Skillets and sauté pans appear very similar, but the main difference lies in their shape.

The sloped shape and light weight of skillets make them perfect for quick cooking and stir-fries.

Is a frying pan and a skillet the same?

What Is A French Skillet? Is It A Saute Pan?

Features Of The French Skillet

The geometry of a pan can affect how easily moisture is driven off of food, and how rapidly a sauce will reduce. It's often claimed that the sloped sides of a skillet help moisture exuded by cooking meats evaporate more rapidly, allowing you to sear more efficiently. And this is true, but only given the same cooking area. In other words, a 12-inch skillet with a 10-inch cooking area will sear foods more efficiently than a 10-inch sauté pan. The corollary to this, of course, is that, given an equal amount of food that needs searing over super-high heat (some steaks, for example), the large surface area of a sauté pan does not offer any significant advantages over a skillet—you'll still have to cook in just as many batches.

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.