What is the cheapest paella?

It is common when we want to buy something to debate between the price and the quality of the product we buy, is it worth buying a cheaper but poorer quality product, or is it better to stick with the more expensive but better made product? This doubt permeates practically any product and paella pans are not free from this debate.

A paella pan can last a lifetime if we take good care of it, but of course, it is reasonable to want this paella that will pass down through generations of our family to be a high quality paella pan at a cheap price.

In this blog post we are going to help you think with us to understand and discover which are the cheapest paellas and the reason for their prices.

How and why is it a cheap paella pan?

Every product has thousands of manufacturers, each with a different quality and price from one another, whether because it uses better materials, is made by hand or because of countless variables that determine its final price and quality when it goes on the market.

Paella is no different, many companies make paellas, but if we are looking for the best quality-price paella, we can indicate that they would be those made in Valencia, the birthplace of paella and everything related to it. The paellas made by Valencian manufacturers guarantee the best quality-price, obtained through the study and improvement of the design of the paella pan, not by the use of lower quality materials or cutting corners during its manufacture.

The paella pans from 20 years ago were heavier and used more steel, which meant higher manufacturing costs. Nowadays, thanks to technicians and engineers, the designs have been able to be optimized, using a lower amount of steel, but maintaining the same heat resistance as the paella pans of yesteryear with a lower weight. Consequently, the price of paellas has become cheaper, giving us cheap paellas of very good quality.

Of course, if one looks at the different types of paellas, it is very likely that you will notice that the prices vary from one another, the reason for this is not because the quality of the paella is inferior among them, but because of the fact that the different lines of paellas offer us small benefits that similar paellas do not have.

These benefits translate into a higher cost, justified by an experience that is closer to our tastes and needs when we prepare paellas, be it comfort, product longevity or greater resistance to high-performance situations.

To better explain these differences and price fluctuations, let's take a brief look at the types of paellas.

Types of paellas and their prices

Polished steel paella pan

The polished steel paella pan, also called traditional or classic paella, is recognized by any rice master as the traditional paella, found both at home and in restaurants and bars.

Made of 100% polished steel, it is a paella that distributes heat quickly, which requires maintenance to avoid rusting after use by applying a layer of oil after cleaning. Lacking any other element, it also turns out to be the cheapest paella.

Enameled steel paella pan

The enameled paella pan, colloquially referred to as the black paella pan, stands out visually for its black enamel with white specks. Made of 100% steel, its characteristic black ceramic enamel guarantees that it cannot rust, avoiding the need for maintenance after use, although it is advisable to be careful not to lift its enamel with any bad knock or scratch.

This paella, as it does not require maintenance, makes it easier for us to store our paella, being around 25/30% more expensive than the polished steel paella. This price increase is quickly amortized by making it easier to clean and store our paella, in addition to its resistance to oxidation.

Stainless steel paella pan

The stainless steel paella pan combines the appearance of the traditional paella pan with the antioxidant capabilities of the enameled paella pan. Made of stainless steel, its protection against oxidation is not affected by possible knocks or scratches, which guarantees absolute resistance and longevity to our paella pan.

It has a higher price than other alternatives, between 300/500%, a justified price increase due to its guaranteed conformity and longevity, which translates into a paella that will last a lifetime, no matter how many times it is used.

Special thickness paella

The special thickness paella pan is similar to the polished steel paella pan, sharing the same advantages and disadvantages, but it adds to its repertoire the great advantage of having a greater thickness at its base, which makes it more heat resistant than the conventional paella pan. , making it more suitable for preparing paellas over a wood fire or in case of possible intense fires.

Due to its special thickness, its price increases by 120%, but it is justified thanks to its superior resistance to temperatures, making it efficient for a wood fire.

Induction paella pan

The induction paella pan, whether in its polished, enameled or stainless steel variants, is characterized by its design, specifically its lower part, which, instead of being slightly convex like traditional paella pans, turns out to be completely flat, optimizing the surface of contact, which allows us to make paellas on our ceramic or induction hobs.

Due to its design, expressly manufactured for use on induction and ceramic hobs and hobs, the price of induction paellas is somewhat higher than traditional paella models, justified by its ability to prepare delicious paellas without the need of a paella burner.

Multi-tasting paellas

Multi-tasting paella pans allow us to make multiple types of paella in a single paella pan, allowing us to combine flavors, plus, thanks to its ceramic glaze, it does not require maintenance after use.

Its ability to combine flavors and its ceramic glaze make it more expensive compared to an enameled paella, around 50%.

Quality-price between paellas

As we can see when we compare the different types of paella, their price is different between them not because they use worse quality materials or inferior manufacturing techniques, but because their different characteristics adapt them more to our possible needs, giving them benefits that we cannot find among other variants.

We must also keep in mind that prices may change depending on whether the store that sells them works directly as distributors of the Valencian factories.

To give an example, we are going to compare a 55 cm polished paella between us, Original Paella and two renowned product companies, Carrefour and Amazon:

As we can see, our paella turns out to be cheaper if compared between both companies because we work as a direct distributor of the Valencian factory.

We hope that this introspection helps you know how to choose a cheap paella that is also of good quality.

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