Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Commercial Baker's Half Sheet

I bought several of these a half dozen years ago, after reading absolutely EVERYTHING written about aluminum baking sheets. They are exactly as described, perfect! Heavy gauge, polished aluminum baking sheets. I have both the half sheet and quarter sheet pans and use them several times per week for cookies, biscuits, bread, rolls, turnovers, roast veggies, bacon, fish sticks & tater-tots, roast meats - baked chicken breasts, pork chops, racks of ribs, & to catch drips under pies, casseroles... these are VERY useful! They do not warp, they stay flat and the food stays put on the sheet. They heat evenly so all items cook the same. They heat quickly - so your cookies & biscuits brown and don't over-spread, & they cool quickly, so cookies left on the sheet to cool will crisp but are not in danger of burning due to residual heat. If properly greased, or if baking paper or silicon mats are used, they will not stick - or add aluminum to your food. They are thick enough to support even heavy roasted items like spatchcocked chicken, whole hams, casseroles, pies... but because they are aluminum, they do not weigh much, so they will not throw your back out trying to lift them loaded with that roast or casserole. If you are going to buy aluminum baking sheets buy these. I have bought dozens of baking sheets over the years - all are gone, except these. Since I bought these, I have only bought more of these. There is 1 con you should know, and it has nothing to do with the quality or these fabulous baking sheets, but rather a fact about aluminum you should know: you cannot put them in the dishwasher, they must be washed by hand, COMPLETELY, if you want them to stay shiny, mirror sheets. Being aluminum also makes most grease-removing cleansers a no-no. Dishwasher detergents and most grease removers contains chemicals which actually EAT aluminum, & will corrode your lovely sheets, they will come out with grey or white corrosion all over them and pitted, & THEN you will be spending REAL time scrubbing! If you do not clean them completely, any residual oils left on them will partially evaporate, become gummy & will brown the next time you bake anything. Eventually your baking sheets will start to look like burled oak, and you have 2 choices: 1) let them go... there is no concrete evidence that the accumulated brown stuff has any affect on their fabulous cooking qualities, and it does make you look like an AVID baker... this is how baking sheets in bakeries look... however, if you choose this route, you do not have my mother.... 2) schedule a periodic major cleaning session - & plan to spend the afternoon scrubbing with vinegar, lemon juice & baking soda, dish soap, barkeepers friend, cream of tarter... or whatever your favorite blog or UTUBE video cleaning method advises. Mine takes all weekend, as my favorite method involves long soaks in hot water with dish soap & vinegar, & periodic scrubbing sessions using my lodge enamel scrubbing brush - less scrubbing. More tea breaks! This is true of any aluminum cookware, even anodized, so it has to do with the ying and yang of aluminum, but if you go in with eyes open, knowing this is part of the package, you will be happy with these perfect aluminum baking sheets for a very long time.., oh, and they also scratch if you use utensils made of a harder substance - like stainless steel - or scrubbed with steel wool, another detail about aluminum...but actually, so does everything else, scratch if scraped with something harder - even diamonds so.... Think hard silicon, wood, other "softer than aluminum" tools, and plastic scrubbers - including old credit cards! or not... scratches make places for grease to stay - which only matters if you care, so again, eyes open.

PROS: -The most professional looking sheet pan I've ever owned, very nice look to it -Very sturdy, will last forever -Easy to clean and doesn't have any nooks or crannies that are difficult to get to CONS: -Not exactly dishwasher safe, but also kind of dishwasher safe? This review isn't going to be long, because it's just a sheet pan, but let me preface this by saying DO NOT THROW IT IN THE DISHWASHER! I know I put that in all caps so it looks super serious, but if you want your pan to stay a shiny aluminum metal color, no dishwasher. I will say, it doesn't ruin the functionality of the pan, it just gives it this almost trippy weird color effect on it, assuming it's the checmicals making a run pattern on it. Personally, I think it looks kind of cool, but most people would be really upset if this happened to their pans, so don't be like me, handwash only people. Outside of that, this pan works great and is super solid, feels like I'm going to own it for literally years to come. It's very easy to hand wash and dry, and is ungodly levels of awesome if you use a silicone baking mat. Personally I use the Silpat AE420295-07 Premium Non-Stick Silicone Baking Mat, Half Sheet Size, 11-5/8" x 16-1/2" , which I personally spent the extra money on because most of the other silicone mats had too many bad reviews. If you're careful, you won't even need to really clean your baking sheet, and just clean the silpat, which is incredibly easy to clean in it's own. I've run out of things to say about this thing, review over.

These are great sheet pans, useful for much more than just cookies. They are very study and don't warp or buckle during use, everything I've cooked on these (I bought 2 of the half sheets) has turned out fabulous. The cookies don't burn on the bottom while waiting for to tops to finish cooking and they slide off easily. I've made a delicious Texas Sheet Cake and everyone loved it. I've used this to make Jerk Chicken Quarters and other chicken dishes and it will hold quite a bit of chicken and the lip is high enough that the juices stayed in the tray. Cinnamon rolls yum. And it also large enough to fit a large salmon (Sam's Club Type). I fill one tray for my husband with raw food for the grill and he fills the other tray with the cooked food when he's finished. Honestly these things are like duct tape there must be millions of uses for them, like art projects, hauling dishes, glasses and trash upstairs after my kids had a party, I don't just limit them to cooking. My oven must not be that big because this pan fits perfectly, (be sure to check measurements) because the large would not fit yet this pan is still large. I've used these pans for years now and they still work as well as when I bought them. The only change has been it's not new and shiny it's more dull but for the price (it's cheaper now than when I purchased 5 years ago) they are a great buy. I would buy again, but right now they are still going strong.

Nice and strong These are a little lighter than the commercial pans I bought years ago, but they hold up well. I had been looking to replace a few pans that I had lent out, but hadn't found anything heavy enough for the amount of baking I do. These are great! Often, a poorly made pan will shift and "pop" in the oven - you can actually see one side lift up. That will cause your food to cook unevenly. Nordic Ware pans don't shift, and everything cooks evenly. I often bake for parties for my friends and family. For rainbow cookies, I use 3 pans, and make about 250 cookies. I use these for baklave, spinach pie and hundreds, if not thousands, of cookies at a time. Because of the even browning achieved by these pans, everything looked perfect! I like a pan that makes me look good! They wash up easily and I haven't seen any scratches yet, even though I cut my pastries right in the pan. I also use them under a roasting pan, both to support a foil pan and to catch any drippings. At this price, I'll be buying more soon.

Be sure to read this whole review because there is a very happy ending!! First the things I like...the pan is nice and heafty and well balanced. It's made in the USA. It heats evenly and does a great job baking cookies, and other dough items....actually everything I've baked on it. Now my big beef with this product! I wouldn't feel comfortable putting any food DIRECTLY on this pan. Every time you wash it...(and I do follow recommended instructions and wash by hand)...everything turns a muddy gray...the sponge, the rinse water, your hands, everything. It's even hard to wash the gray off your hands after your done. I hate that so just won't let food actually cook on the surface. I'll always use parchment paper. Don't trust all that gray metallic colored residue that comes off in the washing process. Update Feb 20, 2012: I sent Nordic Ware an e-mail asking if they could explain the reason for all the gray metal color all over everything when I wash this pan. I told them I was very happy to buy a pan made in the USA and the product did perform flawlessly. I was just concerned about all the leaching of whatever it is. Never got a reply. Update Nov 19, 2012: After almost a year someone commented on my feedback suggesting I try contacting Nordic Ware customer service again. Thank you Bon!! I felt it only fair to try again since so many people love this sheet. Low and behold I received a quick reply. After explaining the situation, they e-mailed a form to fill out and mail in. I just got an e-mail saying they received it, reviewed the information, and they're sending me a new pan because THE GRAYING I'M EXPERIENCING IS NOT NORMAL. I don't know what happened to my original e-mails but based on THIS customer service experience with Nordic, I'd say it was a flawless experience. The service was friendly, quick, and fair. As soon as I receive the new sheet, I'll wash it, use it, wash it one more time and then report back. I suspect it will be a totally different experience this time....the way we do it here IN THE USA!!!! Update Dec 3, 2012: I have received the replacement half sheet. After washing several times I have no problem with gray residue. I'm convinced the first sheet I received was defective. This one is perfect...just what I expected from Nordic Ware. This is a company no one should ever be concerned about dealing with. They stand behind their products and, not only deliver quality products, but back them with quality customer service. I'm a believer.

Oct 23,2014. Have this product since 2013 !!! Perfect size for my oven. Great , durable. I prefer to have half sizes sheets than larger because I can use for smaller batches recipes, too ! I bake fresh whole wheat french baguette breads every week and or any kind of bread or rolls, and sometimes I make a whole wheat square pizza (whole tray of it) this is just the right tray for it with a piece of parchment paper so the bread or whatever will never touch the metal. I usually let the dough set in this tray for the last rising time before the baking, when it is ready, to oven it goes. And you know, It is a thick life lasting aluminum, it won't rust. It is of great lasting shine, I also use for parties, as I cut the edges of parchment paper with a little decorative design pattern, to line it, then over it I layer the tray with bib lettuce for cheeses and cold cuts, or for cakes, and it is very firm to be transported after covering with plastic wrap. So many uses for this tray. The price was the best for the immense quality one can get of good heating conductor material for baking. The shipping was fast ! Great customer service, really. I am so happy I bought it ! Just buy more than one, you won't regret, it has done wonders for my baking goods for a year now, I use it every week !

I never read the reviews regarding this wonderful pan and putting it in the dishwasher. I have had three of these pans for over 15 years now and they are going strong. I do put them in the dishwasher as I didn’t know any better. One of my pans is rather stained and discolored, but works fine. That is the one I use the most and it’s been in the dishwasher more than the others. From now on, I will hand wash them so they will not discolor any further. However, they still work wonderfully. They never warp, cookies come out wonderful, and other uses as well. I’m assuming aluminum is better than the steel ones they sell. If you’re on the fence, I would buy these as handwashing is no big deal really especially if you use the silpat or parchment paper or aluminum foil on it. I highly recommend them, they are a good price also. 15 years going and I believe they’ll last a lifetime. Workhorses.

I purchased several of these baking sheets for using in our home kitchen and love them. I can’t stand using traditional nonstick baking sheets because the nonstick coating is always scratching or flaking off, requiring me to purchase new pans. These pans are very good quality, thick, but still lightweight. They have not warped at all, and are super easy to clean. When baking cookies, we put our dough directly on the pan, but if we are cooking bacon, chicken, or fries, we lay down a sheet of parchment to keep the grease clean up quick and easy. The pans have not rusted or discolored either, except for the one time a pan was put in the dishwasher. The pan was not damaged or warped, but is now a ruddier color than its original shiny silver. The instructions that come with the pan clearly warned that they would become discolored if put in a dishwasher, so it was so no surprise when it happened. Overall, after several years of everyday use, these pans were well worth purchasing and I would definitely buy them again.