Skillets Frying Pans

While stockpots, dutch ovens, and roasting pans have their place in the culinary world, the one piece of cookware that's absolutely indispensable is the skillet or the frying pan. Most of us use one every day to, say, scramble our morning eggs, make grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, or sauté some chicken for dinner. A skillet or a frying pan is a pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It is typically a 20 to 30 cm diameter (8 to 12 inch) flat pan with flared sides and no lid. Every chef or cook appreciates a good skillet in the kitchen. It should heat and cook evenly, brown nicely, and clean up easily without too much elbow grease.

Traditionally, skillets or frying pans were made of cast-iron. Today, however, stainless steel skillets are a popular choice among professional chefs for many reasons. A stainless steel skillet is not as heavy as a cast iron or enameled skillet, and many have stay-cool handles. A carbon steel skillet performs similarly to stainless steel and is also among the lighter pans with a cool handle. A hard-coat anodized skillet is an aluminum skillet that has been electro-chemically treated to harden the surface and make it scratch resistant. Aluminum skillets transfer heat well and are also among the lighter skillets. Finally, skillets with baked enamel or porcelain interiors provide nonstick cooking. The enamel finish is durable and safe.

Though a quality skillet or frying pan can be an investment, it will last a lifetime with proper care. A good skillet will come with recommended manufacturer instructions for cleaning, seasoning if applicable, and preheating or cooking. After all, let's not forget, the right cookware makes preparing meals a pleasure