Kitchen Guide- Types of Pots 'n Pans

There are many types of pots and pans available for different cooking methods. It’s important to choose your cookware carefully keeping in mind the type of food and cooking you’ll be doing and how often you’ll be using it. It’s also good to consider how many people you’ll be cooking for most and keep an appropriate size in mind while purchasing your cookware. Cookware is made of different materials and understanding the differences will help you choose the right type for your needs (See Cookware Guide- Cookware Materials). A good way of choosing the appropriate Pan is to match it to the task you’ll need it for. Here are some of the important types of pans and skillets available today and what they are generally used for:-

Frying Pan/ Skillet: A frying pan has a flat bottom with short sides usually one to two-and-a-half inches deep that are flared or sloped, which makes it easier to toss and turn food with a spatula and a long handle for better handling. As the name suggests it is used for frying foods but can also be used for sautéing. Frying pans are available in several sizes, such as 6 ½", 7", 8", 9" 10", 11", 12", and 14". They are available in depths of 1 ½" to 3" and may come with a cover.

Sauté Pan: The term sauté, meaning to jump, implies frying quickly. A sauté pan is similar to a frying pan, except that its bottom is flat, and its sides are straight and deeper (up to four inches). Apart from being used for sautéing foods it can also be used for frying foods. The pan should have a long handle and it generally comes with a cover. Some of the larger models have a loop handle opposite the long handle that is used to assist in lifting the pan.

Grill Pan: A Grill Pan is a heavy metal pan that consists of ridges spaced evenly across the bottom that closely simulate the grilling process when cooking various meats and foods. They are available with shallow sides and with deeper sides similar to a frying pan. The ridges raise the food off the bottom surface of the pan, which helps prevent the food from steaming as it cooks. The ridges also serve as a method for allowing the fat contained in some foods to drain away from the food and collect in the spaces between the raised ridges.

Saucepan: A sauce pan is a round pot with high straight sides and a flat bottom. It usually has straight, or slightly sloping high sides four to seven inches tall, and a long handle. In sizes from about a pint to four quarts it is called a sauce pan. Above four quarts, usually squat and with two loop handles, it is called a Sauce Pot and Sauce Pots can also be considered Dutch ovens or Stewing Pans. A Sauce Pan is used for several purposes, such as cooking vegetables, heating soup, and making sauces.

Stockpot: A stock pot is a tall, relatively narrow, yet capacious, utensil with straight sides, usually at least six quarts in capacity. It is taller than it is wide and usually has two, securely attached, loop handles that are big enough to easily allow the use of potholders or oven mitts. It is used for simmering large amount of liquid, such as stock, soup and stews, but also works well for thick soups, chili and for boiling pasta.

Double Boiler: A double boiler consists of two pans where one sits inside of the other. The bottom pan is slightly larger so the top pan can fit inside. The bottom pan contains hot water and the top pan holds the ingredients that are being cooked. This hot water bath, rather than through direct heat contact, ensures that the food in the inside (top) pan is gently cooked without scorching. It is useful while cooking delicate sauces that have a tendency to separate if cooked on direct heat and foods that burn easily on direct heat like chocolate.

Wok/ Stir-Fry Pan: A Stir-Fry Pan is a popular, all-purpose Asian pan also known as a Wok; it is distinguished by high, sloping sides, resembling a bowl. The traditional type wok has a rounded bottom and is used over a flamed heat source, such as a gas burner. Woks are now available with a rounded or flat bottom for use on an electric burner or a ceramic stovetop. The wok is most often used for stir-frying but can also be used for sautéing, steaming, deep-frying. The idea is to have a hot spot at the bottom of the wok, where the actual cooking takes place. The sides are used to rest the food that is cooking at slightly cooler temperatures.

Roasting Pan/ Roaster: A Roasting Pan is a rectangular shaped pan with low sides, which allows the heat from the oven to expose the entire surface of the meat to create a browned exterior. The pan is generally used with a rack to prevent the meat from sitting in its own juices and stewing instead of browning. They may have a lid to assist in the basting of the food and to keep it from drying out.

Popular Brands of cookware: Some of the widely known and popular brands of cookware are- Calphalon, KitchenAid, Cuisinart, Pinzon, Farberware, Anolon and Circulon.