It's rare that when I head home in the evening, I don't look forward to cooking. The whole process is, for me, a wonderful de-stresser after a long day at work - almost Zen in the way that every stage of preparing food has its own pace, rhythm and order. Then there are the delicious smells; choosing the plates, glassware and napkins that will best complement the dish; arranging the table or tray and, finally, sitting down to enjoy the results.
For the past two weeks I have been enjoying cooking more than ever: sad maybe, but true. I'm in love with my new non-stick sauté pans. Recently (with eco on my mind, as we were planning some stories on that theme) I spotted the new-to-me Greenpan brand in Crate and Barrel. A quick internet trawl revealed that the products are as green as grass: recycled and recyclable materials, energy-saving production processes and - what really appealed to me - the absence of PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene - aka Teflon), which is proven to release toxic gases at higher cooking temperatures.
Then I saw another Greenpan model at The One. This had all of the benefits of the other plus serious design cred, having come from the drawing board of the Belgium-based industrial designer Jan Hoekstra, and won several design awards. Bizzarely, Hoekstra named his design Dubai Pan (his reasons remaining a mystery) and for me that bit of silliness tipped the balance away from Crate and Barrel's model.
All well and good - but none of the above is why I love the pans. It's all about the job they do. They are neither too light nor too heavy; they are beautifully balanced and they conduct the heat better than anything other than my ancient and beloved cast-iron pan that I bequeathed to a dear friend. By holding the lowest temperatures "steady" they have made me a scrambled eggs maestro and by accurately delivering higher temperatures they have made seared salmon a staple chez moi. As Julia Child always said: Bon appétit!
Dubai Pan by Greenpan TM Dh99 for 28cm pan and Dh129 for 20cm pan at The One, www.theoneplanet.com, www.green-pan.com.
