The $30 Pan That Makes Perfectly Cooked Omelets Every Time
Slick pan-flips are for chefs and television. For regular folks — aka me — it’s usually flicking the wrist and hoping everything lands in the pan and not on the floor. I grew up eating stuffed greasy Indian-style omelets every weekend, and now that I live a million miles away from home, it’s a tradition I like sticking to. But rather than a soft, fluffy, perfectly round omelet, I consistently end up with a jumbled mish-mash of eggs and vegetables. Basically, a vegetable scramble.
So when a close friend told me about a Spanish kitchen staple her grandmother uses to make beautiful frittatas, I was intrigued. The pan is actually two intertwined skillets that make flipping a hundred times easier. Since hers was a local find, I turned to Amazon and discovered this highly acclaimed, 10-inch Fritatta pan from Cuisinart. It costs $30, and according to Amazon shoppers — 786 of whom have given it a nearly 5-star rating — the pan is the answer to sore wrists and unevenly cooked meals.
So how does the pan work? Simple! Two 10-inch lightweight skillets (one is a tad larger than the other to ensure they snugly fit together) are joined by a locking hinge, so when you flip the pan upside down, nothing leaks or spills and both sides cook evenly. Sure beats placing a plate over the pan to facilitate the flip, which inevitably results in burns, spills, or both! Plus, once you unlock the hinge, you essentially have two pans that are easier to store and can be used separately.
“My husband has a hard time boiling water and he makes a frittata in these pans like he knows how to cook,” says one pleased reviewer. “Just put all your ingredients in the larger pan, cover with the eggs and put on the smaller lid. Cook, turn the pan over, cook again and serve. Now tell me, how much easier could that be?”
Besides using the pan to cook frittatas and omelets, reviewers also whipped up evenly cooked pancakes, tortillas, crepes, and grilled cheese sandwiches.
“Why didn’t I buy this sooner for sticky foods like pancakes and omelets? ” says another customer. “Easy-peasy to clean. Easy on the wrist when moving it about on the stovetop. Handy second pan to use as such, or to help with flipped foods, or to use as a splatter-stopper or pan-topper. RECOMMEND.”
And if you like giving your eggs or frittatas some extra heat for that delicious rise and fluff, the pans are oven safe up to 350° F. Even better? They’re also dishwasher safe for easy cleanup.
Clearly, this is the pan that I’ve been needing all my life — especially after seeing this review: “If you like omelets, but can’t flip, buy this pan set!”
Sold!