Best for: You can cook almost anything in these versatile pans that just get better over time. You can sear a thick piece of meat on the stovetop and then move the pan to the oven to finish. Carbon steel is good at high heat, and you can use these pans to fry eggs, fish, and make delicate sauces.

Sauté pans are very versatile, as their shape allows them to hold liquids. This means they can be used for making sauces in addition to braising, poaching, shallow-frying, searing, and pan-frying (if the ingredients don’t often need to be flipped). 

There are a variety of non-stick coatings a frying pan can have, such as a standard PTFE non-stick coating to manufacturer-specific coatings. Read on to learn more about the different types of non-stick coatings a pan can have, ranging from good to best.

Shape

Applications in Restaurants and Home Cooking:

Non-stick fry pans are a preferred choice when cooking on low heat as the external coating suffers damage when exposed to excessive heat. You could use non-stick pans for more delicate meals like crepes, eggs, pancakes and more. However, non-stick cookware cannot produce the searing effect, which means it excludes many of the more popular recipes.

Stainless steel cookware, being the workhorse of your kitchen, can be used for making pretty much anything, including steaks, pork, chicken, and braises.

A multi-ply frying pan with an aluminium core is recommended for the best results when cooking at high temperatures.