Pots and pans, today's terminology?

[Andy M.]

The shape of the sides matters for the amount of 'floor space' it has - a straight sided pan has more 'bottom' so you can fit more food in it. Unless you pick up the pan to toss the food around in it, it doesn't matter. As a matter of fact, just about anything you can cook in a skillet or fry pan or sauté pan you can also cook in a saucepan. Shape doesn't matter all that much.

Recipes will tell you to use a certain pan because it's a good fit for a task but other shapes will work as well.

It's not a critical issue.

 

[GLC]

Whether is says use a skillet, fry pan, or saute pan, it means fetch out something with low sides made of metal and cook in it. If you don't have anything with low sides, get by with something else.

It's not the tools. It's never the tools, in cooking, music, art, shipbuilding, or horse breaking. It's knowing how to do it and taking care.

 

[Joshatdot]

I know that I posted the wiki info before .. but after thinking about it, and seeing other posts. I think the terminology is bass ackwards.

I saute stuff in the low/slope sided pan ..
I fry stuff in the higher straight sided pan ..

 

[msmofet]

Doesn't matter to me what they are called. I fry or saute in whatever I grab. I mostly have high sided pans - cast iron mostly and 1 SS. I have 2 smaller non stick pans I use for eggs and crepes. I use utensils to saute/stir as I don't like to clean the escapees off the stove and floor. LOL

 

[PrincessFiona60]

You can fry an egg in a saucepan if need be. Cook rice in a sauté pan. It's not the pan, it's how you are going to use it. If you only had ONE pan, what would you buy...remembering that it will be all you have to cook in, on top of the stove or in the oven. All the sudden shape (or what it's called) does not matter.

 

[taxlady]

You can fry an egg in a saucepan if need be. Cook rice in a sauté pan. It's not the pan, it's how you are going to use it. If you only had ONE pan, what would you buy...remembering that it will be all you have to cook in, on top of the stove or in the oven. All the sudden shape (or what it's called) does not matter.

When I was on the road a lot and staying in hotels, I brought a small electric skillet with me. I once made a meal for two of salad (obviously not in the skillet), baked potatoes, and steak with cake for dessert. I even used that skillet to boil water and make Melitta filter coffee.

I sometimes made English muffins in that skillet.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

When I was on the road a lot and staying in hotels, I brought a small electric skillet with me. I once made a meal for two of salad (obviously not in the skillet), baked potatoes, and steak with cake for dessert. I even used that skillet to boil water and make Melitta filter coffee.

I sometimes made English muffins in that skillet.

I agree with all of you for the most part. But I do have to say, I really can't see using my cast iron skillet to make Belgian waffles in. I'll continue to use my Belgian Waffle iron for that particular dish. And you can't change my mind.

Now I'm going to go and post something useful. Look for it. The new (to me at least) citrus punch flavor... Well, just look for the post. Oh, and my Grizwold cast iron pans aren't of much use for this recipe either. I'm just saying...

I tried to use my regular waffle iron (at BT's request) to put a unique waffle-grid perm in his hair. It stunk up his apartment something fierce. His DW and son weren't home at the time. But they arrived shortly afterwards. Upon entering the apartment, his DW crinkled her nose and stated most emphatically; "BT's been trying to make waffles again. We'd better call the cleaning agency, and order pizza.

(BT, that's for accusing us yoopers, the undisputed kings and queens of all things cullinary, of hocking loogies into our chowders and calling them clams.)

Bwahahaha

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[mumu]

just curious the above post(joshatdot) said they use a low side slope pan to saute in and a high side straight pan to fry stuff ........i have,well mom has a pan that i think she calls a frying pan its big but her pan doesnt have straight sides it has high sides and is sloped a little,the sides are higher than a low sided saute pan. What would the benifet in using her pan verse a high straight side one?

 

[Andy M.]

Pans with sloped sides have smaller flat bottoms than pans with straight sides. IF the floor if this pan is big enough, then go ahead and use it.

A high side pan offers the benefit of keeping the splatter that reaches the stovetop to a minimum.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Pans with straight, but sloped sides, where the circumference at the top is wider than at the pan floor, are great for reducing liquids. The large surface area at the top allows more steam to escape, which cause faster evaporation. If stainless steel, or really well seasoned cast iron is used, you can make wonderfully thick sauces of all kinds, or great chowders.

For cream sauces, chowders, and stews, these are the go-to pan, for you can cook the foods that will be in the recipe, add flour (presuming that there is melted grease from the meat fat), stir until the flour gets to the correct color, then add liquid to make the gravy/sauce, all in the same pan.

They are also very good for making Bechemel, Veloute, and the small sauces that are made from those two mother sauces. The pans also work very well for making tomato sauce based meals.

Of course, you could use a saucier for those meals too.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North