Frying Pans and Skillets

A frying pan is the piece of cookware most home cooks reach for every single day, which is exactly why the wrong one gets annoying fast. The choice mostly comes down to how much care you want to give it: a pan you scrub with steel wool and season, one you can put in the dishwasher, or something in between. This page walks through the main types on offer and what each one asks of you in return.

Stainless steel, uncoated

Uncoated stainless pans are built for browning: searing meat, crisping chicken skin, building the fond for a pan sauce. There is no coating to wear out, so with reasonable care they last for decades, and most can go from stove to broiler and into the dishwasher. The trade-off is technique: food sticks if the pan isn't hot enough or if there isn't enough fat in it, so these suit cooks who don't mind a short learning curve in exchange for a pan that never needs replacing. Entry-level tri-ply versions cover weeknight cooking, while heavier five-ply constructions add more even heating and hold that heat longer once food goes in.

Ceramic-coated hybrid pans

These start with the same tri-ply stainless body as an uncoated pan, then add a ceramic coating over the cooking surface. The result behaves like stainless steel at the edges and handle, but releases eggs, fish and delicate items without much fat or fuss. It suits someone who likes the idea of stainless steel cookware but wants an easier pan for weekday breakfasts and doesn't want to watch the heat as closely. The coating means these pans want gentler cleaning and non-metal utensils to keep the surface intact over time.

Lightweight aluminum nonstick

Built on an aluminum body rather than a stainless one, these pans are noticeably lighter to lift and pour from, and they tend to sit at a friendlier price point. They suit the everyday jobs a nonstick pan is asked to do: eggs, pancakes, fish fillets, pan-fried dumplings, one-pot dinners after work. They don't hold heat or sear the way a heavier stainless or carbon steel pan does, so they work best as the pan you reach for on an ordinary weeknight rather than the one for a special dinner.

Carbon steel

Forged from a single piece of steel, a carbon steel pan sits between cast iron and stainless: it heats up quickly, handles high heat well, and develops its own natural release as it's seasoned and used over time. It needs the same basic care as cast iron, drying it properly and keeping a thin layer of oil on the surface, so it suits cooks who already look after cast iron or are happy to pick up the habit. A crosshatch pattern on the cooking surface, like the one below, is there to help that seasoning take hold.

How to choose

Size follows what you cook. An 8-inch pan handles two eggs or a single portion, 10-inch covers most weeknight meals for two, and 12-inch is worth it once you're regularly cooking for a family or want room to sear multiple pieces of meat without crowding them. A lid turns a fry pan into something closer to a sauté pan, useful for finishing chicken thighs or simmering a sauce without pulling out another pot.

Match your utensils to the coating. Uncoated stainless pans can take a metal turner without complaint, while ceramic and nonstick surfaces last longer if you stick to silicone or nylon.

If a pan is heading toward 12 inches or more, a helper handle on the far side makes it easier to lift and pour one-handed once it's full and hot.

Questions people ask

Is ceramic nonstick as durable as traditional nonstick coatings?

It depends on care more than the coating itself. Ceramic surfaces generally hold up better with low to medium heat, gentle utensils and hand washing, and they lose their release faster if they're scraped with metal or heated empty.

Can I use a stainless pan for eggs?

Yes, once it's properly preheated with enough fat, though it takes more attention than a coated pan and isn't as forgiving if the pan is too cool when the eggs go in.

Do carbon steel pans need seasoning like cast iron?

Yes. They start with little natural release and build it up with use and a thin coat of oil, the same basic routine that keeps a cast iron pan working well.