Saucepan, 16 cm, 1.2 litres

A sauce will not take a lid

A béchamel, a cheese sauce or a thickened gravy turns out well because you watch it. You stir, you see the moment it starts to thicken and you lift it off the heat before it sets. This pan comes without a lid, and for sauces that is the good part: the steam leaves, the sauce thickens, and you can see what is happening the whole time.

Sixteen centimetres, one point two litres

The pan is 16 cm across and 7 cm high, holding 1.2 litres. A small diameter with a relatively tall wall: liquid does not spread into a thin layer, so the edges are in no danger of catching while the middle is still cold. One batch of cheese sauce, a reheated plate of soup or a side dish for two fits this size, and it spits less than a small frying pan.

The handle is 20 cm long, stays cool, sits well in the hand and has a soft touch; on a pan this size that means there is somewhere to hold it even over a neighbouring burner.

Forged aluminium, matte surface

The body is forged aluminium. That process gives a denser, thicker wall than a pan pressed from sheet metal, so even a small pan holds its heat more calmly: pour cold milk onto hot flour and butter and the pan does not drop away at once.

Forged aluminium

A pan body shaped under pressure from a single block rather than bent from thin sheet. The wall ends up thicker and more even, so heat spreads through it more evenly too.

The surface is matte and the shape is minimalist; a metallic insert runs at the end of the handle, the same motif that recurs across the Fashion by Berlinger Haus kitchen line. On an open shelf this pan sits with the rest of them.

The coating milk will not grip

Inside, the hard-wearing titanPro non-stick coating does the work. With sauces that has a concrete benefit: milk and cream based sauces catch on hot metal first, and that is where the scorched taste starts. On a non-stick surface whatever settles stays under the spoon and can be stirred back in.

Turbo induction base, five hob types

The base is built as a turbo induction base, and it works on every hob type: induction, gas, electric, vitroceramic and halogen. At 16 cm across it suits the smallest gas ring and the small circle of an induction hob.

A small diameter carries a less obvious benefit: it is easier to control. In a large pot the sauce keeps bubbling for minutes after you turn the flame down; here, with less in the pan and a smaller base, it responds almost at once. That is why thickened sauces and egg-yolk liaisons work in it, where a few degrees decide the outcome.

What an ordinary day looks like

In the morning a mug of milk goes in for cocoa: on a low flame, the cocoa stirred in, done by the time the bread is toasted. Afterwards a small pan goes into the sink, not a pot. A portion of yesterday's soup or the cheese sauce for the pasta works the same way.

You can melt chocolate in it too, on a low flame and stirring constantly.

What the missing lid means

It comes without a lid, and that is worth knowing in advance. Rice or steamed vegetables are harder to make in it, because those need a closed space. For sauces, reheating, melting and reducing it is exactly right: nothing holds the steam in, and the spoon reaches in at any moment. If you do need to cover it for a minute, a larger plate will do; no lid is listed among the accessories.

Care

• A wooden spoon or a silicone whisk belongs in it; metal cuts into the coating.
• Wait until it is only warm before you hold it under the tap.
• A soft sponge and washing-up liquid are enough, with no scouring pad.
• If milk or cheese has baked on, soak it in warm water for ten minutes and it will wipe off.
• The tall wall makes pans easy to nest; put a tea towel between them.

What 1.2 litres covers

Frequently asked questions

Technical data