
Store display of pans. 維基小霸王 / wikimedia / 2020 / CC BY-SA 4.0
Pans are shallow, heat-proof vessels used for cooking. Their role is to contain food over heat, and deliver heat from the outside heat source — burner or oven — to the food inside. They are typically used with solid ingredients.
- 1 Distinguishing pans from pots
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2
Types of pans
- 2.1 Aebleskiver Pans
- 2.2 Appachatti Pans
- 2.3 Baking Pans
- 2.4 Broiling Pans
- 2.5 Cast Aluminum
- 2.6 Cast Iron
- 2.7 Chafing Dish
- 2.8 Crêpe Pans
- 2.9 Electric Frying Pans
- 2.10 French Roasting Pans
- 2.11 Frying Pans
- 2.12 Kanom Krok Pans
- 2.13 Non-Reactive Pans
- 2.14 Non-Stick Pans
- 2.15 Omelet Pans
- 2.16 Paella Pans
- 2.17 Paniyaram pans
- 2.18 Roasting Pans
- 2.19 Sauté Pans
- 2.20 Self-Basting Roasters
- 2.21 Spiders
- 2.22 Wok
Distinguishing pans from pots
A problem arises when trying to distinguish a pan from a similar cooking vessel, which is called a “pot”.
In general, pots are for liquids; pans are for solid ingredients.
Consequently, pots are deeper, with straight up sides.. Pans are shallower, and may have sloped-out or curved sides.
Some say a pot should have two handles, and a pan only one, a longer one. In practice, most pots have one long handle.
Pots often get called pans, but pans are almost never called pots. A saucepan is technically a sauce pot, but most English speakers would never refer to a frying pot.
A chip pan is actually a chip pot.
A wok is a pan.
Of course, all guidelines go out the window with Dutch ovens and large soup kettles.