Everyone loves the lavish, delicious, and sumptuous concoction called caramel. It can elevate any dessert into delightful goodness. If you want to create a perfectly delicious and creamy caramel, you’re going to need the right tool for the job.
Making caramel is a delicate process and the most important part of the entire procedure is the caramelization. For this, you need the right cookware, without which the whole thing could turn into a mess.
This guide will go over the most important characteristics of the best pan for making caramel and review some of the top contenders in the market.
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Top 5 Best Pan for Making Caramel Reviews
Out of many contenders in the market, we have shortlisted only 5 options for you to choose from. Now, let us look at our pick for the best pan to make caramel.
1. Cuisinart MCP19-18N MultiClad Pro 2-Quart Saucepan
Cuisinart has been in the professional cookware industry for more than three decades. By this time, they have become veterans in making saucepans too. Their expertise applied to each and every product is unmatched by anyone.
The MCP19-18N model saucepan from this giant has a dimension of 15.2” x 8.1” x 4.9” with a weight of 4.5 pounds. This weight makes holding and using the pan very comfortable. It’s also a testament that the pan is made with heavy-gauge materials.
Constructed using 18/10 stainless steel with a genuine aluminum core, the saucepan is a product of durable triple-ply technology. Its smooth stainless-steel interior with the aluminum core distributes the heat evenly and holds it for some time. This makes it an ideal pan for cooking caramel.
MultiClad 2-Quart saucepan has a bent lip around its perimeter, which allows a smooth pouring of the liquid. The rims have also been tapered so that no liquid gets dripped out of the pan.
Its large handle has been riveted for strength, which helps you with the controlling of the liquid. Safe for dishwasher, grill, and oven, the saucepan is also able to withstand temperatures up to 550-degree Fahrenheit.
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2. Calphalon Contemporary Cookware Black Sauce Pan
The 1.5-quart black saucepan from the Calphalon cookware line is made with hard-anodized aluminum with three layers of nonstick coating. This makes it twice as sturdy as typical aluminum pans.
Along with being heavily scratch-proof, the material has been specially treated to make it withstand extremely high heat, more than untreated aluminum.
Plenty of brands produce nonstick cookware, but few do so as perfectly as Calphalon. The three layers of PFOA-free nonstick coating makes its cookware easy to clean and truly nonstick. With this nonstick surface, you can cook foods with less fat and oil.
You will notice its wall is high enough to ensure the caramel won’t spill over the top. The base of the pan spreads the heat slowly and evenly, making it the best pan for cooking caramel.
Its sloped bottom makes stirring much easier than pans with straight sides. This also helps minimize evaporation during soup-making, which is a slow process.
The pan has a brushed stainless steel handle with a beautiful finish. It doesn't only look good but remains cool to the touch too. The glassed lid sits perfectly on the pan, making it ideal for condensing liquids. This pan is also oven-safe up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
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3. Anolon Advanced 4.5 Quart Gray Saucepan
This advanced collection from Anolon could be a lifesaver in your home as well as in a restaurant kitchen. The saucepan is really versatile and well-made for giving you ultimate cooking satisfaction.
Anolon’s durable construction combines form and function with three-layered nonstick coating. Basically, this could be everything you're looking for in a quality pan for making caramel.
Its deeper design and comfortable grasping handles make the cooking a time of joy. The 4.5 quarts size and 5″ depth mean it is just as big as most large home deep fryers!
All the advanced collections from Anolon are made resilient, heavy-duty with a sturdy design. This model is also no different. Its hard-anodized construction ensures even heat distribution that helps reduce hot spots during cooking, which can burn foods.
Also, the cookware is highly heat resistant and is oven-safe up to 400°F. It has triple-layered nonstick coating both on the exterior and interior of the pan. This makes both cooking and cleaning effortless.
The surface is also scratch-resistant; therefore, it can also be used with metal utensils, which are not recommended for other nonstick cookware. This amazing saucepan comes with two rubberized SureGrip handles made from stainless steel. These handles are heat resistant and are riveted for a solid and comfortable grip.
Moreover, the lid is made with break-resistant glass and safe grasping handles. Its generous size provides you great accessibility for stirring or whisking your dishes. The tapered design with flared sides makes for a wider top, which helps out a lot while making caramel.
Although it might seem too lightweight at the beginning, its service is like that of heavy-gauge materials. The nonstick coating outperforms most saucepans in the market too. Anolon’s high-quality construction and practical features make it an all-rounder best saucepan for making caramel for sure.
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4. Calphalon Classic 1.5-quart Grey Sauce Pan
Calphalon has a very high position in the cookware industry. Out of our top 5 best caramel making pan, only this brand comes twice. So, you understand how good their products are by now.
Because of the company's attention to detail and quality, Calphalon has become a popular name in the world of cookware. This nonstick grey saucepan from the Classic series is a great caramel making sauce pan according to our findings.
With a 1.5-quart capacity, the saucepan can hold a satisfactory amount of food for any household cooking. Unlike much of the cookware that comes with just a single coating, this piece has a dual-layer nonstick coating.
There is hard-anodized metal on the outside wall, which is able to withstand a host of abuse. This pot can also be used in an oven under 450 degrees Fahrenheit. But we would advise you to not operate in that extreme range for safety reasons. Also, don't try to use a dishwasher for cleaning.
This 1.5-quart oven comes with a glass lid with some small openings. These allow you to drain the fluid from the piece. The pan also has a small pour spout on the side, which is great for convenience.
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5. Scanpan Classic 2-Quart Saucepan
One of the largest European range cookware is the Scanpan, whose reputation actually precedes itself! They are the leading producers of nonstick products, which are PFOA-free. Besides that, they are also making strides to reduce pollution of the natural environment by using recycled materials.
Their Classic 2-quart saucepan is made out of 100% recycled aluminum, which has greatly reduced negative effects on the environment. This melted down aluminum is as strong as non-recycled aluminum and is also able to resist temperature up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit!
The greatest feature of this pan is that it has ceramic-titanium on its surface. This coating is nonstick as well as scratch-resistant. Due to its high quality, it is able to sear, brown, and deglaze in a healthier way.
Also, because of its incredible abilities, it is able to caramelize fruits, vegetables, and sugar with so much ease. All the features that this pan provides makes the process of caramel making feel like a breeze. That is why it has become a cult favorite among caramel makers.
With the ability to hold 2-quart, this pan can make a decent amount of caramel at a time. Besides, the pan is deep enough to accommodate any bubbling up of the sugar too. The 2-Quart Saucepan is spacious and designed for classic cooking too.
Another complimentary feature is that the saucepan also comes with a shock and heat resistant transparent cover. This allows you to monitor the cooking and have more control over the dishes. So, if you want the best pan to make caramel, you can consider this one too.
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What to Look for While Buying Caramel Making Pan?
We have made the top five lists keeping some criteria in mind. In case you want to pick a pan yourself, have a look at the following must-have features in a caramel making pan.
Look for Heavy-Gauge Materials
One of the most common mistakes you can make while making caramel is using a thin pot. Thin pots or pans spread and hold heat unevenly. As a result, the edge burns quickly before cooking the caramel fully.
Look out for heavy gouge materials, which would definitely heat evenly. If you want to check its heaviness while buying, check at the thickness of the walls and base and also try rapping it with your knuckles. If you hear a dull thud, it means the material is heavy enough.
Depth and Size
A correct sized pan is important for perfecting your caramel and also to keep your kitchen clean. Narrow pans that somewhat look like pots tend to give you the best results for heating.
At the same time, the pan's diameter should be big enough so that the caramel is 1 cm to less than 5 cm deep. If the caramel depth is too low, there is a great possibility of burning it. And if it is too deep, then there will be too much heat gradient.
Also, the pan should be deep enough so that the caramel bubbles don’t blot your kitchen counter or stove and make a mess.
Nonstick vs. Regular
Non-sticky pans are ideal for all types of cooking, although many prefer regular ones too. In the end, it is actually not a very big deal. Since the caramel will be in a liquid state while cooking, the non-stickiness won't matter much.
Some people think the nonstick coating will get mixed with the caramel, which doesn't happen often. If you find little chips of coating on the pan, it is probably time to let it go.
And if the pan base is flat and gets heated evenly, the caramel should be fine. But pouring the caramel becomes much easier with nonstick pans as some people complain the caramel turning into lumps of sugar on regular pans.
Heat Conduction
The most important feature for the best pan to make caramel sauce is how the pan conducts heat. You need even and proper heat conduction to make your caramel perfect.
Caramel making is a very delicate process, and it needs to be heated up slowly. You need the pan material to hold and distribute the heat through the ingredients evenly to produce a perfectly smooth result.
It is risky to make caramel with an aluminum pan as it might heat up too quickly and end up burning your caramel. On the other hand, cast iron materials heat up slowly and retain warmth well. But these pans get rust easily, so you have to season them properly before starting to use them.
Go for Stainless
If you want your pan to last for a lifetime, look out for stainless steel ones. Although they can be expensive, they will provide you with a service worth the cost.
Stainless steel isn't a good conductor of heat, so it takes up time to heat up. Generally, copper or aluminum is incorporated into the pan base to improve conductivity.
Since making caramel is a very delicate process and too much heat at a time can burn it, stainless pans prevent that from happening. This saves you loads of batches in the long run.
Besides, these don’t react with food and are dishwasher safe. And as it prevents your caramel from being burnt, it will save you from trying to clean burnt caramel, which is, so to speak, not an easy task.
Final Words
There you have it! If you are one of the great caramel enthusiasts, our picks will surely provide you the best pan for making caramel you have been looking for. Have fun cooking!