Saucepan

The base is the pan

A saucepan's job is to distribute heat from a small burner across a flat surface without hot spots. A thin base cannot: it heats fastest directly over the flame, so sauces catch in a ring, milk scorches, and rice burns in the middle while the edges are fine.

A thick, clad base — several millimetres of aluminium or copper sandwiched in stainless steel — spreads that heat sideways before it reaches the food. It also holds temperature, so the pan does not drop out of a simmer the moment something cold goes in.

Pick a pan up in the shop. If it feels light for its size, put it back.

The sizes worth owning

Small, 1 to 1.5 litres

Melting butter, a single portion, warming milk, reducing a small sauce. Used constantly.

Medium, 2 to 3 litres

The workhorse. Rice, vegetables, sauces, soup for two.

Large, 4 to 6 litres

Soup, stew, stock for a household, boiling potatoes.

Stockpot, 8 litres or more

Pasta for a crowd, stock, preserving. Useful and easily borrowed.

A saucier

A saucepan with sloping, curved sides so a whisk reaches everywhere. Genuinely better for sauces, custards and risotto, and there is no corner for anything to catch in.

A milk pan

Small with a pouring lip. Pleasant, and a small saucepan does the same job.

What to look for

• A heavy, clad base, ideally extending up the sides.
• A lid that fits properly, preferably with a vent. Glass lids are convenient and slightly less durable.
• A handle that stays cool and is riveted rather than spot welded. Riveted handles do not fall off.
• Oven-safe to a decent temperature, which doubles what the pan can do.
• Straight sides for boiling, sloped for whisking. Both are useful and most kitchens manage with straight.
• Avoid non-stick saucepans for most jobs. You rarely need it and the coating limits the heat and shortens the pan's life.

Using them well

• Match the pan to the burner. A large pan on a small ring heats only in the middle; a small pan on a large ring wastes heat up the sides and burns the handle.
• Match the pan to the quantity. A cup of sauce in a large pan reduces to nothing and catches; the same sauce in a small pan behaves.
• Use a lid for anything you want to keep hot or bring to the boil, and take it off for anything you want to reduce.
• Wide and shallow for reducing, tall and narrow for boiling. Evaporation happens at the surface.
• Deglaze immediately. Anything that catches comes off a hot pan far more easily than a cold one.

What separates a good saucepan from a bad one

• A thick base. The single most important feature. Thin bases have a hot spot directly over the ring, which is where milk, rice and sauces catch.
• A base that is genuinely flat. Warped pans rock on an induction or ceramic hob and heat unevenly.
• A handle that stays cool and is riveted, not spot-welded. Welded handles are what fail on a full pan.
• A well-fitting lid, ideally one you can vent. A loose lid lets steam out, which matters for rice.
• Oven-safe to a decent temperature, so it can go from hob to oven. This rules out most plastic handles.
• A pouring lip on at least one, which is more useful than it sounds.

Common questions