Skillet size count for formula success so we assay the advice of expert on how to properly measure a frypan .
Most hoi polloi have one skillet that they use for almost everything that gets cooked on the stovetop . The size of that skillet ordinarily does not matter until you want to make a recipe like thisfrittata recipewhich call for a 10 - inch skillet . Suddenly , frying pan size of it count because the amount of ingredients and the cooking time are tailored to that specific skillet size .
Your skillet may seem the right size but you do n’t know until you measure it . Doing that sound easy enough but there is a correct style to measure a skillet . We asked experts to explain how it ’s done .
Credit: Carson Downing
How to Measure Skillet Size
Occasionally you ’ll get lucky and the skillet size will be stamp on the bottom of the genus Pan . When your goat god is n’t clearly labeled and you need to recognise how to value a frypan , Kristin Billingsley , Senior Director of Product Management at Meyer Corp. says to travel along " the industry standard and measure the frying pan across the top . So when a formula calls for an 8- , 10- , or 12 - in skillet , measure it across the top rim to rim , " she instruct .
A wide-eyed rule or tape measure will do the job . " Based on design differences , it is plebeian to have different cooking surface measurements for the same size frying pan , " Billingsley add . Meaning the base measurement could differ from the rim to rim measurement .
Measuring Cast-Iron Skillets
If you own roll - smoothing iron cooking utensil , you ’ve in all probability noticed a dissimilar enumeration system of rules nock on the pans . Kris Stubblefield , chef at Lodge Cast Iron explain their system : " Lodge ’s numbering organisation date stamp back to the years of woodstoves . " At that clip , pots and cooking pan were numbered to fit corresponding openings ( call " stove eyes " ) on the cooking stove . For example , Stubblefield says , " Number 10 in our L10SK3 refers to the # 10 stove eye . " The L10SK3 measures 12 inch across the top and , hence , is a 12 - inch cast - iron frypan .
So yes , you could measure cast - iron frying pan the same way . " frypan are measured across the top of the cookware , not including handles . Lodge ’s skillets are measured across the top from outside rim to external lip , " say Stubblefield .
What’s a Large Skillet, Extra-Large Skillet, etc?
Other recipe may not specify an inch measurement but or else call for a medium frypan , large frying pan , or extra - large skillet . It varies a bit from sword to blade here . OurBetter Homes & GardensTest Kitchen defines frypan sizing like this :
Billingsley order Meyer Corp. defines a bombastic skillet as any frying pan 12 in or larger rim to rim .
" Lodge ’s two most popular frying pan sizes are our beloved 10.25 - column inch and 12 - column inch skillets . I would consider both of these skillets tumid . additional - with child would be anything northward of 12 inches , " Stubblefield says .
Credit: Blaine Moats
Why Skillet Sizes Matter
" The prevention of overcrowding should be the first circumstance when it comes to decide between sizes , " Billingsley says . And our Test Kitchen agrees . An overcrowded goat god will cause food to steam instead of brown , resulting in an deficient grain and perhaps season .
Billingsley bear on , " A smaller , 8 - inch skillet produces more evenly distributed heat energy and the power to reach eminent temperature . A 10 - inch cooking pan offers more room without overcrowding and minimal forfeit of heat retentivity . A 12 - inch skillet means large amount of food can be cooked at once and greater oestrus retention merely because there is more material to maintain heat . " It really all comes down to how full the goat god will be with all your ingredients added .
Burner size is also a consideration in opt the good frying pan size . " If the frypan is too large for the burner , you are likely to see spotty heating . Conversely , if the skillet is too small , you ’re wasting vigour , " says Stubblefield .
If you do n’t already keep a tape measurement in your kitchen for undertaking like measuring a skillet androlling out dough , it ’s about meter to get one .
