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What is a Crepe Maker?
Crepes are popular in many cuisines. Essentially a very thin pancake, a crepe can be filled with fruit, cheese, vegetables, or even meat, for a meal with a continental flavor. However, some cooks find making crepes a challenge, so they turn to a crepe maker.
A crepe maker is designed to help the cook form and cook crepes evenly. Crepe makers come in a couple of different forms. One kind looks like an upside-down frying pan on top of a concave frying pan. This type of crepe maker is heated on top of the stove before the cook dips the hot flat surface into the crepe batter. The resulting thin film of batter on the griddle top forms the crepe. The cook flips the maker over to cook the crepe on the stove top.
Another type of crepe maker is electric and looks like a standard flat, round griddle on top of a heating element. The cook pours a small amount of batter onto to the griddle and spreads it out, usually with a special wooden tool designed for this purpose. This kind of crepe maker is often used commercially and may be a little pricey for the home cook.
Many cooks, though, prefer a non-stick frying pan with sloping sides to make crepes. They say that these pans will work just as well as a single use appliance like a crepe maker. However, a skillet used for crepes should probably be used only for crepes or pancakes, to keep it in good condition. Crepe recipes can be found in cookbooks or on the Internet. Most will include a basic batter recipe, along with suggestions for fillings and presentations. Although thought of primarily as a French dish, crepes make an appearance in cuisines as diverse as Hungarian and Chinese!
Several manufacturers produce both types of crepe maker, ranging in price from US$35 to $200. Crepe makers from France are usually the most expensive. Crepe makers are available online and in kitchen supply stores. Online reviews of most of the popular brands are available, and the prospective buyer should do some comparison shopping for price and desired features before making a decision.
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![Skillets can be used to make crepes.]()
By: Brian WeedSkillets can be used to make crepes. -
![Nutella is a very popular crepe filling.]()
By: Liv Friis-larsenNutella is a very popular crepe filling. -
![Mushrooms are frequently used as crepe fillings.]()
By: daffodilredMushrooms are frequently used as crepe fillings. -
![Many cooks prefer to use non-stick frying pans when making crepes.]()
By: cosmaMany cooks prefer to use non-stick frying pans when making crepes.
Discussion Comments
a friend of mine used to be the chef at his own crepe restaurant and this was his take.
don't cook crepes ahead of time!
cooking crepes ahead of time doesn't taste as good as when they are fresh. the longer the time between cooking and eating, the more you sacrifice in taste. it's still edible, but it's just not as good. even the crepes you get from restaurants who make the crepes fresh to order taste better, in my opinion, than the creperies that cook a bunch of crepes ahead of time and reheat it with the contents when you order. some people make crepes ahead of time and freeze them. to eat they let thaw, and then put them in the pan with the ingredients to reheat. still, that'll produce a less tasty result than cooking them fresh.
make crepe batter ahead of time!
what you can do if you don't want to spend too much time in the kitchen but still make crepes for your guests is reduce the preparation and cooking time by making the batter ahead of time. just keep the crepe batter in the refrigerator until you want to make the crepes. this actually is not only a time saver but it actually produces a tastier result! the batter should be used within 4 days of being made. it's not that it spoils, necessarily, within 4 days; rather, it's that after 4 days it produces a rubbery crepe.
i received one of those upside down crepe makers one Christmas and tried it out. it definitely seems like a lot of fuss to make something so simple. i'd have to say that i prefer to use a simple frying pan that is just the right size. i love crepes so much that i would love to have one of those professional crepe makers...i don't know where i'd fit it in my kitchen though.
can you cook crepes a day or two ahead of time and will they taste the same?
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