Crepe pans

[zane]

I've never bought one nor ever made one...

Regardless I'm looking to buy one.

Am I better off with something like this:
Or this:
What are the positive and negatives to both styles?

 

[phaedrus]

I just use a sautee pan.  It seems to me it would be much harder to properly regulate the heat on that unit.

 

[jock]

I've never bought one nor ever made one...

Regardless I'm looking to buy one.

Am I better off with something like this:
Or this:
What are the positive and negatives to both styles?


 

I have no experience with the electric model. I respectfully disagree with Phaedrus though and think the only advantage to it is that it would maintain a constant temperature. Unless you are going into crepe making in a really big way I don't see a reason to keep a monster piece of equipment like that in the kitchen.

I bought one of the steel crepe pans many years ago and I found that it did not season well and cooked the crepes unevenly - dark in the middle and underdone at the edges. The handle gets hot too so you always need a towel which can be awkward when trying to manipulate the pan.

I finally got a heavy gauge, non stick, aluminum crepe pan from Sur la Table (same style as the steel one with shallow edge) and it works every time - even the first crepe. It cost $15 as I recall.

Then again, if crepes are something you plan to do only once in a while, do what Phaedrus and many others do - use a non stick skillet.

 

[phaedrus]

At first blush I don't see the advantage of a non-stick crepe pan over a regular non-stick pan.  The former would basically have no purpose except crepes where the latter will lots of other stuff, too.  In restaurants over the years I've done crepes a coupole of ways:  on a flat top with ladles in non-stick pans.  Generally I only use four or five pans at a time because I'm getting old & slow...that's as many as I can watch at once./img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif  

Unless the top of that electric is really thick, I'm sure the batter will shock it & drop the temp.  Maybe not, as I said I haven't tried it. 

 

[zane]

I ended up getting the second one, even though I've read multiple responses here and on other sites saying you can use a skillet. I'm just that way, if its something I can use and doesn't cost too much I just add it to my inventory.

Thanks for all your help though.