Saucepans Vs Sauciers: Are They The Same Thing?

The humble saucepan is the workhorse of the home kitchen, used for everything from cooking soups to steaming vegetables. The saucier, on the other hand, is less commonly found in domestic settings, but is an essential part of any commercial kitchen's battery of cookware. As the name suggests, it's primarily used for making sauces, so what makes it different from the saucepan that you know and love?

The key difference between these two pieces of cookware lies in the shape. A saucepan has straight high sides, while a saucier is flatter with sides that curve in towards the base. It's a small difference, but it ultimately determines how you use these pans. There are other differences such as the price and the fact that saucepans are generally available in more sizes, which might not be defining features, but something that will impact which one you decide to buy and if you need both.

When a professional chef wants to make a sauce, they're going to reach for a saucier. Its curved sides are specially designed to accommodate a whisk, meaning that no sauce is stuck in the corners where it can burn or become lumpy. It might not seem like much of an advantage if you just make the occasional béchamel sauce at home, but it's a game changer if your entire job is making sauces and custards. You'll find the curved sides and more open shape also make life easier for anything that needs a lot of stirring and attention. A saucier is a restaurant staple that deserves a spot on your stove if you frequently make dishes like risotto, homemade jam, oatmeal, or pasta that is finished in the sauce.

A saucier can do most things that you would use a saucepan for, so if you're in a situation where you can only choose one, a saucier is going to be more versatile. The only task it might fall short on is steaming. Due to the curved shape of the sides, you may find that a steamer basket won't have a stable place to sit. Sauciers are usually available in sizes between 2 and 5 quarts, which makes them more limited than saucepans, and they can be more expensive.

The saucepan hardly needs introducing, but as the term can be a catch-all for all kinds of cooking pots, it's important to know how it differs from similar items of cookware. Its key features are tall, straight sides, a flat bottom, and a single long handle. This is in contrast with a sauté pan, which has straight sides but is wide and short, and a stockpot, which is larger and has two loop handles.

You might not have given much thought to it, but the features of the saucepan give it specific benefits, especially for boiling foods. The flat bottom gives the pot the best contact with the cooktop for quick and efficient heating, while the tall sides prevent liquids from bubbling up and over. Saucepans are available in a wider ranges of sizes, usually from 1 to 6 quarts, with small pots perfect for boiling eggs and the larger ones that can give your pasta room to cook. The disadvantages of the shape come into play not just when it comes to using a whisk, but when you wash up after your meal as well. Because the corners aren't curved, you might find yourself having to scrub a bit harder to remove stuck-on gunk.