Pie Pans
People often make the mistake of taking pie pans for tart pans, but they are far from being one and the same thing. Pie pans are very often known as pie plates, pie dishes or pie tins, and their shape is so very easy to recognize: usually round and slope-sided with rims that can hold the crusty top. Pie pans are made from a variety of materials and even if some models – like the Pyrex glass pie pans – are more popular than others, we should not turn a blind eye to diversity. Thus, you can purchase aluminum, steel, clay or even tin pie pans, for very affordable prices, not to mention that you may have the choice of getting some with removable bottoms too.
Though there are many designs for pie pans, we can nevertheless mention a standard size: this would be nine inches in diameter and one inch in depth. Variations also include smaller or larger sizes that are mainly recommended for special pie pans that require some individual specificity. The round shape is the only one acceptable for pie pans, whereas tart pans are the ones to be credited for their shape variety. They lack the slope sides of the pie pans and they can be rectangular or round depending on the model.
For easy usage, pie pans with handles are also available on the market, which means that in-and-out operations are more than easy to carry on. In case you purchase some coated pie pans, it is a good idea to know whether the coating could be held responsible for certain chemical reactions. Opinions have been pretty contradictory so far, with experts claiming that coatings are perfectly safe, and their opponents trying to prove that the chemical in these protection layers can alter food quality.
Due to their shape pie pans have the great property of reflecting heat around their shiny surface so that the baking and browning is usually a success. The air flow is equally important here, hence, when you put the pie in the oven, make sure it occupies a central place so that the exposure to the hot air flow be even. Last but not least, when cleaning the pie pans you should first and foremost take into consideration the type of material they are made of. Though they usually come with a non-stick surface, you may have to scratch residues once in a while, and this is the time to be careful not to ruin a coating or scratch the steel.