Skillet vs. Saute Pan?

[SolidSnake03]

Hey guys!

Recently I've been trying to prune down my knife collection to just a couple things I really need (Tojiro Bread, Masakage Nakiri 165mm, Tanaka Blue #2 Damascus Gyuto 240mm and a Fujiwara FKH Gyuto 270mm) in an effort to simplify life a bit and further prepare for a potential big move. Now that I have the knife thing mostly squared away I'm looking at my cookware and realizing it is woefully inadequate. I have a badly warped (wont sit flat on electric range) 10' skillet and a few other random pans. I've finally started cooking again and really want to buy just 1-2 pieces.

I'm torn on whether to go for a Saute Pan or a Skillet for an all around do it all type of stovetop pan and thought I would see what you guys thought! Right now I'm looking at a few from Cuisinart because they seem relatively affordable and pretty good pieces overall. Parents own a few things from them and have been happy with them for years and years. Anyhow these are the few I'm looking at.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00008CM6A/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0078P9D8U/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00008CM6B/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1442616857&sr=1-1&keywords=saute+pan

Of course if I had all the money to spend the Demeyere stuff looks excellent and I love the no rivets on the inside (smooth interior) design.

Anyhow, what do you guys think?

 

[WildBoar]

Tough call choosing between skillets and saute pans. Skillets are great when you need to get in there and flip with a spatula (eggs, fish fillets), and saute pans are great when you want more flat area per overall footprint and a decent-fitting lid (think browning chicken parts, adding liquid, covering and cooking on the stovetop). That said, a skillet will do what a saute pan can, but a saute pan cannot make it easier to use a spatula.

 

[aboynamedsuita]

If you only get one I recommend you get a skillet. My Demeyere Atlantis sauté pan looks exactly like the Dutch oven but only about 1/2 as high and different handles. Just something to think about if you plan to add pieces over time and want to avoid similarities.

The ones you linked seem to have an encapsulated base which means you won't be able to cook on the sides like a clad Demeyere ProLine/Atlantis, but these are pricey (and may I add heavy too)

 

[Lucretia]

If you really like Demeyere, Zwilling bought Demeyere, and put out the "Zwilling Sensation" line that is basically the same thing as the Demeyere "Industry 5" line that's at SLT. They've been having a big clearance sale (60+ % off) on the Sensation at the Zwilling online site (http://www.zwillingonline.com/sensation.html. The prices might be a little more than you're wanting to spend, but it's MUCH better than the Demeyere prices at SLT. I've been replacing some ancient ScanPan with the Sensation and a discount piece of Industry 5. (The performance is the same between the Sensation and the Industry 5--you really can't tell them apart other than the shape of the handles and the name stamped on them.) Really happy with it so far. The skillets have a decent amount of cooking area for the diameter--better than most others I've seen. If I had to choose between the 11" skillet and the 3-qt saute pan, I'd take the skillet. One thing to note--the skillets don't come with lids. (Thanks to Blue Wolf for pointing out the Sensation sale a while back.)

The Demeyere Atlantis line is supposed to be an upgrade from these, but I've heard they're really heavy. These are nice solid pans without being overwhelmingly heavy.

 

[aboynamedsuita]

If you really like Demeyere, Zwilling bought Demeyere, and put out the "Zwilling Sensation" line that is basically the same thing as the Demeyere "Industry 5" line that's at SLT. They've been having a big clearance sale (60+ % off) on the Sensation at the Zwilling online site (http://www.zwillingonline.com/sensation.html. The prices might be a little more than you're wanting to spend, but it's MUCH better than the Demeyere prices at SLT. I've been replacing some ancient ScanPan with the Sensation and a discount piece of Industry 5. (The performance is the same between the Sensation and the Industry 5--you really can't tell them apart other than the shape of the handles and the name stamped on them.) Really happy with it so far. The skillets have a decent amount of cooking area for the diameter--better than most others I've seen. If I had to choose between the 11" skillet and the 3-qt saute pan, I'd take the skillet. One thing to note--the skillets don't come with lids. (Thanks to Blue Wolf for pointing out the Sensation sale a while back.)

The Demeyere Atlantis line is supposed to be an upgrade from these, but I've heard they're really heavy. These are nice solid pans without being overwhelmingly heavy.

Atlantis is quite heavy, I could weigh some of mine if anyone is interested. The skillets (they call them ProLine for some reason but are for the Atlantis series) are much thicker than industry/sensation (only the 20cm one is thinner).

 

[SolidSnake03]

Thanks for that advice guys! Definitely leaning toward skillet now because the slightly lower sides in terms of flipping food would be a benefit. The Zwilling Sensation line definitely looks promising and is something I could potentially stomach price wise since it would be only $50 or so more than the Cuisinart Stuff.

I'm not too worried about the encapsulated metal base because honestly how much cooking does a home cook really do on the sides of their pan vs. the bottom? Further if it comes at a huge cost savings I think I can tolerate it. My only concern would be if they had vastly inferior heat holding or transfer capabilities than I would consider ditching the encapsulated in favor of something else.

Weights on the Atlantis would be great, that was my concern about that line over the Industry and Sensation as well. I've used Cast Iron and some fairly heavy stuff in the past and it wasn't like I couldn't handle it, it just was annoying and would prefer something not so brick-like in terms of weight.

 

[Lucretia]

I'm cooking on a warped gas cooktop, but the Zwilling skillets seem pretty flat. Let me know if you'd like any weights.

 

[havox07]

Its less about the cooking on the sides and more about how even the heat transfer is, with an encapsulated base, one is more likely to burn food as the base is much hotter than the sides, with triply the pans are lighter and heat more evenly. What about the cuisinart multiclad series? link

 

[daveb]

I'm downsizing some cookware and gave up some old (1985) Cuisinart and a bunch of Calphalon from when it was Commercial Cookware. The Cuisinart was of a time when it was some of the best available and made in France. Cuisinart went to China about the same time consumers were looking for better products and they quickly fell out of favor. They're coming back and the multi-clad looks good. Similar threads discussed Viking, Vollrath, AC and other quality stainless. I would ensure that ANY new cookware was induction compatible.

All that said my favorite and not to be parted with is a mix of Viking and de Buyer. And Swiss Diamond for non-stick.

 

[SolidSnake03]

If you had the weight on the 11in skillet by Zwilling that would be great! Would love to compare that weight to the Atlantis (ProLine) weight that tjangula may be putting up. Thanks!

Why though would one be more likely to burn something if the bottom is hotter than the sides if the food isn't actually touching the sides at all? I'm not checking how hot the pan is using the sides....

The Cuisinart multiclad don't look too bad but for a small bit more I could get the Zwilling Sensation which I think would be a better choice. Also, not a big fan of the multiclad handles, look a bit AllClad like to me which I don't find very comfortable at all.

 

[dmccurtis]

It's about the different rates of cooking. If part of the food is on the side and part is on the bottom, the hotter part will cook more quickly, and possibly burn before the cooler part is finished.

 

[aboynamedsuita]

I never really plan to cook on the sides of a pan either but I can guarantee there will be times when you're cooking something slightly oversized and contact is inevitable. Also agree 100% with daveb about induction compatible for future proofing (I plan to end up with gas at some point but you never know), both Zwilling and Demeyere are good in this regard.

I'll upload some pics and numbers for the pans hopefully later today, I'll also do some similar sized lodge CI for comparison. I can also do Gastrolux non-stick, but I only have the 20cm out at the moment; 24&32cm are boxed away since I rarely use them and don't have room for everything. Unfortunately I don't have a 28cm (11") ProLine, but can do 20, 24 and 32cm

 

[Lucretia]

My 11" Zwilling skillet is 3 lb, 4 1/2 oz. I had an 11" all clad before and the cooking area on the zwilling is much larger. I also hated the handle on the all clad. The sensation line doesn't have a disc bottom--all pieces are stainless clad aluminum throughout. I believe the Atlantis skillets are also clad--the saucepans and saute pans are disc, whereas the skillets and sauciers are clad if I remember correctly. I think the zwilling/demeyere are all induction compatible, although I've read that the Atlantis line is more efficient with induction.

I got my first piece of Sensation about a month ago, so still early on the learning curve. Happy so far. I don't put it in the dishwasher, even if it's supposed to be dishwasher safe.

 

[SolidSnake03]

Induction is a good point that I didn't necessarily consider. I've looked into the DeMeyer a little more and the skillets I'm looking at seem to be fine in this regard. Same with the Zwilling stuff. That said, thanks for bringing that point up. I'm on electric right now and don't really enjoy it and hope to move away from it (new apt) when my lease is up early next year.

Regarding the sides of the pan, that is a good point, true that stuff would contact them especially as the pan becomes more crowded. Good point and something I didn't consider enough previously regarding the encased bottoms vs. the entirely clad. I'm definitely leaning most toward that Zwilling Sensation now. I would love to just outright by the DeMeyer stuff (kind of a sucker for brand names in this case) however, for a good deal less money the Sensation is tempting. <$100 for an 11' seems like a great deal!

I was actually able to get to SLT today and play around with the DeMeyer Industry5 stuff and really liked the feel and weight. Not too heavy at all yet felt solid for the 11' size. The bottom of the pan also looked to have quite a bit of space for an 11' and the handle was great. Loved it especially compared to the AllClad handles. If the Sensation line is fairly close in weight (it should be) than I would be quite content in this regard. Didn't get to mess around with any of the Atlantis stuff so not sure how that would be weight wise but the price tag I think would put me off given what is available from Zwilling.

So right now the Zwilling is the front runner I would say given how the Industry5 felt and that it wouldn't be that much more than the skillets I linked.

Don't know much about Viking but are they another brand worth giving some serious consideration to for this? Price wise would they stack up fairly well? I hate discussing money so much on this but for this purchase I am trying to be fairly price conscious and it is a factor in the decision to some regard.

 

[aboynamedsuita]

I did a lot of reading on Chowhound when I was shopping and was narrowed down to Sensation, industry, Atlantis or John Pawson. I'm sure I read that Demeyere makes at least one line for Viking, similar to how they make the sensation for Zwilling.

Here are the weights in grams, I'd expect some variation especially with the CI:

Demeyere Atlantis/ProLine skillets
20cm - 901g
24cm - 1736g
32cm - 2690g

Gastrolux induction fry pan
20cm - 855g

Lodge CI skillets (the # go back to the days of wood stoves and heat rings IIRC)
#5(~8") - 1422g
#6(~9") - 1954g
#8(~10") - 2366g
#10(~12") - 3430g
#12(~13") - 4582g

 

[aboynamedsuita]

A pic of the three Atlantis/ProLine pans, I really like the handles although the cast SS on sensation&industry are pretty cool too.

Here you can see the different thickness of the 20 and 24cm Demeyere.

If you go to the website (http://www.demeyere.be/Default.asp?CID=2923&SLID=1) I believe you can find a brochure that tells you the exact specs for all the pieces, I still have mine buried in a box somewhere.

I'd recommend that you go with the Sensation, it would have been more than adequate for me as a home cook, and has some nice pieces if you decide to add to the set (such as saucier, not sure about Cusinart)

I also remember that I ended up at vodkitchen via Chowhound, here's a couple posts on Atlantis if you're interested:
http://www.vodkitchen.com/demeyere-cookware/
http://www.vodkitchen.com/demeyere-12-proline-frying-pan/

 

[Lucretia]

Some handle pictures for you. The handle in the front is a Zwilling Sensation skillet, the back is Demeyere Industry 5 saute pan.

Lid handles: Zwilling on the left, Demeyere on the right:

They're just about identical, so if you liked the Industry 5 handles, you should like the Zwilling.


I'm really liking the rolled lip on these for pouring, too.

 

[Lucretia]

Those proline skillets look amazing, btw, and sound like they're wonderful to cook with. Might have to watch for one used on the 'bay.

 

[Jaspernowhere]

Go to a restaurant supply store and get $7 steel sauté pans. The pans in question at one of my jobs are thicker than the thin ones but not as thick as an old cast iron pan. They can't be beat. They also look better than all of the overengineered garbage on the market.

 

[SolidSnake03]

Excellent everyone, thanks a bunch! So I have decided to go with one of the Sensation skillets 11' because I think it really is the best option when price is considered. That handle looks good too.

Those ProLine skillet weights aren't actually that bad. I've used CI in the past a bit so they (the ProLine weights) seem fairly tolerable if I ever want to go that route. Thank you again very much.

Looking into Viking now too just for fun and maybe future purchases

 

[bkultra]

I'm sure I read that Demeyere makes at least one line for Viking, similar to how they make the sensation for Zwilling.

I know this is somewhat of an older post, but this thread was recently linked in a newer post and I wanted to clear something up for anyone that reads it...

Demeyere did at one time make the 7ply line for Viking, but this line was discontinued because after Zwilling bought Demeyere they needed the production to make their new line(s) (Sensations included). The current cookware sold under the Viking name is not made by Demeyere.

The new KitchenAid line on the other hand is rebranded Atlantis...

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OCVLXLI/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[aboynamedsuita]

Thanks for the clarification, I really should watch verb tense especially considering that I bought awhile ago, and would have done my reading/research prior.

I don't think there's any shame in resurrecting an old post if there is valuable information to add, although I do get a kick out of every time someone wakes up a 2+ year old BST thread when the knife would likely have been sold.

 

[boomchakabowwow]

this is a very good thread.

oldy but goody. i have a 12" all Clad saute pan in my cabinets. i used to just move it out of the way to get to other pans. i recently started using it as my braising vessel. it is just the wife and I. not a big family. this pan is just about perfect for smaller braises and stews. the short sides get a tad messy doing the initial browning..but the lid is pretty tight fitting. i just pop the entire thing into a 300deg oven and use it like my LeCruesut dutch.

it is starting to look like a used pan..it was so shiny and brand-new looking for so long. i really like it a lot.

 

[El Pescador]

this is a very good thread.

oldy but goody. i have a 12" all Clad saute pan in my cabinets. i used to just move it out of the way to get to other pans. i recently started using it as my braising vessel. it is just the wife and I. not a big family. this pan is just about perfect for smaller braises and stews. the short sides get a tad messy doing the initial browning..but the lid is pretty tight fitting. i just pop the entire thing into a 300deg oven and use it like my LeCruesut dutch.

it is starting to look like a used pan..it was so shiny and brand-new looking for so long. i really like it a lot.

Do the same with this...

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Tramontin...p-Saute-Pan-with-Lid-Stainless-Steel/23000698

 

[CassidyJacobson]

The cast iron skillet offers durability, avoiding rust to develop on its body. This kind of cookware can be used for a broad array of both cooking and baking errands.