At its core, the Dutch oven is a heavy-duty pot typically crafted from cast iron or enameled cast iron. Its design features thick walls and a tightly fitting lid, allowing for even heat distribution and moisture retention – essential elements for achieving succulent, flavorful meals.

Stainless steel pans are a classic in both home and restaurant kitchens—not just because they look professional. Quick to heat up, incredibly responsive to temperature change, and lightweight enough for easy flipping and tossing, high-quality stainless steel does an excellent job cooking everything from delicate vegetables to thick, bone-in steaks and chops.

Carbon steel cookware boasts the naturally non stick properties and great heat retention of cast iron, combined with the cooking speed and heat control of stainless steel. We’d recommend reaching for carbon steel when cooking steaks, cornbread, or anything else cooked over high heat—though it’s versatile enough to use for low-heat cooking as well.

Uses Of The French Skillet

French Skillet

To help give you a running start, we’ve put together a guide to six of the most common pan materials, how to cook with them, what they’re best used for, and how to decide which one is right for you.

Skillets have less cooking area which may be a drawback, depending on what you're cooking. That said, skillets have the advantage of making it easy to toss or shake ingredients so that they cook evenly, thanks to the pans’ slanted sides. (You know, the professional chef move, when instead of using a wooden spoon to stir or mix the ingredients, with a quick jerk of the wrist, the ingredients are tossed and quickly caught back in the pan.) Skillets are great pans for sauteing foods and stir-frys because of how easy the pan is to move with agility.