Walls on a large rondeau...how high?

Cooking Discussions Cookware
1

For a wide rondeau, say32cm, how high would you be ok with the walls being?

2

For me, 4-5 inches.

3 Likes
3

Yup, my Paderno Grand Gourmet 32 cm rondeau is just less than 5" tall. I wouldn’t want it any taller than that, just for ease of access.

1 Like
4

With the old French cookware manufacturers, the height of a rondeau or a saute pan is usually 1/4 of the diameter plus a little something (8.5 cm high for 32 cm, 10.8 for 40
). For the sauce and stew pans, the ratio is 1/2 plus a centimeter or two.
I noticed that some manufacturers today offer rondeaux that are somewhat taller than their saute pan, with a ratio about 1/3. I have never cooked in such a piece. I am not convinced that the increased height is an improvement but I guess I wouldn’t really mind.

4 Likes
5

I prefer lower over taller, so using @LouisLeJung ’s well-known analogy I’d say 8cm.

2 Likes
6

Yep. I’d rather it be too short then too tall.

1 Like
7

Tim,

I guess you’re not asking just for the fun of confirming that onions like it shorter. May we know the reason behind this question? Do you plan to have a rondeau custom made? Have you found one with unusual proportions on Etsi? Do you intent to shorten a stewpot? 
?

8

I found one that size of reasonably heavy copper (2.2mm) with new tin. It looks terrific, but the 5"/ 12.7cm sidewalls are making me ponder it. The price seems good, under $400 by a bit. I really do not have much that is larger than 24cm and nothing with a fitted lid. The other nightI watched (and drank) while my son in law made fondant potatoes in a rondeau that was 32cm. It really seemed to help to have that much space.

9

I think the improvement may be less slop.

And on the other side of the equation, I think the high valuation of low sidewalls for evaporation may be a little too much. There is a value, but my feeling is that as long as there’s good access and it can fit in the oven with something else, another 2-3cm in height over a saute’s doesn’t trouble me.

2 Likes
10

Slightly taller sidewalls are also helpful when, for example, wilting a really big head of cabbage without launching shards of cabbage all over the cooktop. I think 4-5" is just fine for this diameter. I like the Paderno because it sears relatively well and allows moisture to evaporate, while still preventing a mess.

1 Like
11

I’m not sure I even own a rondeau, if it has to have a specific height for it to be called a rondeau.

I own the Mauviel M250c 28 cm ‘rondeau’, but it has the same body as the Mauviel M250c sauter pan, so not really a rondeau then.

I also own the Fissler Original Profi 28 cm roasting dish, but it also just looks like a regular 28 cm sauter pan with two short handles.

Finally I own the Staub Chistera 28 cm ECI braiser, but it also looks like a sauter pan with two short handles.

So I feel jealous :face_holding_back_tears:

I need a TRUE rondeau in my cookware collection 


or do I

. ?!? :relaxed:

12

Hi Claus,

It’s entirely your call, and you own plenty of cookware already, but at a minimum I think a 28 cm rondeau is an incredibly useful size for cooking big batches of bolognese, any type of braised dish you care to mention, as well as larger jobs like wilting lots of greens at once. It’s probably my third most used and certainly my most versatile piece of cookware. The 32 cm size is great for even larger jobs or when batch cooking for the freezer.

Cheers,
Andrew

2 Likes
13

Come to think of it Andrew, my Mauviel M’Cook 28 cm sauter pan actually looks more like a rondeau with a long handle and a helper handle.
It’s tall 9-10 cm high walls, it’s big 5.5 liter volume and if it had two short handles I would call it a rondeau. I use this for my larger pasta dishes, when I use tagliatelle or fettuccine in the pasta dish.

For bolognese and other stews however I tend to prefer one of my 6 Staub & Le Creuset ECI pots or my Fissler Original Profi 28 cm 7 liter pot, but I could see the rondeau used here to do the final mix of the pasta and the bolognese sauce, which one should do in a separate pot, but a regular sauter pan works great for this already.

1 Like
14

Hi Louis,

My Mauviel M250c 28 cm ‘rondeau’ is exactly shaped like the Mauviel M250c sauter pan. I got it, because I found the M250c 28 cm sauter pan quite cumbersome and heavy to move around and hand wash afterwards. The two short handles of the M250c 28 cm rondeau makes it far more easy to move around and if I need it to go in the oven.

I find it a bit interesting that many of the French cookware brands like Mauviel, De Buyer and Matfer all seem to use the same size pan for their sauter pans and rondeau pans in the same diameter.

My Mauviel M250c 28 cm rondeau is listed at 4.7 liter volume.
The Mauviel M250c 28 cm sauter pan was listed at 4.5 liter volume. So basically the same size.

15

Hi Claus,

Your Fissler 28 cm 7.2l casserole is nearly identical in dimensions to my Paderno 28 cm rondeau. The sidewalls are only slightly taller, but it still does an outstanding job with the tasks I listed in my previous post. It also sounds as if your Mauviel sauté is nearly as versatile, although probably harder to fit in an oven (should you wish to).

Typically I make triple or quadruple batches of Hazan’s Bolognese, which is why I need such a large pot in the first place. If I were making a single batch, I could probably manage to make it in a 2.5 liter saucepan.

Cheers,
Andrew

2 Likes
16

Hi Andrew,

I still can’t quite figure out if my Fissler OP 28 cm Roasting pot (4.5 liter) or my Fissler OP 28 cm stew pot (7.2 liter) is what officially is referred to as a rondeau - or maybe neither of them are rondeau shaped but somewhere in between ?

Btw my Mauviel M250c 28 cm rondeau is similar in shape to their M250c 28 cm sauter pan - I think they listed the M250c 28 cm sauter pan at 4.5 liter and my M250c 28 cm rondeau at 4.7 liter., but they look identical to be honest.

17

Lots of people , like Andrew/am47, are very happy with their somewhat higher rondeaux, so I wouldn’t be worried too much about the 5" sidewalls.
The 2.2mm thickness, on the other hand, would make me hesitate more. I’m sure you could make it work but if fear it would lack the evenness and oomph, the high torque to use an automotive analogy, that make thicker copper sautĂ© or rondeau brilliant and very comfortable to use on a stovetop, on a low flame as well as on a higher setting. In addition, a 32cm rondeau becomes really heavy once loaded and I fear that with a 2.2mm thickness, it might be somewhat susceptible to dents.

2 Likes
18

I totally agree :grin:

19

Hi Claus,
No wonder there. If you take a look at the old Gaillard or Dehillerin catalogues or even at the Dehillerin website, you’ll see that sautes and rondeaux are both described as “plats Ă  sauter”, which can be either “à queue” (with long handle) or “à poignĂ©es” (with short handles).

2 Likes
20

I once bought a Mauviel 28 saute and rondeau, and the walls of the rondeau were around 1+ something cm higher. This was back in 2009.

2 Likes