There is often confusion when comparing saute pans, fry pans, and French skillets. A French skillet can be described as a combination of a saute pan and a frying pan.

With their sizeable bottom and weight, however, sauté pans actually aren’t best for shaking and flipping food around. Instead, sauté pans are built for larger, longer cooking. If the dish requires a good amount of liquid and not much stirring, such as shallow-fried falafels or braised lamb shanks, a sauté pan is perfect for the job.

Considerations:

Worried about choosing the “best” frying pan? Well, don’t—it doesn’t exist. Instead, think about which pan is going to enhance your daily cooking experience. And while you don’t need to spend a ton on a good frying pan, we definitely recommend investing a little bit more: Not only will a higher-quality pan perform better, but it’ll also last longer.

    At its core, the Dutch oven is a heavy-duty pot typically crafted from cast iron or enameled cast iron. Its design features thick walls and a tightly fitting lid, allowing for even heat distribution and moisture retention – essential elements for achieving succulent, flavorful meals.

The details: While cast-iron frying pans are very familiar, home cooks typically know less about carbon steel pans. But they have all the advantages of cast iron and several more: They’re lighter, heat up faster and more evenly, and can cook a wider variety of foods. That’s why they’re the go-to pan in many restaurant kitchens. If you’ve ever eaten at a steakhouse, your meat was probably seared in a carbon steel frying pan.