What Pan Should I Use?

Pan Types

When considering pan types heat retention, materials and finish all vary so which is best for each task? What's the difference between a frying pan and wok? How do sauté pans differ from frying pans? Time to find out.

Frying Pan

Frying pans are generally quite shallow with a wide, flat base for a generous contact area between food and heat. The slightly upturned sides make it easy to pour food onto your plate in one swift action and the long handle keeps you a safe distance from any hot spitting liquid. Fry, sear and brown anything from chicken breasts to sausages and use a small amount of oil to drive away moisture from your food to create extra crispiness.

Materials available: aluminium, stainless steel, black iron.

TIP: There is a subtle difference between sauté and frying pans – and that’s their shape. Sauté pans generally have a wider surface area and taller sides allowing you to fill it with more liquid.

Saucepan

A staple in every kitchen, the saucepan comes in various sizes and materials and can be shallow or deep, depending on your needs. They have enough of a sidewall to retain its contents when jostling and mixing and have a long handle providing you with enough leverage to lift its heavy contents. A good saucepan will do everything from boiled potatoes to scrambled eggs and as the name suggests is perfect for making sauces or reheating soup.

Materials available: stainless steel, triwall, copper.

Casserole & Stew Pans

Every kitchen should have at least one really big pot. Casserole and stew pans come in a range of sizes in a circular or oval shape and feature a dual handle design to give you full support when lifting the pan from the stovetop to oven. Its snug, closed chamber ensures heat evenly radiates off the sides and maintains a stable temperature for long periods of time, making it the number one choice for slow cooking casseroles and stews.

Materials available: stainless steel, cast iron.

Sauté Pan

Sauté pans have a wide base and tall sides to stop your ingredients from overcrowding and escaping when you jostle the pan. Sautéing calls for quick temperature changes so it’s important you invest in a responsive pan with a large surface area to brown your food to perfection without overcooking it. Saute pans can tackle a range of cooking tasks from searing meat to reducing a pan sauce.

Materials available: stainless steel, aluminium, tri-wall, copper.

Wok

Woks have the most recognisable design of all pans. Its broad-curved sides heat up and allow food to be tossed and stirred without using too much oil so your ingredients retain their texture and flavour. Woks are renowned for their use with oriental cooking techniques such as stir-frying, steaming and deep frying. Traditional woks have a round base which can be used on gas hobs with a supporting ring, whereas modern woks have a flat base which is compatible with electric and induction hobs.

Materials available: black iron, aluminium, steel.

Paella Pan

All the flavour to paella sits at the bottom of the pan, so paella pans need to have a large surface area to maximise the amount of rice reaching the good stuff. The dual handles give you the flexibility to toss the pans contents to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom. You’re not limited to cooking paella in these pans, the large size means you can cook whole family meals in one go.

Materials available: aluminium, steel.

Crepe Pan

Dedicated crepe pans generally have a large flat base and shallow sides specially crafted for sliding the crepe from pan to plate in one perfect piece. The shape of the pan ensures a thin layer is easily spread so your crepes and pancakes are cooked evenly and rapidly.

Materials available: aluminium, black iron, steel.

Skillet

Skillet pans can be round or square in shape and come with a flat or ribbed base depending on the finish you’d like. They can withstand intense dry heat to instantly sear meat to hold the juices and flavours inside, you can also give vegetables and fish a chargrilled finish without sapping all its flavour from lengthy cooking. Be sure to choose a size relevant to the amount of people you cook for.

Materials available: cast iron, non-stick.

Guide: Make the most of your skillet pan and find out more about using cast iron skillets here.

Pan Materials

Materials are probably the biggest variable when it comes to choosing the right pan. For instance, when making delicate sauces it is crucial to use a material that gently heats your sauce, so stainless steel may be preferable to aluminium. There are times when only the heat transfer of cast iron will work for searing. All materials have their own particular benefits and care requirements.

Aluminium

Good heat conductors such as aluminium are great for all-purpose cooking as they are responsive to temperature changes - they’ll do exactly what the heat source tells them to do almost instantly. Most aluminium pans are lightweight and easy to handle so if you do a lot of boiling it’s best to have an aluminium saucepan in your collection. Be careful not to cook acidic foods such as tomato sauces, wine sauces and fruit fillings, in aluminium pans as it can taint the flavours.

Cast Iron

They may be heavy, but a decent cast iron pan deserves a place in your kitchen, and it deserves to be looked after. The heavy gauge material is great at maintaining an even heat diffusion which is ideal for foods that need slow, steady cooking. Its uniform heat is ideally suited to a skillet or casserole pan as it allows the natural flavours and textures of the food to fully develop. Take a look below on how to properly maintain your cast iron pan.

Guide: It's important to maintain your cast iron cookware. Learn how to season your cookware with our simple guide.

Copper

Copper not only looks professional and attractive, but it’s also the most conductive material found in cookware. This is great for sauté and saucepans when you need a responsive pan to melt sugar and make delicate sauces. Copper cookware needs frequent polishing to keep its professional shine and must be hand washed to avoid tarnishing. Most copper cookware is now sandwiched with other materials such as aluminium and stainless steel to bring all their benefits into one.

Non-Stick

Increasing in popularity, the non-stick coating on pans make it easier to clean after use. It’s great for cooking delicate foods such as fish and eggs as they won’t stick to the pan and break apart. Use utensils that won’t scratch the non-stick coating off your pans.

Stainless Steel

By combining chromium and nickel you get steel that is incredibly strong and won’t react with acidic foods. Stainless steel is the preferred material for saucepans and frying pans as it’s easy to clean, but is generally used for all-purpose cooking. As stainless steel isn’t the best heat conductor, the base of a pan will be constructed with layers of aluminium to increase its conductivity.

Tri-Wall

Multiple layers of metal work together to increase heat conduction. The three layers include aluminium, an outer layer of brushed stainless steel and an inner layer of polished stainless steel. The Thermocore is extremely good at conducting heat, is easy to clean and safe for use with all foods.

Hob Types

Different hob types naturally influence the decision when you’re choosing what pots and pans to buy. Some hobs are better suited to certain materials and some will not perform at all unless you use a specific material.

Gas

Gas hobs give you precise temperature control with the option of using the hottest heat. You can use any type of pan on a gas hob but make sure you regulate the flame to prevent it extending beyond the base of the pan.

Gas hobs are compatible with all cookware materials.

Electric

The base of your pan needs to be absolutely flat for full contact with the electric stovetop element. Electric hobs can be slower to warm up/cool down and less responsive than gas hobs but they are very easy to clean.

Electric hobs are compatible with flat bottomed pans of any material.

Induction

An induction hob’s power and responsiveness is likened to a gas hob however it uses a magnetic field in the induction element to heat the cookware but not the cooking surface. The smooth, ceramic glass top is easy to wipe clean, saving time and effort.

Induction hobs are compatible with stainless steel, cast iron cookware and aluminium pans with a stainless steel base.

TIP: You can test if a pan is induction compatible by trying to stick a magnet to the base of the pan. If it sticks it’s suitable to use.

Guide: Learn more about using induction cooking here.

Looking After Your Pans

Follow our tips to look after your pans and they’ll reward you with years of service.

• Don’t put an empty pan on the stovetop or in the oven.
• Don’t put a hot pan in cold water or pour cold water into it as the base of the pan can warp.
• Leave pans to soak before trying to remove stubborn stains.
• Avoid using metal utensils with pans that have a non-stick coating.
• Copper cookware needs frequent polishing to keep its professional shine.
• Make sure your pans are completely dry before you store them away.
• Check the product instructions to see if it’s dishwasher safe or needs to be hand-washed.
• Non-metal handles can’t go in the oven otherwise they’ll melt or burn.
• Cast iron, black iron and carbon steel cookware need to be seasoned.
• Never submerge cast iron cookware in water or put it in the dishwasher