iron, or used on the counter top, such as an electric griddle. Cast iron griddles can also be used on a campfire. Electric griddles have a removable drip pan to catch meat drippings. The raised ridged griddles are used to cook food items where grill marks are desirable, such as chicken, hamburgers, steaks, vegetables or fish. These food items can also be cooked on a smooth surface griddle, which can also cook foods like eggs, bacon and pancakes.

Used for everything from bread to meatloaf to pound cake, the rectangular loaf pan comes in a variety of sizes. The most commonly used size is 9 by 5 inches (3 inches deep), and the 81⁄2 by 41⁄2 by 21⁄2 is a close second. Mini loaf pans are about 2 inches wide and can range in length from 3 to 5 inches. Loaf pans typically have straight sides, though there is a style with pleated ends. There's also a long, narrow, covered loaf pan called a pullman pan.

A lo-fat loaf pan is a specially designed baking pan which allows fat and drippings to drain while food bakes, making the end product lower in fat than it would have been otherwise. These pans come in an assortment of materials and sizes, and they are ideal for baking bread, meatloaf, and other loaf-like dishes in a fat conscious household. The design of a lo-fat loaf pan can change the way that food cooks, however, so it is a good idea to use recipes which are specifically formulated for a lo-fat loaf pan until you get the hang of working with these useful kitchen tools. Two cooking pans are used collectively to make up a lo-fat loaf pan. One pan is perforated, and it is designed to nest inside a larger solid pan. As the food cooks, drippings drain away through the perforations and into the larger pan. The loaf cooked in the pan will therefore be lower in fat than it would be otherwise. The drippings can be discarded or used to make a sauce or gravy. Because a lo-fat loaf pan is perforated and double walled, it can change the texture of the resulting foods. Breads may come out with a thinner crust and a lighter crumb, for example. Meatloaf tends to turn dry when cooked in a lo-fat loaf pan, since the fat in the meatloaf drains away, rather than moisturizing the loaf as it cooks. You may need to alter favorite recipes slightly to compensate for the use of a lo-fat loaf pan. Many kitchen supply stores carry these special loaf pans, and they can also be ordered online. You may want to check the maintenance directions to see whether or not the pan is dishwasher safe, and investigate the perforations in the pan to make sure that they will be easy to clean. If there are grooves or channels, the pan could collect grease and dirt which could be challenging to clean up.

A pan with shallow sloping sides, a flat bottom and a long handle. It's designed for easy movement, turning and removal of an omelet or other egg mixtures. Omelet pans range from 6 to 10 inches in diameter and can be made of aluminum, plain or enameled cast iron or stainless steel. Many of today's omelet pans have nonstick finishes.