Is there a way to "fix" my stainless steel fry pan that does not sit flush on my cooktop stove?
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Depending on your stove this is more or less problematic. Gas is OK, but induction, vitro or electric not.– BaffledCookCommented Aug 30, 2011 at 11:33
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You can get away with it on an electric coil stove, but not on a glasstop.– Chris CudmoreCommented Aug 30, 2011 at 15:38
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1@BaffledCook Why not induction? As long as the bottom is magnetic it should work perfectly– MStoddCommented Jul 12, 2012 at 22:18
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1@MStodd, the magnetic field decreases with the square of the distance, not having a good flat metallic surface will reduce the effectiveness of the induction stove. Wikipedia: "Cookware must have a flat bottom since the magnetic field drops rapidly with distance from the surface."– BaffledCookCommented Jul 12, 2012 at 22:58
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@BaffledCook touché– MStoddCommented Jul 12, 2012 at 23:13
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7 Answers
I have had some limited success using a technique borrowed from large steel fabrication and construction, specifically ship building. In order to 'flatten out' the steel wall and deck plates on a ship, after they are welded into place, they are alternately heated and quenched with water, which has the effect of shrinking the metal, reducing or removing the warps created from the heat of the welding process.
What I will do with a warped pot or pan is heat it dull red on the stove and apply wet cloths to the warped part(s), if the whole thing is warped, I start in the middle. Successive treatments do reduce the warping. Just be careful, and wear leather gloves and a heavy long sleeved shirt, the steam is hot, and will burn you very badly if not careful.
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3This sounds dangerous and probably not good for the pan, but when a pan is so warped that it would otherwise be replaced, I'd give it a try.– BobMcGeeCommented Sep 3, 2011 at 16:36
Had a warped stainless steel pot I was getting ready to toss, but decided to give it one more use since I forgot it was warped until I needed to use it right away. Was making tamales so it was on a good simmer for about 3-4 hours. Placed a heavy cast iron Dutch oven on top while it cooked to try to get better contact with my ceramic top stove. Left it to cool and forgot about the pot until I went to clean it in the morning. When I did, I noticed the warp was all gone. Pleasantly surprised and glad I did t throw it away. I will definitely be more careful with it in the future. Hope this is helpful to someone out there.
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1+1, very interesting answer. It would be a better fit in the Q&A nature of the site if you could edit your answer to be less anecdotal, more instructional. Great advice though.– Jolenealaska ♦Commented Jan 7, 2014 at 9:01
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basically you forged the pan back to the flatlands without trying to– HuangismCommented Oct 2, 2021 at 2:21
No, there isn't. You'll either have to live with it, or get a new pan.
Some pan materials are more resistant to warping, like cast iron (either enameled or raw). Those are a little pricey, but if you take good care of them, your grandkids will still be using them.
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4Upvoted, but I'd like to point out that in many cases the thickness of the pan has as much to do with its resistance to warping as the material. You can definitely warp a cast iron pan--my Mom has one that's got a big dip in the center, but she won't get rid of it--and quality stainless with a heavy bottom is generally quite resistant to warping. Commented May 11, 2011 at 17:56
Cook something in the pan, even if it's just boiling a little water. Take it off the stove, dump out the contents, but do NOT cool it or run it under any water.
Now, flip it over face-down on a large, flat surface. I have had good success just using a dishtowel over a plastic cutting board. (Don't use a wooden cutting board, as what we are about to do in the next step could break it apart at the joints) You want the rim of the pan face-down in good contact with the level surface all the way around, with the handle hanging off the table where it won't interfere. Very important.
The idea is to have that rim face-down, the pan still HOT (hence the dishtowel over the plastic cutting board, so it doesn't melt). And this needs to be on a STURDY table. You'll see why.
Take a large rubber mallet (NOT a regular steel hammer!), and whack the center
of the pan a few times. Don't be shy. Hit it hard.
Test. You'll find that it sits level on the stove again.
Just a few whacks, test it. If it's not enough, flip it and whack it again.
NOW... From now on, after you cook in it, do NOT put it anywhere near any water or anything cool until it has a chance to cool on its own. If you dump out the contents and immediately put it under water, even warm water, the rapid temperature change will make the bottom warp upward.
It is true that really high-quality cookware with very thick bottoms does not suffer from this. But your average everyday stuff, you can still avoid the problem if you avoid rapid temperature changes.
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1+1 for the chance to hit something really hard in the kitchen. Don't know if this works, but hey sounds like fun.– talon8Commented Jan 22, 2013 at 21:42
As a rule, to keep my stainless steel pans from warping, I let them cool naturally, on the stove. Only when they are cool enough to put my hand on the bottom of the pan without burning myself, will I put it in water to wash. When hot meets not hot, if it is metal, it will warp!
When it it already warped, use the rubber mallet technique, it works.
A bit of advice how to prevent the problem in the first place. Someone mentioned deglazing. When deglazing use room temperature liquid. Cooking wine shouldn't come directly from the fridge. Secondly to keep you pans from warping pour liquid in from the edges.
Cooking is fun, don't let fear of warping pans discourage you.
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1Hello Fox, and welcome to the site. We are a Q&A site, and expect new posts in an existing "thread" to all be answers focused on literally solving the problem in the question on top. Yours got flagged as "not an answer". I see it as a borderline, because the only part directly addressing the question repeats what another answer already said, and prevention of warping is not literally an answer and wouldn't be enough for a post in this question on its own. I know our format gets a bit used to, you can read cooking.stackexchange.com/help/how-to-answer as a guide.– rumtscho ♦Commented Sep 1, 2014 at 6:28
I was given a very large cast iron frying pan with a warped bottom. It was unusable on my induction cooktop.
I heated up my woodstove really, really hot and buried the pan in the coals. The pan heated up cherry red hot (same color as the coals). I let the fire burn out and cool overnight. The pan came out squeaky clean and dead flat on the bottom.
I recommend against any flattening technique involving a hammer or focal heating like a torch or hot element. These techniques, if they work, will leave stresses in the metal, inviting warping when the pan is used again.
Heating uniformly, as in a wood stove, BBQ or forge, relaxes internal stresses in the iron and prevents re-warping.
