# What to do when u dont have right size pan



## bohh (Nov 8, 2007)

can any one tell me the best way to substitute a pan in a recipe? Also some of my pans dont have a size or volume on them,any advice there? Somewhere I heard to use water to fill dish up and that will tell u the volume? If the recipe only says use a 2 1/2 quarts baking dish,how would u know how deep of a dish should be, so when i use a new pan i would know the depth of my food or ingr..? If I never made it before I wouldnt have any idea on how the depth of the food should be. This question on the depth came up when i was reading article that said "an acceptable alternative to any pan has an identical volume and falls within half an inch of the orginal depth",thats what i dont understand how do you know what the orignal depth is ?

Thanks

Bohh


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## chrislehrer (Oct 9, 2008)

It's not going to matter all that often, but...

If you really want to know the volume of a pot or pan, start by looking at the underside, near the center, under a bright light -- it's often printed there. If not, just start adding water from a full quart measuring cup. You will soon see how many quarts it holds.

If you're baking something -- a cake, brownies, whatever -- then what really matters is the depth of the material. Most baking dishes are fairly standardized: 8" square, 9" round, and so on, and most recipes will use sizing of this sort. If that's not the case, you will need to guess, based on what sort of thing you're baking and about how deep in the pan you sort of think it ought to be, bearing in mind that most baked goods will rise at least a little bit. If, after pouring the stuff in, it seems deeper than it should be, test for doneness extra-carefully, and expect to bake it a bit long; if it seems shallow, start checking for doneness early and expect it to bake quickly. Don't panic: if you check carefully, what's the worst that's likely to happen?

If you're talking about braising or boiling or something like that in a casserole or saucepan, then there are really two factors: surface area and depth.

If the surface area is too small, obviously, the stuff won't fit. If it's much too large, you may get some scorching in the open spaces, and if there's a lot of liquid it may reduce very fast. Just keep an eye on it, and add a little water if it seems to be drying out.

For covered things, if the depth is too low, obviously the stuff won't fit. If it's much too large, you will get some dead space at the top that won't heat fast, and this may make your food cook a bit slowly or unevenly.

Rule of thumb: For stovetop uncovered cooking, the food should fit with some space around the sides, and if there are many pieces, they each need space (for example, pan-fried chicken pieces should not be pressed up against one another). For covered pot cooking, the food should fit snugly (without actually jamming), so pick the smallest saucepan or whatever into which it will all fit easily. This rule of thumb will take you a very long way. Don't agonize about it: if the pan is too small, you'll have to cook some things in batches, and if it's too large, you just have to pay closer attention to be sure that everything is heating evenly and not scorching. But it's not as though if you have the perfect pan, you don't have to pay attention!

If you guess at the pot size, and keep more or less to this basic rule, the odds of a disaster are pretty slight. If it goes badly, next time you'll know better. This is not something to get wound up about.


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

I think you're agonizing over what isn't a real issue. Keep in mind that recipes are only guidelines. And that applies to the cooking container as well.

Unfortunately, too many modern cookbooks lead you to believe that pot size, and level of heat, are cast in concrete, when this just isn't so. Sometimes, when baking, container size can matter. But being as baking pans come in fairly standard sizes, you can't go far wrong. 

Chris has done a fair job of explaining how pot size could effect things. But the reality is, you rarely are so far off that cooking times will be seriously affected. As you gain more experience you will automatically learn how to adjust.

One thing you might do is concentrate on learning the reason behind the instructions. Do that and you'll adapt without even thinking about it. 

Here's an example. Recipe says to use 2 tablespoons oil in a "small" frying pan. For our purposes, "small" is 8". The obvious goal is to create a film of oil that covers the bottom, as for sauteeing. All you have, however, is a 10" pan. So you adjust by adding just enough extra oil to accomplish the true goal. 

Or another: Recipes involving boiling milk or cream usually specify what seems to be overly large pots. The reason for that is that dairy, when it comes to a boil, expands very rapidly. Take your eye off of it for a second and you might be remodeling the kitchen. 

Once you know that, you also know that the pot you use should be relatively tall for the amount of liquid you start with, in order to minimize boil-overs. 

As I say, as you gain more cooking experience you'll learn how to adjust. But meanwhile, it isn't something you need to obsess over.


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## bohh (Nov 8, 2007)

Thanks

Bohh


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