Metal pie pans: aluminum or stainless steel?

15 years ago

I've been unable to find 9" metal pie pans in local stores, and so I'm going to have to order them from Amazon. I did find 10" aluminum pie pans at Surfas for $3.55 each, but 10" pans will not fit in my pie saver, and I want 9" pies anyway. I probably should have checked thrift stores.

I was reading reviews at Amazon and felt I could not trust some of them. Anyway, the steel pans are much more expensive, and I wonder if they distribute heat as well as the aluminum ones. I believe the one metal one I have is steel, and it seems to work fine, but the aluminum is so much less expensive, and I do need to get two of them. I felt that if Surfas sold aluminum pans, then those are probably preferable. The metal pie pan I have has "ears" on the sides for use as handles, and this makes it very difficult to fit in the pie saver - I want just simple round pans.

Has anyone used silicon crust shields?

Lars

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Comments (11)

claire_de_luna
15 years ago
Lars, don't buy the stainless steel pie plate. If it's not stainless, but regular steel, that would be different, which would conduct heat better than stainless (although it would rust unless it were enameled.) I know this because the first cake pans I bought 30 years ago were stainless steel, and I always had trouble with them. They simply don't conduct heat as well. (Neither does SS cookware.) Once I switched to aluminum...No Problem! Of course, you didn't ask but if you want to buy a high-end pie plate, look for a copper one that's lined with tin. Works great every time!
Lars
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks, Claire. I think I will order the aluminum pans. I believe the pan I have is regular steel that is enameled. I had a bunch of steel pans that rusted, like you said, and I got rid of those, which is why I now have a shortage of metal pans.

As for the copper lined with tin - what I found was beautiful, but it did not have a lip for the edge of the crust, and I need that!

Still wondering about the silicon crust shields, however.

Lars
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soonergrandmom
15 years ago
My favorite pie plates are made by Corning and they fit perfectly in my four pie servers. LOL I know, who needs four? I shouldn't admit it but have lots more pie plates than that.
wizardnm
15 years ago
My favorite pie plates are glass. I have aluminum, ironstone and even Emile Henery pie plates. But I really think the Pyrex is the all around winner.

Nancy

Here is a link that might be useful: This is my favorite
jimster
15 years ago
Pie crust shields seem to me one of the better applications of silicone in bakeware. Admittedly, I have used no silicone bakeware. Containers, such as baking pans seem floppy, not a desirable attribute IMO. The floppiness would seem to be an asset in crust shields and this is consistent with the customer reviews on Amazon.

Lars, I nominate you for guinea pig. Get some and report back. ;-)

Jim
dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
15 years ago
Poor conductor of heat may not be a bad thing for pie making.

I go for glass or stainless steel also because you can use oven cleaner on them, which you cannot if you have aluminum.

Silicone crust shield is great. After all, crust is all about pie eating. Burned crust is not very nice.

dcarch
Jasdip
15 years ago
Speaking of silicone, I saw a loaf pan on the weekend that was silicone, but the handles were reinforced with metal for ease of handling. The whole thing was sturdier, not so floppy.
Lars
Original Author
15 years ago
Okay, I'll get the silicone crust shields and report back. I already have four glass pie pans, and I only use those for pies that have crumb crusts or other pre-baked pie crusts. For the regular pie crust, I prefer using the metal pan because I like the way the bottom crust comes out, compared to the Pyrex pans.

I used to have both 8" and 9" pie pans, but the 8" appear to have been phased out when I wasn't looking. Now I see more 10" pans.

As for silicone, I have a Madeleine pan that I use for making chocolate candy but rarely for Madeleines. Silicone is ideal for chocolate.

Lars
jessyf
15 years ago
When I see 'aluminum pie pan', I see Marie Callendars pies. Just a thought if you have any around.
Lars
Original Author
15 years ago
This is the kind of pie pan I was talking about. I don't know what kind of pans Marie C has, but I need heavy aluminum. The 10" pans at Surfas were cheaper than the Amazon price, and so I'm a bit upset that they did not have the 9" size. They did say that others had asked for 9" metal pie pans, and so I'm not the only one looking for them. They might get some in their next shipment, however. I would expect Marie C to use disposable pans.

Lars
jessyf
15 years ago
Marie C doesn't use disposable. You get 50 cents back (or is it 25 cents?) when you return them because they reuse them. The picture looks like they are the same weight, but MC isn't non-stick. I'd stop by restaurant, ask to look at an empty pie tin, see if it might work, and buy a couple of pies bwhahaha, keep the pans.

I just weighed one of mine (guests who want to bring dessert) - it weighs one ounce. And I would guess it is stainless steel, but I'm not sure.

Metal pie pans: aluminum or stainless steel?

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claire_de_luna

Lars
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Metal pie pans: aluminum or stainless steel?

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