A frypan is a metal or ceramic pot, usually oval or rectangular, with either a long handle for lifting and flipping foods as they cook, short handles on each side of the Pan for lifting it out of the oven like a roasting pan, or no handles. It is most often used as an alternative to the frying Pan and sauté pans. On the other hand, a sauté pan is a heavy-bottomed, straight-sided pan with sloping sides, often narrow at the top. It can cook sauté dishes, braise food in liquids, deep fry foods, and poach foods. Most of them differ in the following ways:
- Material
A frypan is made of either stainless steel, aluminum, or cast iron. Most will be non-stick. If you’re looking for a hefty duty pan, aluminum is the way to go. It’s also the cheapest to buy. On the other hand, a Sauté Pan is made of carbon steel. It is heavier duty than cast iron but not quite as good as stainless steel.
- Function
A Frypan is primarily used for cooking food in the oven. It also makes an excellent non-stick pan when you’re making something like pancakes. A Sauté Pan is primarily used when you’re cooking foods in a sauté pan over low heat. It’s also the kind of Pan I always use when I’m making a stir fry.
- Durability
Because a Sauté Pan is made of carbon steel, it’s the most durable of the two. It’s also a little less prone to warping than an aluminum fry pan. An aluminum frypan can be beaten up more than a Sauté Pan, but it still will last longer than the more delicate cast-iron frypan.
Stainless steel and cast iron are less durable than carbon steel, so they’ll need to be replaced after a while. The good thing about stainless steel is that it has some non-stick properties and can be used on medium heat. Aluminum is also non-stick, but it’s not nearly as good as stainless steel.
- Ease of Care
A Sauté Pan requires a little more care than a Frypan. If you use an aluminum fry pan and leave it sitting in the sink with water and food all over the bottom, you don’t have to clean it for months; maybe even years. The same care can be applied to stainless steel, but not quite as much because it’s less prone to scratching and warping.
If you use a high-quality Cast Iron (preferably enamel coated), then you’ll need to treat it like silverware; avoid cleaning it with harsh chemicals, mainly ammonia-based cleaners like Comet or Windex. It’s also best to avoid wood utensils.
If you choose the non-stick option, then you’ll need to keep it clean, just like any other non-stick cookware. Your choice of surface for your Pan will determine how easy it is to clean, but non-stick pans are easier to maintain than stainless steel or cast-iron pans.
- Cost
Stainless steel is the most expensive of the three, followed by cast iron and, lastly, aluminum. A high-quality stainless-steel skillet can run around $30-40 dollars, while a high-quality Sauté Pan can be less expensive than a Frypan at around $20-25 dollars.
- Safety
There are a couple of safety concerns for both a Frypan and a Sauté Pan. It’s essential to use either a plastic or wooden utensil when stirring food in a pan. Metal utensils can scratch the surface, which will degrade the non-stick feature that the Pan offers. This scratching can also hurt you if you cut yourself on it.
It’s also essential to avoid too high heat when cooking with aluminum pans because it can cause warping and burn from hot spots. Stainless steel and cast iron are suitable for cooking with medium or high heat, so they won’t warp or burn your food.
- Size
Stainless steel and cast-iron pans come in various sizes, but generally speaking, you can find a frypan in any size from 2 inches to 18 inches. Most Sauté Pans are 8 inches or 10 inches. In my experience, I’ve found that anything over 10 inches is too big for cooking most meals. Most commonly, I find myself needing a pan between 6 and 10 inches.
- Weight
The weight of a pan depends on the material it’s made out of. You can get stainless steel pans 1-1/2 pounds, while aluminum pans are usually between 1/2 pound and 5 pounds. Cast iron pans are even lighter at between 1/4 pound and 10 pounds.
- Versatility
Versatility is one of the significant differences between a Frypan and Sauté Pan because it means different things depending on what you’re trying to cook in your Pan. If you want something that you can use to make pancakes or sauté food, then a Frypan is more suitable for your needs. For versatility, a frypan is hard to beat. It can be used for sauteing and braising meats and making things like pancakes and omelets. A Sauté Pan can also do all of these things, but it’s not the best at making foods like scrambled eggs or fried rice. Most Sauté Pans are only suitable for cooking meats and things like steaks and chops. Foods that require liquid aren’t easy to cook in a Sauté Pan because it’s hard to prevent liquid from evaporating when you lower the heat.
Sauté Pans are also better for high heat cooking. Since they’re usually made of carbon steel, they can handle high heat without degrading the dish you’re cooking. On the other hand, a frypan is not suitable for high heat cooking. You can cook something like eggs on medium or low heat, but anything higher than that will cause the food to burn quickly.
- Aesthetic
Aesthetic considerations are important because you want the Pan to look good in your kitchen. Frypans come in a variety of colors, such as red, blue, and black. Sauté Pans typically only come in stainless steel or carbon steel. Furthermore, stainless steel is more resistant to staining than carbon steel.
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Conclusion
The Frypan and Sauté Pan are both excellent choices when looking for a cookware set for your kitchen. They’re great for different kinds of cooking and will add a lot of functionality to your kitchen. Choose either that fits your requirements or that you prefer based on price, durability, or how you’re going to use it in your kitchen.
