Are cooking pots/pans supposed to warp and tilt?

Question

We use an electric stove (the one with the flat surface) and all our pans (fryers) that we use to cook food with have tilted bottoms. They cannot be put onto the stove evenly and the bottoms are not flat. We've gone through so many of them through the years and all of them have 'warped' like this whether it was the first time or the first couple of times. Does this happen to everyone? or are we not using something correctly or buying the wrong type of pans?

Thank you for any help!

Which are considered good? Our pans have come in a range of $8 to $60 and they still did the same thing.

If this helps any, I usually cook foods and stif-fry with high heat and when it's on the stove, it starts to warp. Yes, they are heavy guage aluminum pans. Is there a particular brand you recommend?

Answer 1

First, electric stoves are very hard on pans. High heat on an electric stove is enough to damage most types of pans. In fact, your nonstick pans are never supposed to be used on high heat, and good, thicker pans shouldn't require it--they retain heat well and get plenty hot on lower heat settings.

Make sure you never put cold water in a hot pan. That is a sure way to warp--or even crack--it.

For electric stoves, I like pans with disk bottoms--ie, there is a thick aluminum disk on the bottom, much thicker than the sides. They heat evenly, resist warping, and are cheaper than fully-clad pans (which are thick on the bottom and sides--but never as thick as the disk bottom). Look for one where the disk tapers all the way to the sides. In some there is a gap between the edge of the disk and the sides of the pan, which can get very hot and scorch food.

You might consider getting a flat-bottom wok to use for stir-frying. They aren't expensive, so they're not so bad to replace if you have to, and they're made for the task. At least reserve one pan for your stir-frying (if you're going to use high heat) and keep the others off the high heat.

Restaurant supply stores are NOT a place to find top quality cookware. Restaurant cookware is abused and replaced regularly. They don't sink money into the top quality stuff you want at home. You can find some good things there, but you're better off at a kitchen outlet store, dept store sale, etc, where things are made for the home kitchen.

Oh, and are you sure it's just a problem of your pans being warped? The burners themselves on electric stoves are often warped, so that even a perfectly flat pan will rock on them.

Answer 2

The skillets you're using are probably Teflon coated, right? If so, those types of pans are made from flimsy aluminum and they will warp, especially if you use any heat setting over medium.

Thin metal pans need less heat to cook with than the thicker stainless steel (and so on) pans, so even if it takes a few minutes longer to cook your food using a lower temperature setting, your pans will hold up a lot longer.

A few years back, I switched over to stainless steel pans and haven't looked back since. I bought a skillet or a saucepan one at a time from a restaurant supply store because they were expensive, but let me tell you, they are worth every penny!

Mirro makes stainless pans and they're cheap enough at Wal-Mart, but the handles get incredibly hot. The commercial pans I use (made by NFS - "update") have handles that stay cool and it's rare if ever that I need to use a pot holder, except for lifting the lid.

Answer 3

No, they aren't. It shows that you need to get to a restaurant supply store and treat yourself to some GOOD, professional grade pots and pans made of stainless steel, if possible. They aren't that expensive and one good quality pan is worth buying 3 or 4 crappy ones in a few years and makes more economical sense.

Ask the salesperson for pans with "jacketed bottoms", which means the pan has layers of different metals that conduct heat more efficiently.

I was lucky to find a really nice set of "Tools of the Trade" pots and pans in MACY'S on sale a few years ago that I use in our vacation home and I have never regretted spending about $70 for the SET. They have tempered glass lids and "jacketed bottoms" and have served me well over the past 6 years. Also, with a good pan, you'll find that you don't have to use such high heat when you cook because the good pan is more efficient at conducting heat.

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

No they should not be doing that. First of all you should go out and spend the extra dollar on some good non stick pans that are thick. And when you are done cooking in your pans you should let them cool. If you are making a cake for instance, I take the pan out of the stove, onto the stove till it cools down just a little bit then I remove the cake from the pan and put it on something elts like a plate or foil. This helps keep the pans from worping. Good luck!

Answer 5

We've got some pretty warped pans too. The stove heats unevenly and just pulls the shape out of those guys. We use a gas stove.
Invest in better pans - the ones with a heavy metal core, or use Corning Ware.

Answer 6

Definitely the wrong type of pans. I realize this sounds costly, but I strongly advocate buying one or two really GOOD pans a year rather than going with less expensive. I had been using pans like yours for 20 years before we could afford something better but my goodness! Food actually tastes better. Stainless steel is one way to go as is copper on stainless or iron (note that the last two require more on-going care than stainless).

Good Cooking!

Answer 7

Your ' all clad' cookware is some of the best. Costco has good pots and pan set. 18/10 I think, stainless. You are using hot heat and since you are, you need better pans. That is WHY they warp. Too hot for their little flat bottoms!

Answer 8

Buy good stainless steel of heavy guage. They will no warp and will last a lifetime. I'd rather have one good expensive pan than a 100 cheap ones.

Answer 9

They are not supposed to warp when you cook. Definitely not! As one other poster said, buy good quality, stainless steel cookware. It will defintely cost more, but considering you won't be constantly replacing them, you will end up saving in the long run. Another option is cast iron. That will definitely not warp.

Answer 10

Let them cool on the stovetop. Don't immerse or fill them with cold water or even lay them in the bottom of the sink until they're cooled down. Solution 2 - next time buy one or two higher a grade of pan.