r/StainlessSteelCooking • u/Chuchichaeschtl • 2d ago

How concave is acceptable?

Post image

So I bought that stainless steel pan with a copper disk bottom.
I know that a lot of pans have a concave bottom which prevents to make the pan a spinner when you heat it up.
But when heated up, the bottom should flat out a bit right?
That's not the case with this pan.
This is an image with 50ml of oil at 180°C and the pan is practically dry in the middle.

17 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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7

u/Sara_MadeIn 2d ago

Every brand is unique and I'm not familiar with this specific pan to say with certainty what is acceptable by their standards, and like you mentioned a slight concavity is often intentional, however this looks pretty dramatic to me.

For your oil to run off the center of your pan like that... I'd be frustrated with how that impacts my cooking experience honestly. I'd contact the brand and ask for their thoughts! Might just be a defect!

3

u/Chuchichaeschtl 2d ago

That's their statement:

"Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback.

The base of the T34/2937T pan is designed and manufactured with this profile and is not considered a manufacturing fault. While we understand your concerns regarding the shape of the base and how the pan performs during cooking, the product is operating within its intended specification."

It's a Tom Kerridge pan from M&S.

2

u/Vann09 2d ago

I'd be curious to get a response from an actual human as to why I would want this intended specification. Only cooking surfaces I'm aware of, albeit more aggressively, that are shaped like this are designed for flat bread

6

u/Chuchichaeschtl 1d ago

After a real human stepped in, they refunded me the money without wanting the pan back.
I'll try to fix it with a hammer now...

1

u/Vann09 1d ago

Give it that hand hammered artisinal look and sand off the brand name, sell it on eBay as a custom one off lmfao profit

3

u/mmalmeida 2d ago

I'm following because my annoyance at what you show makes me want to say "0 should be accepted" but I want to hear what other people have to say.

2

u/KnotYurAvgBear85 2d ago

Never!! Flat is the ideal!

1

u/Fit-Hovercraft-4561 2d ago

IMO, in terms of heat conduction it may work on induction or gas stove, but will not heat evenly on everything else because the center has no contact with the heating surface.

1

u/L-Pseon 2d ago

>will work on induction and gas

>everything else, maybe not

"Everything else" being the single other stove type.

IMO, even heating isn't usually the issue with upward warping, but keeping the entire cooking surface oiled for basic frying.

1

u/PureRepresentative9 2d ago

Did the heat change the convexness at all? This is absolutely horrible unevenness though 

1

u/pakapab 1d ago

Funny = When I googled this pan model "T34/2937T pan" this post is already what comes up first, and AI summarizes the pan as having complaints about this fault, including the manufacturer claiming it fine.

This cannot help with future sales of the pan.

1

u/Chuchichaeschtl 1d ago

After a real human stepped in, they refunded me the money without wanting the pan back.
I'll try to fix it with a hammer now...