Crepes are a famous French delicatessen which is extremely versatile, perfect for brunch, lunch, a light supper — and definitely dessert. Crepes are served with a variety of fillings, from the most simple with only sugar to flambéed crepes Suzette or elaborate
savoury galettes.
A Lotus Rock pan is perfect for cooking crepes for the following reasons:
Fast heating effect. For a delicious, tasty crepe the whole cooking process should not take any longer than 80 seconds; 60 seconds at first, and then 20 seconds after the crepe has been flipped over. In order for this to happen most effectively the crepe needs to be on a pan that heats up quickly – carbon steel, the substrate for all Lotus Rock pans, is ideal for this. None of the other commonly used substrates, such as aluminum*, stainless steel, cast iron and copper, heats up as quickly as carbon steel.
*A big disadvantage about aluminum is that even though it does spread heat evenly around a pan extremely well (only copper is better at doing this), it heats up much slower than carbon steel. This means the crepe will not be as crispy and tasty as it could be if it is cooked on a Lotus Rock pan. In fact, a crepe cooked on an aluminum pan could easily be overcooked or become rubbery.
Heat dispersion. Although carbon steel does heat up quickly, it does so in the centre of the pan. If the gauge of the carbon steel crepe pan is too thin then the outer edges of the crepe pan will cook much slowly than the centre, meaning either the centre is burned or the edge of the crepe is undercooked. Because Lotus Rock has a thick 2.0mm carbon steel gauge and a thick coating on top of that, the pan heats up quickly but also evenly. This creates the perfect heating effect for a delicious, appetizing crepe.
Heat retention. Although crepes, because of their thin nature, should not have too much of a thermal load, and thus not reduce the temperature of the pan much, a good crepe pan should still retain as much heat* as possible while cooking. If it does then by the 2nd or 3rd crepe the pan should reach a suitable and stable temperature to transmit heat effectively to the batter to create a better tasting crepe.
*The only other metal substrate which retains heat better than carbon steel is cast iron. However, cast iron is extremely heavy, so some people will find flipping more than a few crepes a bit troublesome.
Easy clean-up. A lot of crepe pans in the market today are produced with carbon steel or cast iron but are uncoated. This means that the customer has continually to re-season the pan which some cooks find time-consuming and complicated. Moreover, consumers cannot use washing-up detergent or scrub too hard on the pan’s surface, because that might remove the natural non-stick patina that forms on crepe pans after some use. On the other hand Lotus Rock hydrophobic nano-silica coating is extremely easy-to-clean, with any type of washing-up liquid or abrasive pad.
Other benefits of a Lotus Rock crepe pan include:
- Induction safe. This type of cooking top surface is particularly suitable for cooking crepes, which need to be cooked quickly, because induction stove tops transmit heat much faster than either gas or electric.
- Metal utensil safe. A metal spatula can be used for flipping the crepe without damaging the coating.
- Low sides. This is especially useful for easy removal of crepes.
- Other uses. Lotus Rock crepe pan is also ideal for heating up tortillas, acting as a griddle for pancakes, and for making other delicious items such as Indian flatbread and Omelets.
A Lotus Rock crepe pan is sold in a 24cm, 26cm, 28cm and 30cm sizing. With the hollow cast stainless steel handle above the pan is oven safe to 650 degrees Fahrenheit and it is broiler safe. It is suitable for all cooktops, including electric, gas, halogen, ceramic, glass and induction. After limited use a Lotus Rock crepe pan can be used in a dishwasher, but a regular hand wash is recommended.