What Causes a Pan to Warp—and How Do I Fix It?
What Causes a Pan to Warp?
My parents have had the same set of cookie sheets in their kitchen since I was little. And ever since I can remember, one of them has been slightly bent upward and uneven. It doesn’t lie flat on an oven rack, so half of the cookies we bake using the sheet always come out a little underdone. Not really what you want when prepping batch after batch of cookies.
Sound familiar? Here are a few of the reasons why your cookware might be warped.
Rapid Changes in Temperature
Have you ever removed a pan from the oven, scooped its contents on a cooling rack and immediately doused it with cold water in the sink? We’ve all done it at least once. The sizzling and the steam is unpleasant, of course, but you’re actually damaging your cookware by exposing it to contrasting temperatures so quickly. The pan is still extremely hot, and splashing it with cold water puts it under stress, causing the temperature change to distribute unevenly and warp the metal. Give your pots and pans a few minutes to cool down on their own before heading over to the sink!
Overheating
You can also warp a pot or pan by heating it up too quickly. Even taking a room temperature pan and heating up to a high temperature quickly (versus over a longer period of time) causes stress, and the unevenly distributed heat can misshape your metal cookware.
It’s always a good idea to invest in quality cookware, since we constantly expose it to high temps and messes. In general, stainless steel is considered to be a more heavy-duty metal than aluminum. It’s denser, more durable and less likely to bend under heat and weight. Look for cooking products that are multi-ply versus single-ply; they’re even more durable.
See what sheet pans our Test Kitchen recommends.
Thickness of Pan
Thicker pans also conduct heat better than thinner pans. Because they have less material, thin pans warp more easily when exposed to extreme temperatures. Thicker pans hold up better and generally do a better job absorbing heat.
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