I made a discovery tonight on eBay. Many of the stupid people putting stuff up for sale do not know what a deep well pan is so they get labeled as stock pots. They DO seem to know the brand of the aluminum pan so if you search under a brand such as Mirro Aluminum, you will have better luck. I saw several. If you find something and are unsure about it, post a link here or send me an email with the link or picture and we will get you fixed up.
Deep Well Pans
- Thread starter tomturbomatic
- Start date
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OK, so enlighten us.
What's the difference between an aluminum stock pot (which I have plenty of), and a "deep well pan"?
What's the difference between an aluminum stock pot (which I have plenty of), and a "deep well pan"?
Rich! I’m surprised a long time member like you doesn’t know that. Here’s a link about them.
https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?51147_3
https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?51147_3
Louis,
I'm well aware of what a deep well cooker is. In fact I used to live in a rental that had an electric stove with one. But what was stated was not "deep well cooker", but "deep well pan". That's different. When I googled "deep well pan", I got a lot of hits on square or rectangular pans. Not the same.
I'm well aware of what a deep well cooker is. In fact I used to live in a rental that had an electric stove with one. But what was stated was not "deep well cooker", but "deep well pan". That's different. When I googled "deep well pan", I got a lot of hits on square or rectangular pans. Not the same.
I know this may sound like an odd question, but I’m going to ask. We’re deep well cookers only in electric ranges?
I always thought pots were pots and pans were pans, but it seems they're sometimes interchangeable terms. I think one of my pressure cookers' instruction booklet (maybe the Mirro-Matic) references a pan, but there are also sauce pans, which to me are small pots.
I wonder if the proper term has anything to do with the cooking method, such as frying pan or saute pan. Maybe the term "skillet" conveys more specificity.
When I worked for The Phone Company, POTS was something entirely different. It still amazes me that they never figured out a related service with the code, "PANS." Truly a missed opportunity from a company that loved its clever acronyms.
I wonder if the proper term has anything to do with the cooking method, such as frying pan or saute pan. Maybe the term "skillet" conveys more specificity.
When I worked for The Phone Company, POTS was something entirely different. It still amazes me that they never figured out a related service with the code, "PANS." Truly a missed opportunity from a company that loved its clever acronyms.
When I did a google search on "deep well pans", most of the results looked like the kind of pans one might find in a restaurant chow line.
My personal definition of a pan is a cooking vessel that is either a wide and flat, like a frying pan, or a sauce pan that is 3 quarts or less. When you get to 4 quarts you’re in Dutch Oven territory.
To me a pot is a vessel that is larger than 4 quarts, like for cooking large quantities of soap or stew or boiling water to cook pasta in.
A skillet to me is a frying pan with straight sides and a lid, 10” of larger in diameter that can be used for either frying or for making sauces or braising meat dishes like Meatballs or Salisbury or Swiss Steak.
But I believe for most people the two words, pot and pan are interchangeable.
Eddie
To me a pot is a vessel that is larger than 4 quarts, like for cooking large quantities of soap or stew or boiling water to cook pasta in.
A skillet to me is a frying pan with straight sides and a lid, 10” of larger in diameter that can be used for either frying or for making sauces or braising meat dishes like Meatballs or Salisbury or Swiss Steak.
But I believe for most people the two words, pot and pan are interchangeable.
Eddie
I'm sure many people have never seen an electric range with the deep well feature. They were almost exclusively found on 39"/40" models, as the only 30" range I've ever known to have such was a Hotpoint from the mid 50's. They were most popular in the late 1940's through mid 1950's. I'm not even sure that GE made them after moving range production to Louisville, and definitely not after the redesign for the 1957 models. Hotpoint had them a little longer, until that line was redesigned.
I'm not surprised an online search for "deep well pan" shows results for insert pans for steam tables and food warmers, as the part that holds the water is called a well.
I'm not surprised an online search for "deep well pan" shows results for insert pans for steam tables and food warmers, as the part that holds the water is called a well.
Like I said in another thread... one rental I stayed in, probably in college, had a deep well on the range. As I recall the right size pot to go in it was missing, so we didn't use it at all. And that may be why such setups have gone the way of the dodo bird: once the pan/pot/whatever has died/been lost/stolen, and no replacement can be found, then the whole concept is pretty much useless.
Derek,
Were deep well cookers only in electric ranges?
I think so. It could be difficult to get air to a gas burner deep in the well. Not impossible, but perhaps more trouble than they were worth.
I also suspect that electric range mfgs hit on the deep well design to give electric ranges a sales boost. Maybe. I prefer cooking with gas. Gentler, more predictable.
Were deep well cookers only in electric ranges?
I think so. It could be difficult to get air to a gas burner deep in the well. Not impossible, but perhaps more trouble than they were worth.
I also suspect that electric range mfgs hit on the deep well design to give electric ranges a sales boost. Maybe. I prefer cooking with gas. Gentler, more predictable.
I’ve seen some gas stoves in the vintage appliances threads that had deep well cookers. What brands I can’t say for sure, but for some reason Tappan seems to ring a bell as having deep well cookers.
Electric stoves as early as the mid 30’s began to offer these kinds of deep well burners. I lived in a rental that had a marvelous 1939 40” Westinghouse Electric stove with a deep well cooker.
Also, I’ve seen some electric stoves in the vintage appliances threads that offered the option of being able to move the burner element up from the bottom of the deep well so the burner could be used as a stove top burner or as a deep well cooker, again which brand(s) that offered this option escapes me.
These deep well cookers were the Crock Pots/Slower Cookers of their day. You could start a soup, stew, pot roast in the morning and it would be ready that evening for dinner, or start the oatmeal for the next days breakfast the night before and wake up to breakfast already being ready to eat. They were very popular in their day.
Eddie
Electric stoves as early as the mid 30’s began to offer these kinds of deep well burners. I lived in a rental that had a marvelous 1939 40” Westinghouse Electric stove with a deep well cooker.
Also, I’ve seen some electric stoves in the vintage appliances threads that offered the option of being able to move the burner element up from the bottom of the deep well so the burner could be used as a stove top burner or as a deep well cooker, again which brand(s) that offered this option escapes me.
These deep well cookers were the Crock Pots/Slower Cookers of their day. You could start a soup, stew, pot roast in the morning and it would be ready that evening for dinner, or start the oatmeal for the next days breakfast the night before and wake up to breakfast already being ready to eat. They were very popular in their day.
Eddie
Deep, well cookers on domestic ranges
Chambers was probably the only company that offered a deep well on gas ranges that I know of.
The reason deep well cookers existed is they used less power because the pot was down inside the range and it had a little bit of insulation or less heat loss around the pan
Electricity was historically a more expensive way to cook so that’s why they were on electric ranges primarily.
It would’ve been harder to use a deep well on a gas range since you couldn’t see the flame and gas is always harder to adjust anyway, then an electric range and without seeing the flame, it would’ve been tricky at best.
John
Chambers was probably the only company that offered a deep well on gas ranges that I know of.
The reason deep well cookers existed is they used less power because the pot was down inside the range and it had a little bit of insulation or less heat loss around the pan
Electricity was historically a more expensive way to cook so that’s why they were on electric ranges primarily.
It would’ve been harder to use a deep well on a gas range since you couldn’t see the flame and gas is always harder to adjust anyway, then an electric range and without seeing the flame, it would’ve been tricky at best.
John
My '59 Frigidaire CI range has a deep well that is adjustable. Up it's a regular element, down the pot drops in.Once in a great while I've come across a pressure cooker to use in a deep well but the cost is far too high for something I might not ever use.
From the 1939 Westinghouse Electric Range
owners manual.
Eddie
owners manual.
Eddie
Some Maytag ranges had them. You had to remove the pan to light the pilot light and then that lighted the burner when you turned the main valve on. Once the high heat part of the operation was completed like browning the meat and bringing the pot to a boil, the main burner was shut off and the pilot light did the cooking.
"The pilot light did the cooking"...
I find that a bit hard to believe. I wouldn't think that a pilot light puts out enough energy to cook. Maybe it could keep things warm for a bit. What's the BTU's on a pilot light?
I believe that when most Crock Pots/Slow cookers are set on Low they only draw about 60 watts, so I think its perfectly plausible that the pilot light in a gas stove Deep Well cooker could finish the slow cooking of a Pot Roast, Stew, Soup or other meal cooked at a low temp for a long time. The well that holds the pot would hold the residual heat from the the initial high heat start and the pilot light would maintain the simmering temp required to finish the job.
The simmer heat wattage on the ‘39 Westinghouse Electric stove was 50 watts.
Eddie[this post was last edited: 1/24/2023-14:40]
The simmer heat wattage on the ‘39 Westinghouse Electric stove was 50 watts.
Eddie[this post was last edited: 1/24/2023-14:40]
It was not a constant burning pilot light in models made for lp gas. It was a special pilot light at the bottom of the heavily insulated deep well cavity. When the control was turned to High the burner ignited. The kettle was replaced and the food was added and brought to cooking temperature then the control was turned to the Simmer position and the food was cooked for the period specified in the time chart for the cooker. After that the retained heat and the pilot light completed cooking. The recipes for the cooker include this period of cooking after the times spent on High and Simmer. It would seem that the cooking could be speeded up if the control was left on Simmer until the food was done.
