Why are tart pans fluted?

[chef koo]

I know you can get non-fluted pans, and ones that are perforated, but the vast majority of the ones on the market are fluted. I can't think of a practical reason why that would be. If anything, it seems disadvantageous. It's more labour intensive to line with the dough, they seem more complicated to produce, harder to clean.

 

Is it for the structural integrity? I mean, how much structural stress could a tart be under, where that fluting would actually make a difference? As far as I can tell, it's just for the look of it.

Edited July 13, 2022 by chef koo (log)

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Even more confounding, all of the French home-cooks I've met line their tart pans with parchment paper, regardless of if they are plain or fluted.    Certainly a puzzlement.

[pastrygirl]

I think fluted sides hold the dough in place slightly better than straight ones do.  I don't think the production is any more complicated - roll your dough, press it in, trim the edges - but cleaning is a bigger pain if the tarts don't come out cleanly.

 

OTOH, who ever said pastry was supposed to be practical?  Sometimes it IS just about looks!

 

 

 

 

[JeanneCake]

I sometimes wonder if it has to do with the amount of dough at the bottom edge of the pan - you roll it or pat it into place and it's possible that you can make that join thicker (stronger)? This sounds like a question for Kitchen Arts and Letters!  Or Nick Malgieri.  (I was going to say Fred Bridge or Natch Waxman but sadly they are no longer with us

[weinoo]

Nick doesn't have much to say:

 

"...a tart is baked in a straight-sided pan which may or may not be fluted; a pie is baked in a sloping-sided pan."

 

 

Rose likes fluted as well.

 

Basically, it appears as if the difference comes down to appearance of the finished product.

[chef koo]

That being the case, I think I'll stick with the non fluted options

[Katie Meadow]

Non-fluted tart pans seem old fashioned no-nonsense kind of objects that don't scream TART PAN, and I like that about them.