Enamel-coated Cast Iron Cookware Care

Pans are measured according to the diameter of the lip, not the diameter of the cooking surface. Most home burners can only comfortably fit a pan of around 12 inches in diameter. Because of its straight sides, a 12-inch sauté pan will also have a large, 12-inch-wide cooking surface (about 113 square inches). A skillet, on the other hand, loses at least an inch on each side, making the effective cooking area only 10 inches wide (about 79 square inches). This means that, given a skillet and a sauté pan of equal diameter, the skillet will have 30% less cooking area than the sauté pan. That's not an insignificant amount.

Heavy Enamel Cookware

The simplest way to understand the difference between these types of pans is to look at the sides of the pan. If the sides are slanted, the pan is a skillet, which is also sometimes called a frying pan or fry pan. If the slides are straight, it’s a sauté pan.

Carbon steel is becoming a chefs' favorite choice in the kitchen. These pans heat up quickly and evenly. This material is an excellent choice for non-toxic cookware. It is lighter and less clunky than the heavy cast iron. Carbon steel actually contains more iron than those cast iron skillets. This type of material is versatile, and you can use it for all kinds of cooking.

Ceramic pans are similar to non stick pans, but with one crucial difference. Because part of the coating releases every time it heats up (that’s the “self-sacrificing” bit), ceramic pans become less non stick with every use, making for a pan with a shorter lifespan. On the plus side, ceramic pans’ aluminum core makes them relatively lightweight and easy to handle.

8-piece Cast Iron Cookware Set