The Great Flan Experiment

Trial 1: I bought a Wilton cake pan to caramelize sugar, just like my mother-in-law showed me. My only concern was that it was a non-stick pan (all the pans in the stores were non-stick) and my mother-in-law's pans predate the non-stick craze. My concerns were not unfounded. After a couple of minutes heating on the burner, the non-stick coating was bubbling and encasing the whole apartment in noxious smoke. Doors were opened and fans turned on. The pan was put into a garbage bag and thrown onto the patio.

Trial 2: I took out one of my stainless steel cake pans and placed in on the burner on medium heat. After letting it heat up, I poured sugar into the pan which resulted in instantaneous flames. (And I thought only marshmallows on a stick caught fire that quickly.) I stayed calm, reached for the flour, thought for a second, then grabbed the box of baking soda and dumped half of its contents on the fire and placed a lid on it. Once again the doors were opened and the fans turned on. Now I had a pan of burnt sugar tar.

Trial 3: With the help of the Internet, hydrogen peroxide and a wooden spoon, I was able to clean my pan and start again. I placed the pan on the stove top set to low heat and poured in the sugar. This time the sugar turned into a liquid with no giant smoke plumes. Success! I was so excited; I actually made a flan. It came out of the oven looking like it should, my knife came out clean after a night of refrigeration, it slipped easily out of the pan and looked perfect on the plate. Best of all, it tasted good and we all had seconds.