Though we do not realize it, these often neglected but essential accessories are fundamental to turning out those picture-perfect dishes. Choosing the right pan for the type of food you need to cook, enhances your cooking experience and helps you turn out quality meals with ease. By investing in a high-quality product together with proper care, you can use them for several years.
Here’s a list of several kinds of cooking pans, including their proper uses and benefits so that you can suitably stock your kitchen with the pots and pans best suited to your needs.
Frying pan
A frying pan or skillet is a flat, heavy bottomed non-stick pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It typically has no lid. It is a must in every kitchen as it retains heat well and distributes it evenly, which means that when you fry in it, you’ll get a crispy brown surface with a tender interior.
Saucepan
A saucepan is a pan which comes with a lid and used for making sauces and gravies without scalding or sticking to the bottom. You can also cook, sauté, stew, boil and reheat various foods in it. They can be shallow or deep and come in various sizes and made with material such as aluminum or stainless steel or with a non-stick coating.
Stockpot
This is one of the most common cooking pots used. It is a wide pot with a flat bottom, straight sides, a wide opening with two handles on the sides, and a lid with a handle on top. Used for broths, soups, curries, stews, boiling water for pasta and blanching or steaming vegetables.
Sauté pan
For searing and sautéing meats and vegetables, pick a stainless-steel sauté pan. Great for deep-frying or stir-frying, so you won't need a wok. Its lids should fit snugly, to help retain moisture in the food.
