Serving Pans
About Serving Pans
Before you are revamping your existing kitchen or equipping your new kitchen, what you need is a set of good serving pans and pots. The food pans you use can determine the efficiency with which you will be using the kitchen.
Food pans are a part of our everyday life. You need them to serve food on the table even if it is just you and your family at the dinner table. And when the guests come, you also need these pans to present the food in an attractive manner that appetises them. Restaurants and hotels use whole pans of different sizes for this purpose. But even you at your home can make good use of them with a little bit of effort. Before you shop for serving pans, read this article to know more about them. Having better knowledge about the different types of pans will help you make better purchase decisions when you shop.
Everything you need to know about serving pans
Among many other items, pans are something that will last for you for decades. Therefore, it is important to invest in the right type and quality of the product. The first thing to consider when you are shopping for serving pans is the types of materials they use. In fact, the material of the pan can dictate much of its properties and durability. Moreover, the price of the pan also depends a lot on the material. Here is a list of the four most common types of material that are used in serving pans. This will give you a pretty good idea about these materials. Knowing the pros and cons of each material will help you choose the right one.
Stainless steel serving pans
Not surprisingly, the most popular material for serving pans is stainless steel. There are clear reasons for this preference. Most importantly, stainless steel pans can last for many decades before requiring a replacement. This makes them ideal for restaurants and hotels. Because stainless steel does not react with food and can withstand very high temperatures, you can use them for normal food types without any safety risks. The only exception is when it comes to acidic foods. If you keep acidic foods in stainless steel serving pans for a long time, it will start to react with the surface of the pans.
Plastic serving pans
The downside of steel serving pans is that they are costly. In some cases, it makes sense to get something that is not as expensive, especially if you won’t be using these as often. In that case, plastic can be a good alternative. Generally, people do not tend to prefer plastic for anything related to food. But the good news is that these days there are good quality food-safe plastic serving pans. But you should use the right type of pan for the purpose. For serving hot foods, polypropylene pans are the best. They are translucent and can withstand temperatures up to 160 degrees Celsius. Polycarbonate food pans are cheaper than that but are only fit for normal temperatures.
Melamine serving pans
While it is also another type of plastic, they offer several benefits, unlike regular plastic pans. Melamine pans are highly durable but only costs a fraction of that of a stainless-steel pan. Weight can be an issue for serving pans as you will need to carry it from place to place for serving. The lightweight design of melamine pans is a great help in that case. This allows for a higher level of portability. Furthermore, melamine pans offer a wide range of colours with unique textures. So, if you want something more than the ordinary look of steel, go for trendy and colourful melamine pans.
Ceramic food pans
There is no denying that ceramic food pans come at a higher price range. They can cost almost double that of stainless steel. So, is there any benefit to paying that high price? Ceramic is great for retaining both heat and cold. They might be heavy, but that also translates to extended durability. A good ceramic pan can even outlast a person and can become an heirloom in the family. Furthermore, the upscale and sophisticated appearance of ceramic pans is remarkable. If you are concerned about making every bit of an event look good, then get ceramic pans for serving.
Tips on how to buy the right type of serving pans
Having a set of pans with the right set of specifications is imperative to carry out that task of serving without much effort. But with hundreds of options available out there, it is easy to make mistakes. For that reason, choosing the right pan can feel like an overwhelming task. But it gets easier if you know what to look for in them. Here are some tips that you can follow when you are shopping for them.
- Choose the material – Most of the characteristics of a serving pan depends on the material. It will decide how much heat it can take how easy it is to clean and how long it will last. Some materials are not suitable for serving acidic food items.
- Size – Serving pans follow a standard set of sizes. The serving pan with the most capacity is called the full pan. All other sizes of pans are specified in relation to this full pan. That’s why you will find sizes such as half, quarter, sixth, eight, etc. If a pan is of quarter size, it means it can serve a fourth the amount of food that the full pan can serve.
- Depth – Just like the sizes, the depths of the pans also vary. The most common depths for pans are six inches, four inches and two and a half inches. Consider the type of food you want to serve while choosing the depth of the serving pan.
- Extra features – A serving pan can sound like a simple object. But still, they do come with a lot of handy features. There are pans with non-stick surfaces, decorations, etc. Pans that do not jam when you stack one on top of the other can save you some time when you are serving.
Serving pans also require a few extra accessories like covers and adapter plates and bars, etc. Even the lids are available in a few different options. Dome covers are good for maximising the storage volume. On the other hand, flexible covers are getting a good seal and keeping out the contaminants and pests. If you are shopping for serving pans, you might need those accessories as well. Apart from these, don’t forget to check out other products from Home & Living.
Question & Answer
Can you throw old serving pans in the garbage?
Most serving pans are recyclable. Also, some shops accept your old serving pans in exchange for the new ones for a lesser price. Because metals are valuable natural resources, dumping the serving pans in the trash is a wasteful act. If it is a serving pan that has a non-stick coating, the recycling facility will need to remove the coating before processing it. This makes the recycling of soft disposable pans impossible. But recycling regular metal pans with non-stick coating is still viable, and some facilities do accept them.
Are aluminium serving pans recyclable?
Not all aluminium serving pans are recyclable. Large and hard aluminium pans are easy to recycle without any wastage. But not many want to recycle them as they can last for a really long time. The real question of recycling comes when you are using soft aluminium serving pans. While it might seem intuitive to think that they too are recyclable, in reality, there are not. This is because such pans have some protective coating on them that keeps the aluminium from touching the food. This coating allows you to serve even acidic food in such aluminium containers. You need to separate this thin layer to recycle the pans and doing so is not economical.
Can you put an aluminium pan in the microwave?
We often hear about the dangers of putting aluminium foil inside the microwave. This is because aluminium foil catches fire at high temperatures. But does this apply to solid aluminium pans as well? No, aluminium serving pans do not catch fire when you put them inside the microwave, but there is another reason not to use them to heat the food in a microwave. Aluminium metal has the ability to reflect microwave radiation. This means, when you put an aluminium pan full of food inside the microwave, the food only heats up from the top where there is no metal covering it.
Where to buy ceramic serving pans online?
If you are looking to buy ceramic serving pans online in the UAE, look no further as you are in the right place. You will find anything from cheap serving pans with lids to the best serving pans to buy here on Shops.ae. All you have to do is to look for them using our product search engine. That way you can choose the best one by comparing the prices and features of them.
There are more than 500 shops and brands on Shops.ae offering serving pans. These include some of the popular brands like Garcima, Magefesa, Ciroa, Tablecraft, Fissler, and Silit.