This one had me scratching my head for a while.
I came across the phrases "stovetop oven", "raised center skillet", "steamer pan" and a bunch of other dead-ends.
Well, I finally stumbled onto "Ultimate Dutch Oven" : Looks familiar, doesn't it?
This one is cast iron, but what you've found is clearly a non-stick version of the same thing.
It's sold as camping gear.
The raised center in the middle is what they call a "convection cone".
Presumably it's meant to emulate a convection oven (inefficiently, I might add, since there's no fan) -
the vents in the cone are a means of distributing the heat, to help mitigate the usual skillet problem of the bottom being overcooked while the top is still raw.
I'm pretty sure that nothing is actually supposed to go "inside" the cone, other than hot air.
It's probably fairly effective if you're cooking over an open flame (i.e. extremely hot air).
A 3" high non-stick version of this would seem to be of pretty limited use.
I can imagine trying to make "baked" potatoes in there, or maybe pre-butchered chicken parts?
As you can see from the link above, the "full-size" version can hold a couple of small birds, and again, it's cast iron, so it's infinitely more useful for outdoor cooking.
cooking.stackexchange.com/users/41/Aaronut
It is a dry pan, from Tefal, you most likely find in Europe.
Edit by rumtscho
The answer used to contain a deep link on a site called top-shop.ro, now the domain still exists, but the product page is gone.
cooking.stackexchange.com/users/14760/roxy
We had one of these when I was growing up.
I remember the commercials identifying it as the perfect pan for frying chicken.
The concept was the vents let out undesirable moisture so that all of your pan fried pieces of chicken would be crisp throughout.
It was also supposed to be a healthier way of cooking since it was supposed to use little to no oil.
I seem to recall it was a pain to use and results
were eh...
okay.
It got a lot of use though because of the cost.
Funny thing is, my mom
and I saw one of these at goodwill today
and my 17 year old daughter asked the very same question and
my mother was able to confirm my memory was correct.
cooking.stackexchange.com/users/14516/Mistie Kelley
See these two links: What is this pan all about? and Kitchen Sleuth:
What Is This Pan?
The holes are for steam.
What is under the raised center?
cooking.stackexchange.com/users/1571/soegaard
It's called Dry Cooker in Europe.
You can find it in Romania, buy it from TV shopping.
Not sure who makes it, but I can tell I used it
and it really works.
Unfortunately there are fake copies which are not Teflon, so you need to be careful what you're buying.
Not sure whether they can be purchased online and have them delivered in other European countries, but I have tried getting one here in The States and was not able to find it.
cooking.stackexchange.com/users/9573/Ema
I have one like this, but much older.
It is useful to bake things on a stovetop when you don't have an oven.
I have used mine for roasting potatoes and making sponge cake and it works quite well.
Mine, though, has a heavy iron rin that you are supposed to put underneath it, I guess to spread the heat.
cooking.stackexchange.com/users/4558/Walter A. Aprile
I saw one today in a charity shop for £2:00.
I was curious about its purpose
so I have done a bit of research.
As previous posters have said it’s a dry cooking pan.
They are widely used in eastern Europe and seem to be quite a good alternative to using an oven especially if you are only cooking for one or two.
They sell in Romania for about £30:00.
Here is a video from 1987 promoting them as a “Swiss dry cooker” for only $19:95 each.
http://www.videouri.com/en/video/xd3m168
They are available today on Ebay for as little as £8:25 plus postage and packing.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/26cm-Corola-Ceramic-Non-Stick-Frying-Pan-Dry-Cooker-Detachable-Handle-/400335923255?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Kitchen_Cookware_GL&hash=item5d35e16837#ht_1524wt_990
I’m back to the charity shop tomorrow to snap it up.
But I might just keep it as a conversation piece LOL!
cooking.stackexchange.com/users/18363/Peter Franzen
I have one of these.
It's a Swiss Dry Fryer and it means you can cook mushrooms etc with just one teaspoon of oil.
You put the oil in, put the lid on and wait til it heats, add whatever onions, pappers, mushrooms... and replace the lid and just shake occasionally and they cook perfectly in so little oil!
It's a great gadget.
Mine is over 15 yrs old!
cooking.stackexchange.com/users/53278/Oonah
It's called a convection frying pan.
I've had one for about 30 years.
They were most recently made by Starshine & you can still get a pre-owned one on Ebay.
You rub just a tiny bit of butter in them, like you would with a cake pan, & cook on low heat - like a on an electric stove.
They come with a lid.
The holes in the center allow the heat to come in through the bottom.
They are great for chicken, vegetables, any kind of meat.
You can cut pork chops with a fork & there's hardly any fat & no grease.
cooking.stackexchange.com/users/63272/Linda Clark Kohrt Brooks
When I was growing up on Long Island, NY we had a stove
top oven looking very much like the one that you showed in the first picture.
It was from the middle 30's.
I was told that it was for baking potatoes on the top of our gas stove.
If I remember correctly it didn't work very well
What we had was aluminum
cooking.stackexchange.com/users/7863/Mary Lou
I asked a question about a " Wonder Pot " a bit ago, and this item came up on a search. I don't think it's a wonder pot though. The center hole is effectively much smaller, and there are not any vents in the lid. There isn't a "flame tamer" either, although this part may be lost.   I keep seeing cookware like this in thrift stores, and I'm pretty sure it's for one specific task. What might that task be?
What is this type of cookware called?
cooking.stackexchange.com
<cookware>
cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/18648
cooking.stackexchange.com/users/6241/OpenID-test2
This is called a dry cooker or Swiss dry fryer, and it is like a convection frying pan. It uses less oil and vents unwanted moisture to make food crispier. It is known under different names depending on the area. It is meant to emulate convection cooking. It is a healthier way of cooking than frying.
It is sold as camping gear. It's meant to emulate convection cooking. It is used for baking potatoes, chicken, mushrooms or onions. It is a healthier way of cooking as it uses very little oil. It is known as a dry pan, a dry cooker a Swiss dry fryer and a convection frying pan.