Saucepans & Sauciers

Saucepans

Sauce is a magical ingredient that binds foods together and adds juices to your dish. Saucepans are fantastic tools for preparing delicious sauces in your own kitchen, so they are important basics for your cookware collection. Williams-Sonoma carries a large selection of saucepans in different sizes and materials – from copper to cast iron. You can also find a wide variety of accessories and utensils to help make your sauces successful.

A saucepan is essentially a small, round cooking pot with tall sides. Its small size makes it ideal for making a variety of sauces, gravies and glazes, and it can be useful for warming up milk or melting butter. It has a long handle, which makes it easy to lift it off of the element and pour your sauce. Some saucepans have pouring spouts on the edges, which prevent drips and spills while pouring. A saucier is a similar type of pot, but it has a rounded bottom. This keeps ingredients from sticking to the corners between the bottom and sides, making it easier to whisk and blend the sauce.

Some saucepans come in specialty forms. Jam pans are slightly larger and wider, and they have two handles to make it easier to grip and pour larger batches of jam. They also usually include volume markings, which make it easier to prepare jam recipes. Butter warmers are smaller than standard saucepans, which is useful if you want to melt a small amount of butter. Sugar pots are also smaller and consist of materials that conduct heat easily. This keeps sugar from crystallizing and sticking to the sides.

Many saucepans and sauciers are made of stainless-steel. This material is durable and easy to clean, which makes it a good all-purpose cookware item. You can clean most stainless-steel cookware in the dishwasher, but it is also easy to wash by hand. The metal is harder than many other metals, so it does not scratch easily when you use metal whisks, ladles or spoons.

Copper is another popular material for saucepans. It heats quickly and distributes heat evenly, which prevents burning and scalding. This can be helpful when preparing sauces as many recipes are sensitive to small changes in temperature and too much heat can cause ingredients to burn or stick to the bottom of the pot. Copper cookware requires slightly more care than stainless-steel, but with some extra attention, you can keep your cookware attractive for many years. Wash copper your saucepan by hand with gentle soap and occasionally use a polish on the outer part of the pot. Use synthetic utensils when preparing sauces as metal utensils may scratch the interior of your pot.

Some stainless-steel saucepans have copper cores, which blend the best aspects of both materials. Like copper saucepans, they conduct heat easily and evenly. However, they are easy to clean and maintain. Some copper saucepans include stainless-steel linings. Although you should still take care while cleaning your pot, you can use metal utensils while preparing your recipes.

Nonstick saucepans are popular items as nonstick coatings prevent ingredients from sticking to the interior. There are several different options when it comes to non-stick coatings. Some cookware items include coatings such as Teflon. Others feature ceramic coatings, which tend to be environmentally friendly and durable. When using nonstick cookware, always use softer wood or synthetic utensils. Wash your cookware by hand using gentle soap and a brush or sponge designed for nonstick surfaces.

We offer a variety of accessories that you can use with your saucepan. Ladles and large spoons are useful for preparing and serving sauces and gravies. Whisks can help you remove lumps and blend ingredients thoroughly. Slotted spoons and strainers can remove lumps and flavoring ingredients such as bay leaves. Potholders and oven mitts help you safely grasp hot handles or lids.