Saucepan

A saucepan is a round pan with tall, straight sides, one long handle and usually a lid. The high sides hold liquid and limit evaporation, which makes it the pan for sauces, rice and other grains, custards, boiling eggs, cooking small batches of vegetables and reheating soup. Most kitchens use two or three sizes.

How to use it

Common sizes:

• Small, 1 to 1.5 liters (1 to 1.5 quarts). Melting butter, warming milk, a single portion of oatmeal, a small batch of sauce.
• Medium, 2 to 3 liters (2 to 3 quarts). Rice for four, a béchamel, boiling eggs, steaming vegetables.
• Large, 3.5 to 4 liters (3.5 to 4 quarts). Soup for a few people, potatoes, a small batch of pasta.

For larger amounts of pasta or stock, use a stockpot.

Pick a saucepan with a thick base, often stainless steel around a core of aluminum or copper. A thick base spreads heat evenly, so milk and sugar are less likely to scorch in one spot. Turn the handle to the side, away from the edge of the stove and away from other burners.

Common mistakes

• Using a thin pan for milk, custard or caramel. Hot spots scorch the bottom before the rest is hot.
• Filling it too full. A pan more than three-quarters full boils over easily, and starchy water foams up fast.
• Using a narrow saucepan to reduce a sauce quickly. The small surface means slow evaporation. A wide sauté pan is faster.
• Leaving the lid on while you simmer a sauce that should thicken.
• Using a pan much smaller than the burner. Flames heat the sides and handle, not just the base.

In recipes

"In a small saucepan" or "in a medium saucepan" tells you the scale more than an exact size. The recipe expects the food to fill the pan well but not to the top. "Heavy-bottomed saucepan" means one with a thick base, usually because the recipe has sugar, milk or eggs that burn easily. "Pot" in many recipes means either a large saucepan or a stockpot, depending on how much is going in.