So I just re-purchased the Demeyere Proline duo of frying pans, while the price is still right.
€315 including shipping for both pans.
Inflation might soon start to raise prices in cookware even higher here in Europe, so I pulled the trigger on bestsale . be fine price on the Demeyere Proline 28cm & 24 cm frying pans with the closed edges (so they are DW safe)
I plan to sear meat in these pans and for when I make wine reduction pan sauces after the steak searing - my carbon steel pans leave a trace of the old burnt in oil seasoning in the sauce and parts of the seasoning usually comes off when I use them for pan sauces.
So I thought now is the time to test my 5 excellent carbon steel frying pans (Darto, De Buyer Mineral B Pro & Matfer) up against this new duo of (arguably one of) the best frying pans made for dedicated steak searing.
I might add the Lagostina Lagofusion 24 cm frying pan and the Fissler OP 24 cm frying pan later on (unless the price on these will sky rocket in the meantime), to see how they perform up against my Demeyere Proline and my carbon steel pans.
To the Demeyere Proline frying pan owners.
How do you like the pan ?
Is the Silvinox finish aiding in making the pan easier to clean at all ?
Have you find other pans give you a better overall searing result ?
Do you mainly use the Proline pan for meat searing or as an all round pan ?
Would you buy the Proline pan again, if you somehow lost the one you own ?
How do you like the pan ?
I ended up selling mine (28cm). The Proline was so hyped over at chowhound that I had to try it out, but ultimately I found it did not excel in any one thing. And as such became redundant in my kitchen, as I already have several high quality frying pans including the Mauviel 250 copper and De Buyer carbon steel. In the end the Proline was a good pan for side dishes, eg frying some veggies in butter and garlic, but that’s not worth 200 euro to me.
Is the Silvinox finish aiding in making the pan easier to clean at all ?
The Proline was a PITA to clean. In my view the silvinox is not necessarily meant to make cleaning easier, but it is meant to keep the pan looking new, and preventing the stainless steel from becoming dark over time. I once saw a pic on facebook of someone’s 30 year old Demeyere and it still looked new(ish).
Have you find other pans give you a better overall searing result ?
Absolutely. The De Buyer is imho a better pan for steaks and fish (eg sole meuniere). I always clean my De Buyer after use with soap, so I’m not that worried about having seasoning come off. Otherwise I’m a little surprised you are not using any 2.3mm copper frying pans? They are excellent for searing: give meat a beautiful golden brown colour and crust and very fool proof, eg no sticking. That’s also why it’s my preferred pan for searing fillets of fish. Two other really good frying pans are also the Lagostina Lagofusion and the Paderno Grand Gourmet. The Paderno has a similar shape as the Proline, and it can be used as an impromptu saute pan: it gives such a nice colour to chicken, making a deeply flavoured sauce, something I could never achieve in a Proline.
Do you mainly use the Proline pan for meat searing or as an all round pan ?
When I used it, it was mostly as an all round pan for not too demanding cooking tasks.
Would you buy the Proline pan again, if you somehow lost the one you own ?
No, never. My sister did like the Proline though, on her induction. She has asked me to get one if I see one on sale. She is the type of person I envisage using a Proline: someone willing to spend money on good quality cookware, dishwasher safe, looks good, durable, and will do most undemanding cooking tasks well. But she will not sear proteins because it will make her induction cooktop dirty…
Bottom line: I think you might be best off with a 2.3mm stainless steel lined copper frying pan, for the user case you describe.
I agree with you. Prolines are clearly the best clad frypans ever made.
The people who don’t like Prolines typically fall into 3 camps: (a) those who claim they are uneven (corresponds mostly with induction users and those who won’t fully preheat); (b) those who believe the Silvinox finish is hard to clean; and (c) those who find them too heavy.
In fact, Prolines have been repeatedly tested to be very even-heating. The Silvinox treatment generally makes cleaning easier than plain brushed SS, but in fairness Silvinox holds polymerized oils tenaciously. I actually think it also holds “seasoning” better as a result. As to weight, yes, they are heavy, but the two larger sizes come fitted with helper handles.
I use two (one large, one small) mauviel steel lined 2.5 mm copper fry pans for most of my cooking. What cooking advantage do these proline pans have over steel lined copper, dishwasher compatibility? Claus, you own steel lined copper. Why not use it for searing, then deglazing?
I used to own two Mauviel M250C frying pans, the 26 cm and 30 cm, but I sold them a couple of years ago, because I didn’t quite fancy the low side pan design these Mauviel pans had.
The low sides made a mess on the stovetop and walls.
They seared steaks beautifully - but when I compared them to my (then) Demeyere Pawson 7-PLY frying pan, I felt the Pawson performed marginally better for searing jobs.
Don’t get me wrong - 2.5 copper bimetal is fantastic for searing steaks, no doubt - and my next purchase might well be the trio of Falk 2.5 copper frying pans, you can buy in a bundle for circa €550.
My Pawson frying pans were the best searing pans I’ve ever tried - only the polymerized oil stains on the sidewalls made me sell my Pawson pans.
I actually owned the Mauviel M250C frying pans in 26cm and 30cm, and they were terrific pans, also for searing steaks - I sold them because I felt the sides were a bit too low and would tend to make a mess on my stovetop moreso than frying pans with slightly higher side walls.
My next future purchase could very well be the trio of Falk 2.5 copper frying pans you can get for circa €550 (20cm, 24cm and 28cm)
I still think my Pawson 7-PLY frying pans were the best most evenly heated frying pans for searing that I’ve yet to use.
What really made a mess on my 2 Pawson pans came from cooking some italian lamb sausages.
There must have been something weird inside these sausages, because they made a complete mess of my two Pawson pans and I never managed to clean the polymerized oil stains off from the side walls on these two pans - even using barkeepers friend and soaking the pan for hours.
I’ll avoid cooking sausages in my two new Proline 7 pans, that’s for sure.
Clearly the best clad frypans? How about Falk Coer frypans then?
IIRC you had tested the Falk clad and Proline about the same in evenness, with the Proline slightly edging out the Falk? The Proline should be slower/less responsive though than the Falk copper core option. The Falks I own look and feel very well made, the Prolines look I don’t like so much in pictures, maybe a bit too “industrial” and weirdly round for me. Perhaps I’d appreciate them more live.
Proline seems to have an edge with the triplinduc tech esp if the exterior steel has nickel also, as I have understood though, but I wonder if those added steel (and alu) layers could make for added noise on induction though compared to Falk? My Falk frypans are rather quiet on my induction cooktop and I have no rusting or pitting issues on the exteriors. I don’t keep the exteriors BKFd clean though, instead I have let the exteriors build patina over time, I think my frypan exteriors are somewhat seasoned and never going to pit.
I do think that evenness and heat retention are most important things for a frypan though, but I still don’t see how the Proline would be clearly the best clad frypans ever made. Maybe they are in a sense, but for induction I think for example the Lagostina hybrid design beats both anyway and for gas I suppose I would just use the bimetal copper instead of the Proline personally. So I don’t see why the Proline would be the main frypan for any cooktop tbh. Best clad? maybe, or tied with Falk, just about user preferences.
Yes, the Falk is a world class pan, too. Reasonable minds can differ here. I generally don’t weight my frypan values heavily toward responsiveness, but if I were making browned butter, I’d reach for the Falk.
The clarity comes principally with the thickness of the aluminum. There’s enough of it to more useful heat up the walls in a way other pans can’t. Completely sealed, TriplInduc, Silvinox, floor area, fit and finish, handle ergonomics add up to Best in Show for me.
Also, bear in mind that Coer is Falk’s entry into clad, and it’s not perfect. The exterior steel is 420 or 430 Series–for induction purposes, it is the heated surface. This steel is not as corrosion-resistant as 304 or 316. I have a Coer that developed pits in the base as a result.
You and I are on the same page. All this fanfare about the Proline, whereas there are lots of other, including cheaper, options with 50% more conductive material in the bottom, either direct aluminum or the copper equivalent.
Typically, people defending the Proline are either people who clearly have fallen into confirmation bias mode, or people who are just happy with its performance without making absolute statements.
Let’s be clear, the Proline is a good piece of cookware. For people like my sister, who only wants 1 frypan, it’s a great choice. It’s a good, versatile pan, but if you can get your hands on ss-lined copper I know what I’d choose…
I didn’t know you used to have ss-lined copper frying pans. You know what, I wasn’t a big fan of them either in the beginning. I don’t even know why, but I do know that when I started using mine a lot I got hooked pretty quickly. And this is coming from someone who is not a copperhead, I mean I use other materials as well.
In the end it’s important what works for you. Your style of cooking, and your type of food. There isn’t necessarily a ‘best frying pan’ as it will depend on the user and the ingredients. For my sister, and many here on this forum and chowhound before, the Proline is a great choice. But there has equally been a sizeable amount of people not being happy with its performance both on induction and gas.
So, who is right? Only the actual user in my view. If the Prolines work for you, why even bother getting the Falks?
Have you tried searing in your thinner copper frying pans though? For searing the relative thinness should not be a big problem I presume.
Off to use my Mauviel frying pan again, for the second day in a row. Yesterday hamburgers, today swordfish steaks!
Bonded conductive disk cookware isn’t fully-clad. Copper bimetal isn’t either, and isn’t a realistic choice for those with induction. The workaround/compromise is either an induction-retrofit bimetal pan (e.g., Prima Matera) or a hybrid disk+clad (e.g., Lagofusion Accademia. In neither case will you get the same level of performance as with the two larger Prolines.
If there was an alternative fully-clad brand/line to Proline, equally thick, I’d probably like that, too. But is there?
I’ve come to the conclusion, that for me personally there is no ‘best frypan out there’ and while the Demeyere Proline arguably is among the best clad frypans, I don’t see it as THE best clad frypan, because it’s quite heavy and cumbersome in size and shape, so in my opinion it’s really better suited as a stationary pan, where you take advantage of the heft, the thickness and the shape of the pan.
I would never consuider the Proline pan a great pan for vegetable jump sauteing. Of course it can be done with a bit of arm strength and dedication, but the pan design and the slow ups and downs in temperature doesn’t lend itself to speedy jump sauteing of vegetables, where you need fast heating up and down - but as said of course it can used for vegetables sauteing, it’s just not a pan I would say is ideal for this particular task.
I have no doubt Falk Copper Coeur is a fantastic pan.
Unfortunately I haven’t used one, so can’t comment on the quality of this clad pan series from Falk.
BTW my two Demeyere Proline pans just arrived today, so pretty fast delivery from Belgium to Denmark.
In fact it took shorter time to order these from Belgium than the new Kitchenaid 1,19 liter minichopper I ordered from Kitchenone in Denmark.
I’ll use my two Proline pans as dedicated searing pans.
I got a great offer on the two Mauviel M250C frying pans a couple of years ago.
They had the new electroplated SS handles. They were terrific pans, but I got a good offer from a chef friend - I basically got almost the same as what I paid for them.
I should have kept them - but I was annoyed over the splatter and mess they made on the stovetop, because of the low sides and I prefer my two De Buyer Inocuivre 2.0 bimetal copper frying pans for jump sauteing - the Inocuivre are fantastic for that job, I often find myself smiling, when I jump sauté in my little home kitchen - it’s so easy & speedy.
I have never tried searing steaks in my two Inocuivre frying pans, so can’t comment on how well they work for searing steaks- but I’m sure they would do a fine job.
I’m pretty sure the Fissler OP frying pan would do as least as great a searing job as the Proline, but I was never a huge fan of the design of the Fissler OP line, so I haven’t yet pulled the trigger on more pans from that line from Fissler.
Owning now 16 frying pans, I no longer believe in finding the do-it-all frying pan.
I’ve come to the conclusuion, that different pans have different strengths and weaknesses.
If I was to limit myself to 4 frying pans, I would probably go with a 28 cm and a 24 cm bimetal 2.5 copper frying pan, a De Buyer Mineral B Pro 28 cm carbon steel pan and a Demeyere Alu Pro 24 cm non stick pan.
I really wanted to “go Atlantis” with Demeyere. It seemed perfect for induction–but I never got there. I looked at three 28 cm. frypans: proline, Pawson, and controlinduc. I didn’t like the shape–or how they felt when I hefted them. I liked the Pawson shape better, but it was still quite a load.
Then there was cost/value. For my calculating, I couldn’t justify more than $150–and the closest I got for even the proline was about $165.
After considering several alternatives, including the Debuyer Prima matera and All Clad copper core, I got the 28 cm. Hestan nanobond on Ebay auction for $130.
If you like your Proline, that’s great. I’m really happy for you.
I’m aware that not all cookware will work for all people, especially with old school items like copper and carbon steel.
There is often this notion of ‘the best cookware’ but in discussions like these, imho too little time is spent on what an user actually desires. Not everyone is willing to accept oil splatters, or a pan that will rust if you look at it the wrong way. Your choice of the Proline suggests you are a sensible man!
Because, let’s face it, the Proline is of course the ultimate compromise - in line with my earlier remark that while it’s a good pan, it doesn’t excel in any one thing.
Emphasis has been put by Demeyere on user friendliness (dishwasher safe, Silvinox, handle ergonomics and so on) - but this has come at the expense of actual cooking performance. In fact, anybody choosing clad cookware already accepts this compromise given today’s state of engineering.
The complete opposite of this approach is for example the Paderno Grand Gourmet, where it feels like 90% of production costs has been spent on actual cooking performance.
In my view, every serious home cook taking performance as the prime focus, should take the Paderno GG as the benchmark for general cooking, and for searing specifically the De Buyer carbon steel. Any deviation from these two choices should at least offer equal cooking performance. This is why, in my kitchen, the Proline is not around anymore.
My opinion that Proline is the best clad ever made is just that–my opinion. It’s also my opinion that its performance has not been “compromised” by Demeyere in any way. There is, of course, a tradeoff in terms of responsiveness, but that tradeoff applies with all thick pans with their conductive layer(s) trapped between sheets of steel, even more so Paderno GG.
I concur that the Proline is the best clad frying pan ever made - it’s just not the best frying pan I’ve have used myself. And therefore it is not around any more in my kitchen.
In my view, all stainless clad cookware offers an undesirable compromise: by wanting heat to come up the sidewalls, one has to accept (significantly) less conductive material in the bottom of the pan - where it matters. The difference while cooking is easily noticeable.
As a home cook I don’t really see a lot of benefit of heat coming up the sidewalls, especially for a frying pan. I’ll just take a pair tongs and flip a sausage on its head.
