It's a fancy name for a griddle. It's also the most useful heat source you can install in your kitchen. PLANCHA IS SPANISH FOR "METAL PLATE," AND LEST it seem like some kind of unnecessary, highfalutin equipment, let me clarify: It's a griddle - a big metal slab with a heat source under it, either electric or gas. The first time I ever saw a plancha in a professional kitchen, at Jean-Georges in 1996, I couldn't figure out why a serious chef would want one. But I ended up loving the thing, and I've had several at every restaurant I've run since. The plancha is an incredibly simple piece of kitchen equipment: The metal plate is usually stainless or A36 steel, which is used in construction because it's strong but easy to machine and weld. The genius is that once the plancha's steel reaches the temperature you've set, it provides a completely even, consistent heat source across the entire surface. It doesn't fall off toward the edges. There are no hot spots. Your pan never heats unevenly. Because the plancha is the pan. More important, it has a lightning-fast recovery time. This means that after you put cold food on the hot metal, the plancha rises right back to the correct temperature quickly, like a fryer does. Rapid recovery time provides more control and reduces the likelihood that the food will stick.
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