Convenient and functional, a grill pan is used to cook food with little to no oil and to give vegetables and meat classic barbecue grill lines at any time of the year. Grill pans are generally recommended for firm vegetables, fish and seafood, poultry, burgers, franks, sausages and steaks that are not too thick.
The 28cm Lotus Rock Grill pan, as shown below, is the perfect cooking utensil for those who, whether for weather reasons or just for greater convenience, want to enjoy the experience of eating great-tasting, grilled food without having to cook it outdoors.
What are the significant benefits of this Lotus Rock product compared to other indoor grill pans on the market today?
Compared to cast-iron pans
- Easy-to-clean. A big difficulty with using cast iron is that although it does have an excellent heating effect for grilling, it is very difficult to clean. Lotus Rock’s excellent hydrophobic nano-silica coating makes cleaning the areas in between the ridges of a grill pan much easier than on a standard cast-iron pan.
- Weight. A cast-iron grill is very heavy, which for the average consumer makes it cumbersome and difficult to use around the kitchen. The Lotus Rock grill pan is made with a 2.0mm gauge – still quite heavy for carbon steel, but much less so than cast iron.
- Seasoning. Some people find the process of continually re-seasoning the pan troublesome and too time-consuming. Cast-iron grill pans cannot be rubbed too hard during cleaning as this can remove the natural non-stick patina, which means more food sticks between the ridges, making the pan harder to clean.
In contrast, the lipophilic nano-silica coating on Lotus Rock grill pans allows cooking oil to seep inside the top of the coating, so that they can be cleaned vigorously without removing the non-stick release, and do not need to be re-seasoned as frequently as cast-iron grill pans.
- Temperature control. Griddles made from cast iron start slowly, but if not used properly can rapidly became uncontrollably hot (reaching well over 500 degrees), causing food to burn. Cast-iron pans also cool down very slowly, which can be a safety hazard for anyone in the kitchen who is unaware of this.
Lotus Rock has a thick carbon steel construction, which allows the pan to heat up quickly, saving time and energy for the consumer, but also allows it to cool down quickly, making burnt food less likely than on cast iron.
Compared to aluminum pans
- Ridges. Carbon steel is a much stronger metal than aluminum, so during the production process deeper ridges can be produced. This creates a better all-around grilling effect, with the black lines on the food and smoky aroma which are associated with outdoor grilling on a barbeque. Below is an example of grill marks produced by a Lotus Rock Grill pan.
Another purpose of the ridges is to allow fat to flow off the meat, just as it would drip between the grates of a grill, so that the meat doesn’t sit and boil in its own juices. However, the shallow ridges of an aluminum grill pan mean that although the first side of a burger might get the black lines mentioned above, by the time it is turned over the fat pouring out of it will have combined with the cooking oil to fill the gullies between the ridges, so that the food will be fried instead of grilled – defeating the purpose of buying the grill pan in the first place.
- Non-stick effect. Nearly all aluminum grill pans have a non-stick coating, making it easier to cook with the pan and to clean it. However, the coating contains PTFE, which can be hazardous to human health. For example, to create good grill marks the pan needs to heated to a high temperature, but if it rises above 350 degrees it may produce smoke which is toxic to human health. Moreover, all non-stick coatings will degrade over time, making the grill pan harder and harder to clean.
On the other hand, Lotus Rock grill pans have a ‘natural’ non-stick coating which contains no PTFE and, because it is natural, is also highly durable. This Lotus Rock the non-stick effect will not wear off as quickly as general PTFE non-stick coatings.
- Durablity. A Lotus Rock grill pan is 2.0mm thick. This thick gauge is induction- and metal utensil-safe, and, unlike aluminum, will not dent or warp easily.
Conclusion
The Lotus Rock Grill Pan has a round shape, with a diameter of 28cm. This large size is important for a grill pan because the key to grilling is dry heat. It is generally agreed among grilling experts that one-and-a-half to two inches of space should be left between pieces of food. Putting too much meat in the pan traps moisture and causes it to be poached instead of grilled.
This grill pan has deep ridges for excellent grill marks, and high edges to keep more of the rising heat inside the pan to enhance the grilling process. Many grilling experts advise the use of a lid to protect your oven’s surface from grease and food splatters while you cook. However, the high edges of the Lotus Rock grill pan reduce the need for a lid. It also has a very strong construction, with 2.0mm-gauge carbon steel and a thick coating for excellent heat retention and a fast but dispersed heating effect.
Lastly, Lotus Rock’s nano-silica coating makes the grill pan easier to clean, especially compared to cast iron grill pans. Moreover, the lipophilic surface enables the cooking oil to permeate the surface and create a durable non-stick release which will not wear off prematurely because of prolonged use or over-heating.