Double skillets... Are they really that good?

MattR

MattR

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I've seen lots of reviews about the double skillet and most say very good things about them.

It seems to me though that the system is just two aluminium nonstick pans with removable handles. And, at over £44 a set, quite expensive.

Are they really as good as people say and if so, how much better are they than two cheaper nonstick saucepans stacked on top of each other or one inverted to form an oven with the gas on low and diffused?
 
They are more than just simple frying pans - they are more like deep straight sided saute pans which are designed so that they securely invert on top of each other, something you'd have difficulty with when using 2 matching frying pans, although you might get away with one slightly smaller than the other so it sits inside the rim. For some recipes you need to turn them over which wouldn't be easy with 2 separate pans that don't lock together. If you are wanting to 'stack' them so you cook something in the bottom and top pans separately then obviously that's something you can't easily do with normal frying pans.

I have the original versions so can't say how the quality of the newer ones compare but they are well made and do the job as intended.
 
Jim said:
With no oven in a van and after eating your first warmed croissant, you wouldn't ask that question :).
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+1, although purchased primarily for croissants, ours are also used a lot for warming home cooked pies
 
Jim said:
With no oven in a van and after eating your first warmed croissant, you wouldn't ask that question :).
Click to expand...

Or you could be one of those motorhomers who spends a lot of money in the local economy and eats out 🙂

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We were gifted an original set and found them very useful as well as taking up a lot less room than a frying pan. With a lot of use, although still serviceable, the non-stick round the rims started to deteriorate and Bren just happened to spot an advert for replacements so she ordered them. Not had a lot of use at the moment but seem to be equally good quality and we've now ditched the large frypan we used to carry.

Agree they are relatively expensive but so versatile they replace other pots and pans.
 
Jim said:
With no oven in a van and after eating your first warmed croissant, you wouldn't ask that question :).
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Would you get the same result with two saucepans used in same way?
 
Mattyjwr said:
Would you get the same result with two saucepans used in same way?
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The DS and a diffuser does make a useful oven The way the pans lock together so you can turn them losing the hot spot makes it easier than messing with regular pans, but yes of course you could use just a diffuser, one saucepan and a lid to good effect too.
 
I know nothing about these DS things. Where is there a good description of them, illustrations and dimensions and uses please? Are they available in different sizes?

Geoff
 
Mainly use our Double Skillet for casseroles but useful for warming up left-over pizza etc. Used ours for over 10 years and just bought a replacement as original was losing it's non-stick surface.
 
We have one of the originals ,must be forty years old. How's that for value for money?
 
Another vote for the double skillet pans!

Great for cooking frozen chips - quick and easy. ;)(y)
 
Its worth keeping a look out on gumtree/eBay/preloved/Spock, I found an unused original large one on eBay fairly recently :giggle:

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We have a set from 1st van, now in our place in Spain.

Just bought another set for new van in uk, ebay seconds (from DS Co) for £30, pans v good but handles not as good as original set....

Still our most used cooking appliance 👍
 
The new version DS are very good, well worth the money for economy of storage space (both pans, lid and handles neatly fit into each other, and therefore into one small box) so take up little van storage space. Used as an oven they are almost its equal, you also have the use as a frypan, with the second pan being useful as a normal saucepan which you can also use on the second burner, they also come with a glass lid. Maybe the recipe book could be better. But when you think how much that storage space has cost you in the cost of the van, and the fact you could also go without an oven, what's £44?
 
Dazzlin said:
We have a set from 1st van, now in our place in Spain.

Just bought another set for new van in uk, ebay seconds (from DS Co) for £30, pans v good but handles not as good as original set....

Still our most used cooking appliance 👍
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Maybe the handles were not replaced, the first batch did have a problem but the manufacturer replaced them FOC. If these were seconds, that could be it.
 
Have one set in the van and two in the kitchen which get used 3 or 4 times a week.
 
I did email them questioning this, but no reply yet...

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Jim said:
With no oven in a van and after eating your first warmed croissant, you wouldn't ask that question :).
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Or chocolate chip brioche!

😋

xsparks said:
We have one of the originals ,must be forty years old. How's that for value for money?
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I find that they don't last that long ... it really depends on how many times you hit your other half with them! :giggle:
 
Exception to the rule - bought an original DS at the P'Boro show.
Wasn't anything special or even particularly useful - so got rid.
Mind you, I can't see what all the fuss is about a Ramoska.
 
Langtoftlad said:
Exception to the rule - bought an original DS at the P'Boro show.
Wasn't anything special or even particularly useful - so got rid.
Mind you, I can't see what all the fuss is about a Ramoska.
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So glad we areall different, had a lovelyroast chicken and veg done in my large remoska yestersay, all ready in 55 minutes. My electric oven would have taken 20 minutes to get to temperature, roasties wouldhave been a bir crisper but that is all. Usually take chicken out to rest an any juices then crisp up the spuds but couldn't be bothered yesterday.
My DS went with my romahome to my son, was subsequently stolen from their narrowboat storage.
Just bought a new remoska, we use ours several times a week at home, quicker and cheaper than our oven, just got some ingenio pans too been looking for them at a bargain price for years.
Will we miss the full cooker we hadin the last 2 vans, will need to wait and see, will we ever use the fitted microwave for anything other than storage ditto
Back to OP if we didn't have some of the gadgets we already have, would be up for another, in fact may still be due to the using it on gas feature.
 
I felt the same about the price! I was lucky enough to buy secondhand DS from a Funster. After about five years of use I’d buy new if I had to. I tried hard to find something similar and cheaper and failed. It’s our main van cooking tool. We don’t have an oven - don’t miss one. We are very often not on hook up so remoska would be wasted

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One easy double skillet recipe is Parmentier Potatoes. Chop taters into small 20mm or so cubes/shapes, add rosemary or your choice of spices, a tbs or so of oil into lower pan, heat, drop taters into pans in oven mode, cook till nice and roasty. About 30-40 mins. You can add meat such a pork slices, chicken or whatever, at the same time. Sometimes I use a trivet and put meat on top, or cover meat in foil and put at side of potatoes, so you can turn things. Keep burner flame fairly low. The taters can be a bit wet, so you can take off top pan to dry and crisp the potatoes towards the end. Any version is tasty and quick. Plus you can vary things.

You can buy Parmentier ready prepared and flavoured from Tesco, Lidl etc.

Didn't use my Remoska because we are not often on hook up.
 
We wanted one and had real problems sourcing one. And then we were given one by an old (in every sense of the word) friend who'd had one for 30 plus years camping. Although no longer non-stick, it works well and we'd not be without it.
Haven't yet used it to warm croissants as Jim has posted but looking forward to trying it out. SWMBO makes lovely toasted cheese sandwiches with it.
We do have an oven in the van but mostly use it to store pasta, rice, coffee etc.
 
Although most vans have limited storage space, cooks can require a whole bunch of saucepans. The DS is a frying pan, a saucepan and an oven. The lady who first patented it and demonstrated it at Motorhome Shows for many years before retiring almost always cooked a whole chicken and a wide variety of other dishes. We cook Pizzas in ours after cutting them to fit and throwing the cut bits inside to cook.
 
I bought an original large pan (she had sold out of small) at the Peterborough show over 10 years ago and as i had a PVC then a Hymer with no oven got good use out of it . Now going back to a coach built with an oven and 4 hobs i still used the Skillet but found the large one took a lot of room up on the hob so bit the bullet and bought the smaller one. The old one( which is still in perfect condition) i have given to my daughter and she says its the best pan she has had. The new ones are good quality and fits perfectly on the hob but as someone mentioned in an earlier post the handles do not seem as sturdy. As well as warming Croissants they make a great toastie :LOL:

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