Cooking pans

What are the best cooking pans?

That depends on how and what you like to cook. While sauté pans and frying pans can be used to handle a lot of needs, from searing to sauteing and braising, many people prefer the benefits of woks and grill cooking pans for specific applications and recipes, let alone everyday use. Not sure which cooking pans to start with? Let the benefits of each pan speak to you and what you like to cook.

A cooking pan with a plan

Saucepan, frying pan, sauté pan, wok pan, stir-fry, griddle, skillet. The list goes on. It can be difficult to know which pan to choose, and when to use it. Let us guide you through the cooking pans jungle, and we’ll talk you through four of the most commonly used ones.

The classic frying pan

This is the classic cooking pan that almost everyone has in their home. Use it for frying, searing, browning, heating or whatever you need. It has a wide base to spread heat evenly, so your food won’t burn or stick.

The steaming sauté pan

Sautéing comes from the French word “sauté,” meaning “jumped” or “bounced.” To sauté your food, you toss it in the cooking pan over high heat, with a small amount of oil or fat. The idea is to “sweat” your ingredients, without them starting to fry or stew. To do this, you need a cooking pan with slightly higher sides than a regular frying pan. This is to make sure your food won’t end up tossed all over your kitchen.

The modern wok pan

To get that perfect texture of your wok noodles and veggies, you need to be able to sear and toss your food. Over and over, without heat spreading through the entire pan and the food being tossed over the side. A wok pan can do just that. The width, as well as the tall, sloping sides, concentrates the heat to the base. It also helps keep your food in the pan and off the floor.

The old-school grill pan

If you’re looking to nail that perfect piece of meat, with that smoky grilled taste and signature char marks, this cooking pan is for you. The flat surface and ridged base make sure that excess fat and juices flow towards the edges of the pan. If you get one with spouts, you can easily set drippings or melted fat aside for use in roasting potatoes or cooking vegetables. So, rest assured knowing that it will be easier to get a good sear on cuts of meat without juices pooling up.

Why do people use stainless steel cooking pans?

Stainless steel is prized in the kitchen for its durability and ability to absorb and retain heat. IKEA cooking pans frequently combine the attributes of a stainless steel exterior with an interior layer of aluminum to provide exceptionally even and quick heating for anything you put in a pan.

What’s the difference between stainless steel and non-stick?

Cooking pans with stainless steel exteriors frequently have a non-stick coating. Such is the case with IKEA cooking pans that help you to use less fat or cooking spray when searing or sautéing. The non-stick coating helps to remove some worry when cooking at high heat.