Cookware terms
The distinctions that change a cookware choice.
On this page
Pan types
A skillet has relatively sloped sides for turning and sliding food. A sauté pan has straighter sides and usually a lid for liquids and larger one-pan dishes. Saucepans and sauciers handle smaller quantities of liquids. Stockpots and Dutch ovens cover larger-volume simmering, with different construction and weight.
Rim, base and capacity
The size on the label is usually measured across the rim, the top of the pan. The flat cooking diameter is the floor inside, where food sits, and it's smaller. The magnetic base is the part underneath that an induction zone picks up. Height is measured outside, from the counter up; depth is measured inside. A maker's stated capacity is how much the pan holds; a capacity worked out from measurements is filled to the brim, which is more than you'd cook in.
Clad and coated
Clad cookware is layers of metal bonded together. A coating is a separate cooking surface laid over the pan. Stainless steel on its own doesn't prove a pan works on induction: it needs a magnetic base, or the maker saying so.
Pan and lid oven limits
A pan's oven temperature doesn't cover its lid, handle covers or accessories. The broiler is a separate question. Use the lowest limit that applies and follow the pan's own manual.
Saucepan and saucier
A saucepan usually has square corners. A saucier's curve into the sides lets a whisk reach the whole bottom. Either one does the saucepan's job.
Sauté pan, braiser and Dutch oven
A sauté pan has straighter sides than a skillet. A braiser is a shallow pot with a lid, usually with two side handles. A Dutch oven is deeper. Compare the actual measurements and quarts rather than going by the name.
Wok, griddle, roaster and steamer
A wok has sloping sides for tossing food. A griddle is a flat, open surface. A roasting pan is made for the oven and often comes with a rack. A steamer insert holds food above the water in a pot it fits.
Cooking surface and core
The cooking surface is what touches the food; the core is a layer inside the pan's body. A stainless outside can surround a coated inside. The number of layers tells you how a pan is built, not how well it cooks.
Clad body and disc base
A clad pan has its layers bonded all the way up the sides. A disc base puts the heat-spreading layer in the bottom only. The product description says where the layers go.
Ceramic coating, hybrid and conventional nonstick
Ceramic-coated cookware is a metal pan with a ceramic-type coating. Hybrid cookware has a raised metal pattern over a coated surface. Classic nonstick is listed on its own. None of these names tells you an oven limit, and none is a health claim.
Seasoned and enameled cast iron
Seasoning is a layer of baked-on oil kept up on bare iron or carbon steel. Enamel is a glassy surface fused to the iron. Seasoning instructions for bare iron don't apply to enamel.
Quarts, fluid ounces and weight ounces
US quarts and fluid ounces measure volume. Ounces by weight and grams measure weight. Turning a volume into a weight needs the ingredient and how it's prepared; no single conversion fits every food.
Pieces in the box vs pans you cook in
The piece count on the box can include pots, pans, lids, inserts, utensils and pan protectors. We count them separately. A lid that fits two pans counts once, and an accessory doesn't add another cooking job.
When a maker doesn't say
“Not stated” means the maker doesn't give that figure. It doesn't mean there's no limit. A product marked as no longer current stays here for reference but is left out of buying and fit suggestions. Age alone never takes a product out.