11.12.06

Is your pan reactive?…

Posted in Greatest Hits, Recipes, Other Fun at 2:53 pm by Chef Matt

I got a question on my previous post about cookware about how do you know if a pan is reactive. I started to write a reply there, but I just got so into it that I figured it was worth a whole post so everyone can see it. Here is the question I was posed:

“i have a sauce pan of unclear provenance ( I cant remember where it came from). It isn’t non stick. How can tell if it is “reactive”? is there a test?

thanks

mika”

Great question mika. The real “test” is to know what it is made out of.

Reactive pans are typically made of:

Non-reactive pans are made of:

But of course it is not nearly that simple. Copper pans are usually coated with tin which will make them less reactive as long as the tin is not scratched off. And similarly, enamelware is not reactive, but if it is scratched, the cast iron under it is reactive. Stainless steel is not reactive, but is such a bad heat conductor that it often has a core or bottom of copper or aluminum which is reactive. And while cast iron is reactive, if you have seasoned it well and keep it well seasoned, it can actually work pretty well as a non-reactive pan. Confused yet?…

Cast iron, or anodized aluminum?
Beats the crap out of me!

So pretending that all of that made sense, how do you “test the pan” if it is not obvious what the pan is made of? A good first test is to stick a magnet to it. A magnet will stick to cast iron, but not anodized aluminum. However, a magnet will also stick to stainless steel, but I am thinking that it should be pretty obvious if the pan is stainless steel by its appearance (also for copper or glass…).

The other test is to cook tomato sauce in it. Tomatoes will react VERY poorly with a reactive pan, and one taste of the resulting sauce will let you know if you have a reactive pan. If it is reactive, you will think you are eating a tin can, if it is not, this should come out just fine. So here is a recipe to use for this test. It is a good sauce so that you have something worthwhile if it works, but not a too complex sauce, so that you haven’t wasted too much time/effort/money if you in fact have a bad pan. (I don’t know how big your pan is, so you can adjust volume as you need.)

Matt’s Simple Tomato Sauce
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 gloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup red wine (Italian of course preferable)
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes
pinch sugar
S&P to taste

Heat up the oil, add the garlic and cook to fragrant, add the onions, cook till they start to get some color. Add the herbs, cook for about 30 seconds to get the aromas going, then add the wine and reduce it down till almost dried out. Add the can of tomatoes, and crush with a spoon while stirring. (If you prefer, you can seed and chop the tomatoes before adding them, but I am lazy like that, and I like my sauce chunky). Add the pinch of sugar. Bring to a boil, let simmer for about 1-2 hours to let the flavors come together. Taste and adjust for seasonings.

The long cooking time of this sauce really brings the flavors together and makes the tomatoes nice and soft. But even better, you will really know from the wine and tomatoes cooking in there if you have a reactive pan with no question.

I hope this all helps mika, and I hope you all enjoy the recipe!

Matt