Frying pan

A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It is typically 200 to 300 mm (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 grab handle opposite the main handle. A pan of similar dimensions, but with less flared vertical sides and often with a lid, is called a sauté pan or sauté. While a sauté pan can be used like a frying pan, it is designed for lower heat cooking methods, namely sautéing.

History

Copper frying pans were used in ancient Mesopotamia. Frying pans were also known in ancient Greece where they were called tagēnon (Greek: τάγηνον) 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.

Frying pan (disambiguation)

A frying pan is a pan used for cooking, also known as a skillet. Frying pan may also refer to:

Places

Other uses

See also

Frying pan (NAMA 4974)

The Cycladic Frying pan (NAMA 4974) is a ceramic item from the bronze age Cycladic civilization. It dates to the early Cycladic period, between the 28th and 23 centuries BC (EC II). The frying pan derives from grave 74 of Chalandriani cemetery on the Cycladian island of Syros. It was discovered in 1889/90 during excavations led by Christos Tsountas, along with other pottery and was first published by Tsountas in 1899. With the inventory number 4974, the frying pan is now kept in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. The purpose of the frying pan is unknown.

Description

The frying pan is 20.1 cm across and 28.2 cm from tip to grip. The plate has a round wall which is undecorated and projects outwards, forming the dish of the "frying pan". The incised decoration on the reverse is very deep. The entire plate, with the grips, is surrounded by a border of chip impressions. At the base of the handle, above the grips is an engraved pubic triangle. It is separated from the main field by another chip border. In the main field, stamped spirals, linked together by engraved lines, surround a ship which is engraved slightly below centre, opposite the handle. The hull and an upward pointing prow are depicted by engraved double lines. There is a fish symbol and two banners on the high prow. Above and below the hull, oars or rudders are suggested by slanting lines - a different number on each side. A unique feature compared to other frying pans is the orientation of the ship. It is the only known depiction of a ship with a high prow, which is usually identified as the bow, at the left end.