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The low 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 equal to a third of its diameter.
The present-day form of this utensil, with its pure, rational, parallelepipedal shape is a direct product (like the casserole with two handles and the stockpot) of the systematic classification undertaken on a vast scale during the Enlightenment, and the progress made in manufacturing at the time of the Industrial Revolution.
Earthenware, iron and cast-iron were virtually never used to make the LOW casserole with two handles, which was always made of heavy tinned copper, whose excellent heat conduction is essential for the type of cooking for which it is intended.
Aluminium was hardly ever employed for this casserole, although the variant with a long handle, or sautoir, was very popular with professional chefs; nor were there enamelled iron or stainless steel versions, and the pan with two handles was generally adopted instead.
The low casserole with two handles, with its shallow, straight sides is perfect for cooking small slices of food by three methods: Sautéing (tournedos, veal cutlets, thinly-sliced kidney, veal escalopes, fish fillets, vegetables tossed in butter...), Pot roasting or Braising (shin of veal, beef cooked in beer, dried cod, hake, various vegetables such us braised lettuce or potatoes, artichokes...) and Oven roasting (roast leg of veal, chicken legs, small fish or large fish slices...).
It has had a curious history in different geographical areas, being very successful in countries with a French cultural background, where its highly specific features are probably better suited to local gastronomical customs, but less so in Spanish and Italian cultures where its usefulness was not really appreciated and where we find instead the long-handled pan or the saucepan with two handles, less specialised utensils but more appropriate, perhaps, in countries where the rise of the middle class has been slower, and the cuisine is less complex
The decision to reinstate the original type of utensil with straight sides stems from the conviction that it is right for certain methods of cooking, where the straight sides make it possible to cook even very thick cuts with a minimal amount of cooking fat (which is not covered by the food in the pans with rounded or sloping sides) without it burning or breaking down.
This casserole also comes in two versions, described in the chapter on the round casserole with two handles.
The handles, lid and knob, like those of the other utensils, are in 18/10 stainless steel to exploit the low heat conduction of steel and prevent overheating.
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