Retiring an Old Friend (8'' square baking pan)

16 years ago

One of the first purchases DW and I made together was an 8" square non-stick aluminum baking pan from the kitchen department at Macy's on Herald Square. After 43 years of regular use not much of non-stick coating is left, but a bit of butter and a bit of flour and it worked just fine - until yesterday.

I made a batch of bread pudding for a covered dish dinner and, as I've always done, I put the Pyrex bowl of pudding in the 8" square baking pan and poured in some boiling water. When I did that I noticed water dripping onto the hot door of the preheated oven. I assumed I'd spilled some water but it didn't stop dripping. I took the pans out, held the 8" square baking pan up to the light and saw pin holes in two of the corners. All those years of running a sharp knife around the edges of the cake or whatever had finally taken their toll.

DW and I talked about it a bit and agreed that even though it's the last piece of cookware remaining from our days in NYC it's time to discard it and buy a new one. Which brings me (finally) to the point of this note. I'm looking for recommendations for a good general-purpose 8" square metal baking pan. We have an 8" square Emile Henry ceramic pan that we use a lot for savory dishes so the metal pan is primarily for sweet recipes, like Swedish apple cake (and occasional use as a small bain marie).

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Comments (11)

fearlessem
16 years ago
Awwww... What a sweet story...

As for pans, I've seen the Chicago Metallic come very highly recommended -- by cooks illustrated, by other cooks blogs who I trust, etc. But oh, as I look on amazon now, it appears they only have a 9 inch square...

Emily
bubbeskitchen
16 years ago
Bid farewell and add thanks for so many years of service. Chicago Metallic came to my mind too.

I have adopted other folks "old friends" from thrift and second-hand stores. I love perhaps-ing about their histories.

Bubbe (who has a few very old cookie sheets and jelly-roll pans that also serve as under-ware (LOL) for pies and stuff)
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wizardnm
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I just tried to Google my favorite 8" sq baking pan. Found out that this 8" sq, 1801 Revere Ware pan is now a collectible. It doesn't seem possible....just bought it in the 80's....geez, where does time go? Guess it stands the test of time because it looks almost the same as the day I bought it...same goes for the 9" 1801 Revere Ware bread pan. Both have seen lots of use, but being stainless they clean up well.

I also have an 8" sq Wilton aluminum pan...lots of cut marks...so I checked the corners to see how its holding up, no problems...it's probably over 20 yrs old. I also never cook or bake anything high acid in aluminum as that can cause pitting.

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lindac
16 years ago
My 8 inch square pans are also from the very earliest years of our marriage and about 50 years old....and still going strong. They aren't non stick....and I guess I dodn't run a knife around the edge as much as you do....because I don't see any pin holes.....I think they are Wearever.
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claire_de_luna
16 years ago
Well, reading this today has given me an education. It's hard to believe that the vintage 8'' pan no longer exists as we knew it. It's just a testament to the fact that time marches on without me!

That said, when I upgraded some of my equipment with the kitchen, I bought a Chicago Metallic, which I really like. It feels like commercial grade, and is a bit heavier than one I've had before. (Now I want to measure it; it's probably a 9-inch square.) It looks like Emeril has an 8-inch on the market.

Here is a link that might be useful: Emeril's 8'' square pan
donnar57
16 years ago
I felt the same way, Claire - I didn't know 8" pans no longer existed. I just thought I've been looking in the wrong stores!

My husband and I are going on 30 years of marriage, and in looking at our kitchen, there are few pieces still left from our original kitchen. I have a set of Pyrex mixing bowls, a couple of casserole dishes (Corelle), a Corelle stove-top coffee pot (which we have only used to heat up water years ago), and a wood cutting board with an indentation for its matching rolling pin (which I still have). One thing we got out yesterday came from an old portable barbecue grill. The grill rusted out years ago, but it had a flat metal lid (for storage) that USED to have a plaid design on it. Now we use it as the tray for taking steaks to/from the kitchen. The paint probably poisoned us long ago; it's now bare metal!

DonnaR/CA
leel
16 years ago
Funny, I was just looking at an 8" glass pan in Good Homes (?) today. I hemmed & hawed over it because it wasn't a Pyrex brand & had only a 2 year guarantee. End of story--I left it. I still have a few pieces of bake ware from the early years of my marriage 55 years ago! They're mostly Alcoa aluminum.
friedajune
16 years ago
Williams-Sonoma makes an 8" square cake pan in their "Goldtouch" finish. That finish makes it non-stick, but still allows browning. It costs $21, but Williams-Sonoma is also offering a two-fer for $36.

Here is a link that might be useful: Williams-Sonoma Nonstick Goldtouch Cake Pans
lindac
16 years ago
I like to look at the thrift stores for such things....
arandygail
16 years ago
I have the Williams Sanoma Gold 8" pan, and I love it. It is well constructed and has done a great job with everything I have baked in it.

I was in the store today and noticed that they were featuring the gold cookie sheets and a silpat combo. I really had to restrain myself...
velodoug
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you all for the help. It sounds like a trip to Williams-Sonoma to look at the Goldtouch pan is in order. We looked at it on the W-S web site and it even looks a little like the old pan. Going there is a little risky because we always see other things we like. I agree with lindac about the thrift shops too. That's where much of our cast iron came from.

Retiring an Old Friend (8'' square baking pan)

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Retiring an Old Friend (8'' square baking pan)

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