Frying pans or skillets have flat bottoms, flared sides, a shallow depth, and no lids. These features make them the perfect choice for shallow frying, flipping food, stirring, high-heat searing, or grilling meat at high temperatures.

Another thing to keep in mind when shopping for a pan is the amount of space you have available. If you have a farmhouse kitchen with ample drawer space and a pot rack, for example, you can justify picking up one (or more) of each. For more compact kitchens, however, a smaller multi-material set will allow you to do a lot with a little.

One of the most significant features is the flat bottom, which provides consistent heat distribution throughout the cooking process. You don’t want your eggs undercooked in some portions due to an uneven cooking area or a poor heat conductor.

    Commercial cast iron griddles， on the other hand, are larger, more durable, and designed to meet the needs of busy commercial kitchens.   Commercial cast iron griddles are great for cooking large amounts of food at once, making them a popular choice among restaurants, diners, and other food service establishments.   Commercial cast iron griddles durable construction and even heat distribution makes them a reliable and efficient cooking tool for professional chefs.

When it comes down to it, as far as high-temperature searing (as for steaks) goes, the pans are equally efficient. A skillet offers advantages for sautéing, and a sauté pan offers advantages for shallow-frying, moderate-temperature searing (as for chicken pieces), or braising. In an ideal world, you'd have both, but if I had to pick one, I'd go with the skillet, as sautéing is a step in nearly every recipe I make.

How to Clean Stainless Steel Pans

Best for: Delicate proteins like fish and seafood, melting sugar, making candy, and sauces.

The details: Copper frying pans are expensive, but they offer superb heat conductivity. That means they heat up quickly and cool down just as fast, giving you more control when you’re making something you have to monitor closely, like a caramel sauce. “They’re at the opposite end of the spectrum from cast iron,” Nitahara says. “Because it heats up and cools down quickly, you can bring a sauce right to the brink, then remove it from the heat before it breaks from the high heat.”