The traditional shape of paella pans maximizes the amount of rice touching the bottom. This, in turn, allows for an even and rather quick evaporation of the cooking liquids. Both conditions are necessary for cooking an authentic paella. In short, paella pans are designed in a way that keeps the rice layer thin. We could say that they allow the rice to cook in extension instead of height. This is one of the essential elements that distinguishes paella recipes from other rice recipes. An extra bonus of paella pans is that they form the socarrat, which means lightly toasted in Catalan. Socarrat is a delicious sweetish brown crust of rice. It gently sticks to the bottom of paella pans when cooking paella over an open fire. With some experience, you will also get it on a gas burner. Most paella enthusiasts love socarrat, and I agree It certainly tastes great, and I'm sure you'll love it too. Sizes of paella pansPaella pans come in different sizes, according to the number of guests. In the table below you can see the number of guests or servings in the first column. The second column shows the diameter of the paella pan. Finally, the third one, shows the amounts of rice you need for cooking a paella for 1, 2, 4, etc. For example, if you have four guests, you would choose a paella pan of 13 inches (33 cm) in diameter. For cooking this paella you would use 14 ounces of short, round-grain rice.
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