KITCHEN PANS - Saucier Pan to Stir-Fry Pan

As a shorter and different shaped version of a sauce pan, the saucier is a pan often used for preparations requiring more repetitive motions with the ingredients in the pan, such as stirring or whisking. The saucier pan will not have sides as deep as a sauce pan, but may have straight-edged or broadly curved sides that rise up at a slight angle, making the mouth wider than the base. Thus, the shorter sides enable easier access to the ingredients when preparing foods such as sauces, custards, puddings, rice dishes, and accomplishing tasks such as braising, poaching, sautéing or reducing liquids. Pan bottoms will be much thicker than the sides, allowing heat to be evenly distributed and retained. When selecting, consider the functions that will most often occur with the use of this pan. Determine if the depth and width of the mouth are sufficient for ease of access to accomplish repetitive motions and that it is not too small in diameter requiring tighter rotations to occur with the hand or arm. Similarly, if the tasks are generally for small amounts of ingredients, smaller pan sizes should be considered. Common saucier pan sizes range from 1 to 5.5 quarts with diamaters of 7 to 13 inches. Check the rim of the pan as some pans may not have a lip formed around the rim, so pouring liquids becomes a messy task. Grasp the handle to see if it is comfortable and has sufficient length to resist becoming hot after being on a stovetop burner for longer periods of time. Although price may be a factor, consider the materials used to construct the pan, making sure it will evenly heat across the surface of the pan, such as a cladded, anodized or other similar materials will enable. A saucier pan may also be referred to as a chef's pan or a reduction saucepan. The functions often served by this pan and the appearance of the pan are very similar to a skillet, a fry pan, an omelet pan, or a stir-fry pan.

Sautéing is a method of cooking food, that uses a small amount of oil or fat in a shallow pan over relatively high heat. Ingredients are usually cut into pieces or thinly sliced to facilitate fast cooking. The primary mode of heat transfer during sautéing is conduction between the pan and the food being cooked. Food that is sautéed is browned while preserving its texture, moisture and flavor. If meat, chicken, or fish is sautéed, the sauté is often finished by deglazing the pan's residue to make a sauce. Sautéing is often confused with pan-frying, in which larger pieces of food (for example, chops or steaks) are cooked quickly, and flipped onto both sides. Some cooks make a distinction between the two based on the depth of the oil used, while others use the terms interchangeably. Sautéing differs from searing in that searing only browns the surface of the food. Olive oil or clarified butter are commonly used for sautéing, but most fats will do. Regular butter will produce more flavor but will burn at a lower temperature and more quickly than other fats due to the presence of milk solids, so clarified butter is more fit for this use.

A round, lidded pan with small handles that is often used to sauté or braise a variety of foods. With short to medium height outward sloping sides, a sauteuse pan is a utensil for cooking casseroles, stews, and pasta dishes as well as meat and poultry dishes. Common in European households, this pan has a small curved handle on each side instead of a single straight handle and is typically available in sizes ranging from 2.5 quarts to 7 quarts.

A round, deep pan that may have straight sides with a slightly rounded base or more commonly a round base that slopes out and upward. Used for cooking of numerous ingredients that may be prepared on a stovetop or at the dining table, stir fry pans are available with several different sized handle lengths that can be selected to match the cooking process. Stir-fry pans allow heat to be well distributed across the base while the sloping sides make it easier to stir and turn ingredients as they cook. Pans made of steel that have flat-bottomed bases with long handles are ideal when cooking ingredients at high temperatures. The Asian pan referred to as a "wok" is one traditional type of stir-fry pan while other versions are often available with bases and sides that are thicker in substance, not as curved, nor as deep as the wok pan. Cooks, who are able to toss the ingredients in the pan upward and prevent oils from splattering while cooking, prefer the lighter weight and rounded base of the wok. In many instances the wok pan may work best over open flames rather than electric stoves. Stir fry pans are often used to prepare and quickly sear multiple ingredients that go well together including various meats and vegetables mixed with sauces. Although skillets and fry pans may at times be used for preparing stir-fried foods, it is the actual stir fry pan that is the best tool for cooking food in a small quantity of oil and for retaining the colors and textures of the various ingredients.