What is this pan?

February 26, 2021 7:29 AM

My in laws just moved, and gave us some stuff. Including a "crepe pan." This pan.

This does not look like a crepe pan, at least like any I've ever seen. And in fact it doesn't much look like any pan I've ever seen. Hard to tell from the picture but the bottom is rounded. It's quite sturdy, not large - maybe 8 inches in diameter. Any ideas?

posted by dirtdirt to Grab Bag (13 answers total)

I love this question, and it indeed does not look like a crepe pan.

When I see those holes on the side, and the slight remnants of ash inside, I think it must be used to hold fuel, for something above it. Almost like a chafing dish fuel holder, but possibly for camping. The handle allows you to remove the heat source. Further reinforcing that concept is the odd way the handle is connected to the base - made for pulling, not lifting.

Here is a image example, though not the exact one you have pictured.

https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/One-Question-Five-Voices-Cooking-Kits-Header-2000x1333.jpg
posted by bbqturtle at 7:39 AM on February 26, 2021

Best answer: You cook the crepe on the "bottom" of the pan. You get the pan hot by putting it upside down over a (gas) burner, then dip the bottom of it into a shallow bowl of crepe batter, then flip it back upside down over the burner to continue cooking the crepe. Then you peel the crepe off when it's done.

Here's a video using a standard pan with the same technique.
posted by jpeacock at 7:42 AM on February 26, 2021 [51 favorites]

Which way is it curved? My parents had a crepe pan like this one - you dip the convex side into the batter. Maybe something like that?
posted by songs about trains at 7:44 AM on February 26, 2021 [4 favorites]

Echoing that the pan as pictured is upside down. Look at how the handle is attached to the pan, and the direction that it curves (down in this case, up when held properly).
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 7:46 AM on February 26, 2021 [7 favorites]

Response by poster: Booyah! That is absolutely it! It IS a crepe pan, and now I'm excited to use it!!
posted by dirtdirt at 7:49 AM on February 26, 2021 [8 favorites]

Wow! I have a domed pan for baking Middle Eastern flatbreads that works sort of the same way (you don't dip it in the batter, you make a flat disc of dough with your hands). Maybe you can use your pan for that, too. Video. Those breads are delicious.
posted by mumimor at 8:13 AM on February 26, 2021 [3 favorites]

Looks kinda like the 1977 Action Maid crepe pan in this eBay listing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1977-Action-Crepe-Pan-Wood-Handle/303845076111 - searched on eBay as 'crepe pan holes'.
posted by enfa at 8:45 AM on February 26, 2021 [5 favorites]

I know what this is because my grandma always took me to the Magic Pan restaurant for spinach crepes, where you could watch the chefs doing the upside-down thing with pans just like this, and now I miss my grandma.
posted by BlahLaLa at 9:18 AM on February 26, 2021 [11 favorites]

BlahLaLa - I used to LOVE the Magic Pan restaurant! I haven't thought of them in ages.
posted by shoesietart at 10:04 AM on February 26, 2021 [1 favorite]

Our Magic Pan had a CREPE WHEEL with a bunch of pans that cooked exactly as described, rotating around a gas ring. The chefs let me make some once (I was probably around 11 or 12) and that was the coolest thing ever. I miss the Magic Pan.
posted by dlugoczaj at 12:52 PM on February 26, 2021 [2 favorites]

Note: the picture link is coming back as not found, it would be nice to leave it up if you can for future readers.
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 4:17 PM on February 26, 2021 [1 favorite]

This is absolutely fascinating!! Can't believe I'm as old as I am and I never knew that crepes worked like this ...
posted by mccxxiii at 5:09 PM on February 27, 2021

On imgur, I think I've seen something similar with a hot domed wok-like dish dipped into batter. It looked like an asian or south-east asian setting, so that pins it down to a cultural tradition from somewhere amongst 1-2B people or so.

Here's a modern electric appliance version from aliexpress. "220V Electric Pancake Crepe Maker Machine Automatic Household Electric Baking Pan Chinese Spring Cake Machine EU/AU/UK Plug"
posted by sebastienbailard at 12:22 AM on March 1, 2021