Garcima 16-Inch Pata Negra Restaurant Grade Paella Pan, 40cm

The Garcima Paella Pan arrived on time and in good condition. It was great to use and helped me produce a wonderful Paella. I look forward to using it often. It's easy to cook with, is a perfect size, and cleans easily after use.

Great pan. I seasoned as best I could. Paella turned out well. Preferred over my heavier steel skillet for this dish. Recommended.

Love the pan. Well made.

I've had a 42 cm red-handle Garcima paella pan for over 30 years. It's almost always too big for the number of people I'm cooking for. It's the traditional Valencia shape and metal thickness: that is, it rocks on a flat surface, and you have to be very attentive to heat control because the metal is thin. It's a great pan; in fact, they're all great pans, but you should understand how they're different. The Pata Negra pans with the black handles are made of metal that's twice as thick as the traditional red handle pans. That means that the pan is more rugged, that it changes temperature slightly more slowly, and that it's somewhat less liable to get hot spots. Look at the product brochure I've scanned for you, and notice that most of the sizes are printed in black, but that four of them are printed in red. The red sizes don't rock when they're on a flat surface; they're made to be usable directly on an induction stove or a glass-topped range. The sizes in black have the traditional Valencia shape, where the middle of the pan is slightly depressed, the pan rocks, and you can't use it on an induction cooker without an adapter plate to turn it into a radiant cooking heat source. If they won't work on induction stoves, which are becoming increasingly popular, why keep making the Valencia shape? Because there are cooking techniques you can do with that shape that aren't possible if the pan is dead flat. The belly allows fats and juices to pool in the center of the pan. That means that you can use that part of the pan to color your proteins by frying them in oil, then push them up to the higher parts of the pan until it's time to start adding your rice and liquids. When the pan is completely flat, there is no particular place where the oils collect, so the way to use them is to brown your proteins a little at a time, grab the browned ingredients with a pair of tongs and put them aside on a tray to hold, and only after everything is nicely browned, then put everything back into the paella pan with the rice and the liquid. It's a different technique demanded by the fact that the pan has a different shape. Is this better or worse? Don't ask silly questions; just know what the attributes of the tool are. If you're always cooking on an induction stove, you'd be nuts not to get one of the flat bottomed pans. If you're cooking over a flame — gas, wood, or charcoal — both shapes will work for you, but you'll need to use different techniques on the completely flat shape than the traditional descriptions of techniques you may have read about when the demonstrator is using a pan in the Valencia shape . The important thing is to know that there is a difference, and to use a technique that will produce the result that you're looking for. By the way, there's a lot of whining in the reviews about the metal discoloring or rusting. If your pan doesn't end up black, it's because you don't use it. As for rust, after you've cleaned up, melt a little dot of lard on the clean, warm pan that you've just dried over your heat source, and use some kitchen paper to rub a thin film of lard all over the metal. My 30-year-old pan is black and mottled, and has never had a bit of rust.

I like this pan very much because it is great for not only to make paella but also host of other dishes. I use it to make Char Kuew Kak, (a Malaysian rice cake dish), murtabak, roti prata, burger and host of others. Just take a little extra time to season it in the beginning like you would season a wok, after that the cleaning is easy, rinse of any residue, dry it, then apply a thin layer of cooking oil and ready for storage. The pan had the perfect thickness to hold the heat.

This paella pan was highly recommended from a paella from scratch recipe. While the pan has a great size and it's been used only a couple of times, it started to show dark rusty patches at the bottom and back of the pan. Despite following the hand cleaning and care instructions, the flavors of the paella started tasting a bit metallic. This is certainly a disappointment. Unfortunately, I am not able to upload images.

The review title says it all. When I unpacked the pan I was very happy with its appearance. Much better than anticipated. I haven’t cooked with it yet but can’t wait to see how my paella turns out. Being a seasoned cook I already know that the pan is going to make my dish superb. I like the weight of the pan and know my rice will crisp up on the bottom and make for a great experience.

A friend, Olga, from Spain was in town and planned to make paella for a party. She was impressed with the quality of the pan and how it performed in the kitchen. Note - a lot of people complain about rust. That's just the reality of paella pans. They are not coated or stainless steel, so they rust. You have to season the pan before use (read the instructions - basically boil water in it and then wash it to remove any manufacturing grease or debris). Olga instructed me that after use, it is essential to wash the pan, immediately dry it thoroughly, then rub a light layer of cooking oil all over it, layer napkins or paper towel over the interior, and store it in a plastic, sealable bag if possible. Yes, high-maintenance, but the cheap pans are worse. This is a good one and just needs TLC.