A saucepan is circular with a high side and has a long handle. The high side of the saucepan has two purposes. First, it allows more food and drinks to fit inside. Second, it is an area to get paired with the smaller one, as it is put in a stack. It means the saucepan spreads the heat more evenly. A saucepan is relatively taller than a stockpot. 

You can use a saucepan for making sauces, braising, boiling, and deep-frying. 

Stainless steel is the most popular material for saucepan because it can maintain the high heat evenly for many recipes. It is also easy to clean and dishwasher safe, but hand washing is more recommended. Yet, stainless steel is more expensive. It is usually combined with copper or aluminum per layer. 

 To substitute stainless steel, there are other materials to cover almost the same functions. Aluminum is the latest recommended one. It is a lightweight, affordable, and efficient heat conductor. Aluminum-coated cookware performs as nonstick. CookerBene varies the saucepan in many beautiful colors, lid materials, and sizes. 

The blue saucepan has a glass lid and wooden handle. It is also available in beige. The black saucepan has two kinds of lids—the convex lid with circular grain or the flat lid with the vertical grain on its body. The black presents like a Dutch oven, it can be used as bakeware too. 

The Difference From Other Cookware

A saucepan is narrower but taller than a stockpot. A stockpot is for long-simmering. A saucepan can be used for simmering, but only in a smaller volume than a stockpot. 

A saucier, which sounds and looks like a saucepan, but they are different. Saucier has a rounded bottom, fit for whisking and cooking grains. The curved bottom eases to whisk and to make creamy concoctions like risotto and custard. 

A combination of saucepan and frying pan is called a sauté pan. A sauté pan has larger bases, so it can be used well for sautéing and searing. Sautéing is cooking food with a minimal amount of fat, quickly over high heat. Sauté comes from French, means jump, describing how the food reacts due to a high heated pan and the method of tossing the food in the pan. Searing is cooking the food, usually meat, at high temperature until it has browned crust.

A frying pan is shallower than a saucepan. It has a broader surface area, so it can expose more ingredients to heat. The handle of a frying pan is usually longer to provide enough distance and protection from the hot oil. While a saucepan is good for reheating, a frying pan is not. Due to its large surface, the liquid will evaporate quickly in a frying pan. 

The Uses of a Saucepan

A saucepan is for boiling water and can make all kinds of sauce easily. The steep side makes it perfect for heating sauce and other liquid. 

It has high straight sides, but the body is smaller than a stockpot and a Dutch oven. The average size is two to three quarts, but smaller and larger sizes are available. 

Most saucepans are designed for stovetop; some can be oven safe, based on the material. If the pan has a tight-fitting lid, it is suitable for making rice or couscous.

The two-or-three-quarts saucepans are not for soup but good for reheating and making stew, pasta in a small amount. 

Saucepan from CookerBene is also called a milk pan since it can be used to reheat the milk and water to make beverages. You can pour the water into your mug or whisk the ingredients inside, depending on the type of beverage. 

If you need a saucepan for the oven, make sure it is not a nonstick coating. The oven heat can damage the coating. 

It is necessary to have one quart (about 0.9 liters) to reheat in a small amount—two quarts (about 1.9 liters) for making rice, couscous, and quinoa. Three quarts (about 2.8 liters) are reasonably necessary since a Dutch oven can help for a small amount of soup. 

You should have one of each size and function to keep your options open. 

A Perfect Choice

A saucepan is a perfect choice for the pro and the amateur. It is easy to use and for simple cooking. It is essential to know the material of your saucepan, so you will know what food is proper to cook inside. 

Generally, nonstick cookware is not oven-safe. However, some brands use a nonstick coating that is induction compatible and oven safe. Find material that is safe and internationally admitted. Without using any hazardous agent like PFOA and PFOS, it will maintain and improve your life through healthy cooking.