Frying pan
Flat-bottomed cookware for frying, searing, and browning foods.
A frying pan, also called frypan or skillet, is a flat-bottomed cookware used for frying, searing and browning foods. It typically ranges from 20 to 30 cm (8 to 12 in) in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle and no lid. Larger pans may have a small loop handle on the opposite side to the main handle. A pan of similar dimensions, but with less flared, more vertical sides and often with a lid, is called a sauté pan. While a sauté pan can be used as a frying pan, it is designed for lower-heat cooking.
- field
- Cookware
- known_for
- Flat-bottomed pan for frying, searing, and browning
- materials
- Cast iron, carbon steel, copper, aluminium, stainless steel
- typical_diameter
- 20 to 30 cm (8 to 12 in)
- ancient_origins
- Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome
Lore & Background
Copper frying pans were used in ancient Mesopotamia. Frying pans were also known in ancient Greece, where they were called tágēnon (Ancient Greek: τάγηνον) and teganon (τήγανον) and Rome, where they were called patella or sartago. The word pan derives from the Old English panna. Before the introduction of the kitchen stove in the mid-19th century, a commonly used cast-iron cooking pan called a 'spider' had a handle and three legs used to stand up in the coals and ashes of the fire. Cooking pots and pans with legless, flat bottoms were designed when cooking stoves became popular; this period of the late 19th century saw the introduction of the flat cast-iron skillet. A versatile pan that combines the benefits of both the sauté pan and the frying pan has higher, sloping sides, often slightly curved. This pan is called a sauteuse, an evasée, or a fait-tout. A 'rappie pan' is a pan used to make rappie pie, an Acadian potato dish, made from aluminum or stainless steel. Traditionally, frying pans were made from cast iron, carbon steel or copper lined with tin. Copper pans are highly thermally conductive but reactive; cast iron retains heat well; carbon steel can develop a nonstick patina called 'seasoning'. Nowadays, most frying pans are created from metals such as aluminium or stainless steel, sometimes with a non-stick coating.
Reader's Guide
The frying pan is a fundamental kitchen tool whose design has evolved from ancient copper vessels to modern non-stick and electric variants. Its significance lies in its versatility for high-heat cooking techniques like searing and browning, as well as its role in the development of cookware materials. The introduction of the flat cast-iron skillet in the late 19th century marked a shift from hearth-based cooking to stovetop use. The frying pan's legacy endures in both professional and home kitchens, with materials like cast iron and carbon steel still valued for their seasoning properties, while modern clad stainless steel pans provide even heat distribution.
Did You Know?
- Copper frying pans were used in ancient Mesopotamia.
- The word 'pan' derives from the Old English 'panna'.
More in Kitchen Tools 1-19
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record