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The rounde casserole with two handles is a perfectly cylindrical utensil, with a connecting radius at the base, two handles and a lid, characterised by a height approximately half its diameter. A few specimens resembling this model were already mentioned by Scappi, the papal chef, in his 1570 treatise on culinary art. Nonetheless this utensil is of fairly recent development and can be considered a product of the Enlightenment: its typical shape, corresponding to a section of a perfect cylinder joined across the base, the flat lid, the handles and the knob from forged rod, in fact can be traced to the Age of Enlightenment, affirming its analytical, systematic and rationalist approach.
Originally made of tinned copper, from the middle of the last century enamelled iron began to be widely used, followed by aluminium and finally stainless steel. But the nineteenth-century casserole was made of heavy-gauge copper, first “hammered” then “laminated” at the metal turning lathe from sheet metal.
Copper is an excellent heat conductor (thus very good for stewing in an open or closed casserole) but is not suitable for keeping food in for a long time: the acids in the foods react when they come into contact with the copper and form salts which dissolve in the food itself, making it toxic. Hence the use of tinning in the past, which ensured a very good measure of hygiene - given the times. However, as a method, tinplating is far too rudimentary: in fact, tin is a “healthy” metal, suitable for food, but it is very soft, melts even at a moderate temperature, and can be easily scraped off the inside of the pan together with the food, making it necessary for the pans to be re-tinned after a very short time.
The round casserole with two handles is used for Braising and in particular Stewing (salmì of game, red meat stews, rabbit cacciatora, chicken fricassée, Hungarian goulash, white meat stews, ratatouillle...). Furthermore, it is the typical saucepan for the method of cooking known as casserole with lid or closed casserole (of which a classic example in Italian family cooking is the so-called “Sunday pot roast”) and for making risotto. Owing to the specific cooking processes this utensil is intended for, in which heat is distributed directly to the food by the whole surface of the pan, it is essential that it is made of a metal with excellent heat conduction, so that the heat is distributed from the bottom of the casserole to the sides, right up to the neck in the shortest possible time.
This is why our casserole is produced in two versions:
- The now classic model in bilaminate (thick copper coating and 18/10 stainless steel lining) which could be said to be more professional, bringing to modern cookery all the advantages of copper in terms of conduction and uniform heat distribution, and combining them with the excellent hygienic properties of the stainless steel used for the lining.
- The new trilaminate version (coating in AISI 430 steel + thick layer of aluminium + 18/10 stainless steel lining) virtually matches the unbeatable heat conduction of the copper and stainless steel model while having the added advantages of functioning also on electric hot plates, of being easier to clean and reasonably priced.
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