Living on the edge

When I bake brownies they usually end up a bit soft in the center, if you know what I mean. I'm talking gummy. (Note to self - chocolate flavored gummy bears... hmmm). But for many others suffering the same result, that's changing.

The Baker's Edge pan has been reviewed by nearly every baking company and food-based organization under the sun. That is, except the main chefs at the Food Network, which I suppose will hold off on their reviews until the Food Network can sell it. Although, Emeril and America's Test Kitchen have reviews on it. But where's Alton, the kitchen-gadget-geek-extraordinaire's review?

So what's the buzz? No more gummy brownies and more slightly-crunchy chewy edges. This pan distributes heat evenly across the brownie, baking it's middle volume at the same rate as the outer pan. Several famous foodies including Alton Brown might call this a uni-tasker ... but this is a glorified pan that could bake nearly anything a regular pan could.

My first thought is how difficult it might be to get the portions out of the pan - particularly if you're dealing with Lasagna or "Mississippi Mud Pie/Cake" (aka "Sex In A Pan").

My second thought is - it's aluminum. I believe that the strong ties between aluminum and Alzheimer's merits enough concern to stay away from aluminum when I can. I even go through the labels of toothpaste and deodorant to verify it is aluminum free. Why would I want it in my food, or want my food baking in it? Other than how aluminum heats up and cools off quickly (i.e. being a good conductor of heat), there is no reason not to go with stainless steel or cast iron or even silicon - all without Teflon, of course.

It would be interesting to see if this ever comes into stainless steel or silicon variety. Silicon would be particularly interesting since the weaving bars should give it more stability.