It's worth paying attention to different pans' specific uses since they all differ and can impact the final product of your dish. Knowing the difference between skillets and frying pans is especially useful in creating savory dishes, but few understand what sets these two cooking vessels apart.

Skillets and frying pans are both wide, shallow pans with long handles that are used on a range, but skillets are distinguished by their increased depth and sloped sides, while frying pans are thinner and shallower with rounded sides. The cast iron skillet is a culinary icon, and frying pans are manufactured from a wide range of materials.

Skillets' sloped sides and greater depth make them more versatile, as they can fry something delicate or toss foods around like a stir-fry, and a classic iron skillet can even go inside an oven for baking. Frying pans' shallower depth and lighter construction confine them to a narrower range of uses than a skillet, but the thinner frame lends to making the perfect fried egg or fried rice.