How to prevent your paella from bulging
If there is one thing every buyer wants, it is for the products they purchase to last as long as possible. The paella pan, in practice, can have an indefinite lifespan, but we have already seen cases of customers and colleagues telling us that their paella pan has bulged or warped during use.
Believe it or not, avoiding this problem is easier than it seems, but to do so you need to understand how and why to prevent a bulged paella pan.
What causes a paella pan to bulge?
100% of the material used to make a paella pan is steel, and it has a strong rim that gives it consistency, while the base is the weakest part of the surface, steel is malleable in two ways: on the one hand, iron can be shaped with presses. This is how a paella pan is made, from a steel coil that is unrolled and passed through a press, giving it the characteristic truncated-cone shape of a paella pan.
The second way is due to excessive temperature. The melting point of iron is around 1,400 degrees Celsius, but at lower temperatures the original manufacturing structure can already be affected.
Therefore, the main reason why a paella pan bends is excessive temperature. It is also true that, over the years, paella pan manufacturers have tried to produce more efficient and economical products that are fully functional, but far from the quality and weight of paella pans made 20 years ago. All this makes it essential to know the correct way to cook paella in order to avoid ending up with a bent paella pan.
The most sensitive moments for a paella pan to warp are those when the steel can reach a higher temperature. These moments coincide with the initial stages of cooking:
- Levelling the paella pan. Levelling must be done with the heat turned off, because otherwise the metal of the paella pan will reach very high temperatures since, at this moment, with no ingredients inside, the heat is retained only by the metal. This is the most delicate moment and when unwanted warping of the paella pan can occur.
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- The paella sofrito. To prevent a paella pan from bulging or deforming, it is important to make the sofrito over medium or low heat and use only the inner ring of the burner.
During the sofrito, it is advisable to cook the meat slowly and move the pieces towards the edges as they brown. This prevents too much heat from being concentrated in the centre of the paella pan.
Do not turn on all the burner rings from the beginning, as excessive temperature can cause the base of the paella pan to bend or bulge.
What can happen if you use high heat during the sofrito? Since there is no water at this stage, the temperature reached by the steel will be very high, so in the long run the paella pan will end up bending due to excessive heat in the steel.
Interestingly, sometimes when water is added during the paella cooking process, the steel “relaxes” and returns to its original shape. This happens because of the sharp drop in the temperature of the steel when room-temperature water is added. This is a false fix because, once the paella pan has lost the rigidity provided by its design, even if the metal relaxes and returns to its original position, it will most likely bend again when we make the sofrito next time.
It is important to know that during the stages of cooking paella where there is water or stock, the steel of the paella pan will not suffer, because water boils at relatively low temperatures (100 ºC). Even if we increase the intensity of the heat, this results in greater evaporation, but the temperature never exceeds 100 ºC. This also means that, during these stages, working with intense heat does not pose any risk to the paella pan. Images like the one in this article are very spectacular and, although it may not seem so, they do not endanger the integrity of the paella pan.
REMEMBER: Never have heat under areas without food.
Wood fire: intense flavour, high risk
Wood fire is the original way paella was cooked and it provides a special flavour, highly appreciated by true paella gourmets. This wood fire is more difficult to control than gas fire and, above all, can become much more powerful, so the risk of warping or bending a paella pan is much greater, as it is much easier to reach the excessive temperature that makes iron malleable.
The precautions and advice are similar to those mentioned for gas burners, but in this case it is especially important to consider purchasing a special-thickness or professional paella pan, also known as pata negra. These paella pans are made for intensive and professional use and are characterised by a thicker steel sheet and the resulting increase in weight. In other words, these paella pans are reinforced, much more resistant and suitable for intense fires such as wood fire and for intensive use such as in restaurants.
Induction and ceramic hobs: the need for a suitable paella pan
Induction and ceramic hobs are more aggressive on the steel of our paella pan. For this reason, it is essential to use a paella pan specially designed for induction and ceramic hobs. Their main distinguishing features are the thickness of the base (thicker than that of a conventional paella pan) and the fact that they are completely flat so they can make contact with the entire surface of the induction or ceramic hob.
However, these paella pans are not exempt from eventually warping either, although the causes are the common ones produced by excessive temperature.
Key steps to prevent your paella pan from bulging
From everything explained above, we can conclude with a series of basic and simple tips that will allow our paella pans to be inherited even by our descendants:
1- Level the paella pan with the heat turned off
2- Make the sofrito over medium or low heat
3- Use only the inner burner ring during the sofrito
4- Reserve strong heat for water or stock
5- Choose a special-thickness paella pan if you use intense heat
Does this method work with any type of paella pan?
These recommendations work with all paella pans because, after all, they are all made of steel, whether it is a polished steel paella pan, enamelled paella pan, stainless steel paella pan, an induction paella pan or even a multi-section paella pan.
Extra tips: regulator and windshield
If you would like a couple of extra tips, we recommend the following:
- The gas regulator (also known as a butane regulator) works between 28/30 mbar for butane gas. We know that many customers use more powerful gas regulators, especially for large paella pans where that extra power is appreciated. It should be noted that their use is not compliant with regulations and means the loss of warranty and of the safety conditions for which the burner was designed. Their use gives the burner more power, which increases the risk of excessive temperature, so precautions and advice must be followed even more carefully when using this type of regulator.
- Although using too much power is dangerous, not providing your paella pan with the right heat power can also be a problem. If you are going to cook paella outdoors, consider taking a universal windshield to prevent the wind from reducing or extinguishing your flame. You will also achieve significant savings in gas consumption, as correctly installing the windshield creates an “oven” effect that ensures the same temperatures with lower gas consumption
If there is one thing every buyer wants, it is for the products they purchase to last as long as possible. The paella pan, in practice, can have an indefinite lifespan, but we have already seen cases of customers and colleagues telling us that their paella pan has bulged or warped during use.
Believe it or not, avoiding this problem is easier than it seems, but to do so you need to understand how and why to prevent a bulged paella pan.
What causes a paella pan to bulge?
100% of the material used to make a paella pan is steel, and it has a strong rim that gives it consistency, while the base is the weakest part of the surface, steel is malleable in two ways: on the one hand, iron can be shaped with presses. This is how a paella pan is made, from a steel coil that is unrolled and passed through a press, giving it the characteristic truncated-cone shape of a paella pan.
The second way is due to excessive temperature. The melting point of iron is around 1,400 degrees Celsius, but at lower temperatures the original manufacturing structure can already be affected.
Therefore, the main reason why a paella pan bends is excessive temperature. It is also true that, over the years, paella pan manufacturers have tried to produce more efficient and economical products that are fully functional, but far from the quality and weight of paella pans made 20 years ago. All this makes it essential to know the correct way to cook paella in order to avoid ending up with a bent paella pan.
The most sensitive moments for a paella pan to warp are those when the steel can reach a higher temperature. These moments coincide with the initial stages of cooking:
- Levelling the paella pan. Levelling must be done with the heat turned off, because otherwise the metal of the paella pan will reach very high temperatures since, at this moment, with no ingredients inside, the heat is retained only by the metal. This is the most delicate moment and when unwanted warping of the paella pan can occur.
- The paella sofrito. To prevent a paella pan from bulging or deforming, it is important to make the sofrito over medium or low heat and use only the inner ring of the burner.
During the sofrito, it is advisable to cook the meat slowly and move the pieces towards the edges as they brown. This prevents too much heat from being concentrated in the centre of the paella pan.
Do not turn on all the burner rings from the beginning, as excessive temperature can cause the base of the paella pan to bend or bulge.
What can happen if you use high heat during the sofrito? Since there is no water at this stage, the temperature reached by the steel will be very high, so in the long run the paella pan will end up bending due to excessive heat in the steel.
Interestingly, sometimes when water is added during the paella cooking process, the steel “relaxes” and returns to its original shape. This happens because of the sharp drop in the temperature of the steel when room-temperature water is added. This is a false fix because, once the paella pan has lost the rigidity provided by its design, even if the metal relaxes and returns to its original position, it will most likely bend again when we make the sofrito next time.
It is important to know that during the stages of cooking paella where there is water or stock, the steel of the paella pan will not suffer, because water boils at relatively low temperatures (100 ºC). Even if we increase the intensity of the heat, this results in greater evaporation, but the temperature never exceeds 100 ºC. This also means that, during these stages, working with intense heat does not pose any risk to the paella pan. Images like the one in this article are very spectacular and, although it may not seem so, they do not endanger the integrity of the paella pan.
REMEMBER: Never have heat under areas without food.
Wood fire: intense flavour, high risk
Wood fire is the original way paella was cooked and it provides a special flavour, highly appreciated by true paella gourmets. This wood fire is more difficult to control than gas fire and, above all, can become much more powerful, so the risk of warping or bending a paella pan is much greater, as it is much easier to reach the excessive temperature that makes iron malleable.
The precautions and advice are similar to those mentioned for gas burners, but in this case it is especially important to consider purchasing a special-thickness or professional paella pan, also known as pata negra. These paella pans are made for intensive and professional use and are characterised by a thicker steel sheet and the resulting increase in weight. In other words, these paella pans are reinforced, much more resistant and suitable for intense fires such as wood fire and for intensive use such as in restaurants.
Induction and ceramic hobs: the need for a suitable paella pan
Induction and ceramic hobs are more aggressive on the steel of our paella pan. For this reason, it is essential to use a paella pan specially designed for induction and ceramic hobs. Their main distinguishing features are the thickness of the base (thicker than that of a conventional paella pan) and the fact that they are completely flat so they can make contact with the entire surface of the induction or ceramic hob.
However, these paella pans are not exempt from eventually warping either, although the causes are the common ones produced by excessive temperature.
Key steps to prevent your paella pan from bulging
From everything explained above, we can conclude with a series of basic and simple tips that will allow our paella pans to be inherited even by our descendants:
1- Level the paella pan with the heat turned off
2- Make the sofrito over medium or low heat
3- Use only the inner burner ring during the sofrito
4- Reserve strong heat for water or stock
5- Choose a special-thickness paella pan if you use intense heat
Does this method work with any type of paella pan?
These recommendations work with all paella pans because, after all, they are all made of steel, whether it is a polished steel paella pan, enamelled paella pan, stainless steel paella pan, an induction paella pan or even a multi-section paella pan.
Extra tips: regulator and windshield
If you would like a couple of extra tips, we recommend the following:
- The gas regulator (also known as a butane regulator) works between 28/30 mbar for butane gas. We know that many customers use more powerful gas regulators, especially for large paella pans where that extra power is appreciated. It should be noted that their use is not compliant with regulations and means the loss of warranty and of the safety conditions for which the burner was designed. Their use gives the burner more power, which increases the risk of excessive temperature, so precautions and advice must be followed even more carefully when using this type of regulator.
- Although using too much power is dangerous, not providing your paella pan with the right heat power can also be a problem. If you are going to cook paella outdoors, consider taking a universal windshield to prevent the wind from reducing or extinguishing your flame. You will also achieve significant savings in gas consumption, as correctly installing the windshield creates an “oven” effect that ensures the same temperatures with lower gas consumption
Javier Baixauli
Our CEO and founder, Javier Baixauli, naturally, is a huge paella lover. In this tutorial, he demonstrates his love for all things paella and rice. With over 20 years in the world of rice and hospitality, he combines his love for paella with the experience of hundreds of catering events, festivities, and popular celebrations, not to mention paellas among friends and family. Catering, paella equipment rentals, thousands of products sold worldwide, guides, tutorials, and in-person advice, Javier and the Original Paella team pride themselves on ensuring that the love for paella spreads worldwide with every action in their name, including, in this case, this tutorial. Follow and discover other tutorials, events, and recipes on our Instagram @originalpaella.