The Best Material for Paella Pan
June 6th, 2011
I have always recommended double duty kitchen ware. They could be cookware; they could be gadgets. But I will make an exception of the paella pan. It is probably the most specialized piece of cookware ever invented. You can only cook paella in a paella pan. Sure, you can use it for sauteing or pan frying but it just would not be right.
So, if you are craving paella, get yourself a paella pan. You will have a choice of four different materials – carbon steel, copper, stainless steel, and enamel coated steel. I’d go for a carbon steel pan, this being the traditional type used by seasoned paella experts. Carbon steel is a reactive material. Spanish chefs believe that the metal gives paella its distinctive flavor.