I was watching TV over the weekend and this weird shapped pan was unique enough looking to get me to back up the TiVo and watch the entire ad.
Circulon's campaign is oriented around "cook like a pro" and the implication is a) that cooking like a pro involves tossing things when you cook and b) that the shape of this pan somehow helps in this regard. I'll be the first to admit that I toss food when I cook, and that it looks neat, and is fun to do. But food doesn't cook when it's in the air so you are actually slowing things down if you are doing it constantly. "Pro"s toss pans once or twice when cooking because the last thing you need in a slammed kitchen is the food cooking slower.
If you want to learn to toss food, use any sloped sided saute pan. Put some dry beans in it, and a few more of a different type/color. Go outside and practice there. You aren't trying for height, the point of all of this is to mix the food. So watch the different colored beans and attempt to make them actually move around. Ignore the stares of your neighbors. You will also quickly find that launching the food poses little problem. The issue is catching it. The high far side of this new pan isn't going to help you here.
If you absolutely have to get a "special pan" for this, a saucier pan is much more useful. It has a higher side to "help" you launch the food. But the high sides continue all of the way around, which means you can use the pan for sauces, vegetable cooking, or just plain boiling water.
Posted by dowdy at October 17, 2005 08:15 AM