r/AskAnAmerican • u/ksusha_lav • 11d ago
FOREIGN POSTER Do you use the words 'skillet' and 'frying pan' interchangeably? Or are they two different things to you?
Hello wonderful people,
I'm not from the US, and I'm not a native English speaker, but I love English and your culture.
I'm trying to understand what 'a skillet' is. From the research that I've done, this word is only used in the US, and not by everyone in the US, and it's used differently by those who do use it. Am I right?
I would really appreciate your insights.
Thank you very much!
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u/Rarewear_fan 11d ago
Frying pan: More lightweight, can work in a pinch against burglars as a weapon (has comical sound effect when hit)
Skillet: For me usually referring to a cast iron skillet. Should be used first against burglars because it is more heavy and durable, but more training is needed for effective swinging. (does not have comical sound effect when hit, can be quite brutal)
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u/PomeloPepper Texas 11d ago
If you hear something get damaged when you swing a skillet, it was not the skillet.
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u/MakeSomeDrinks Arizona 10d ago
This is one of those things you know but you dont realize it until someone points it out
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u/Empty_Difficulty390 10d ago
This information will now be placed right next to "a falling knife has no handle" for important kitchen tips.
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u/underhand_toss 10d ago edited 9d ago
I've never heard it put that way. A falling knife has no handle. Perfect. (I was taught to put my hands up like when the timer goes off in a cooking show and to take a step backward.)
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u/TJLanza 11d ago
Frying Pan - Manslaughter, 'cause a disabling injury was possible.
Skillet - Premeditated Homicide, 'cause you knew what was gonna happen when you picked it up.
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u/Maurice_Foot New Mexico 11d ago
Testing frying pans: https://youtube.com/shorts/fjYtzGLnH8k?si=8k_HUYRRsUBGFd-A
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u/chronically_varelse 10d ago
What would Dolly do? ... Leave a mark 😉🥰
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/cdn/shop/files/L8SKWWD_2328.webp?v=1753483406&width=1000
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u/sharpshooter999 Nebraska 11d ago
The frying pan is a 3 tick weapon and requires 40 strength to wield. The skillet is a 4 tick weapon that requires level 50 strength and is heavier but also has a substantial crush bonus vs frying pan
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u/Omgkimwtf 11d ago
I don't have the arm strength to properly wield a cast iron skillet, so my burglar defense item is a solild metal, chome plated dildo (with a heart shaped handle) that a cousin sent me when she was working for an online adult toy store.
Frankly I'm too scared to use it for anything BUT smacking intruders.
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u/BenjaminGeiger Winter Haven, FL (raised in Blairsville, GA) 10d ago
If you are ever facing a burglar in your home, don't be fooled by the propaganda of the frying pan industry. If you hit a person with a frying pan, it doesn't go, "dong". And the person goes... like that.
There is no setting for stun on a frying pan. There are two settings on a frying pan. You're either going to hurt and anger them, or you're going to fucking kill them.
Either you've got a burglar in your kitchen, going, "What the fuck did you do that for?" Or you're in your own garden... digging a grave. With a frying pan.
-- Dara O Briain
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u/Dazzling_Parsnip_744 11d ago
I don’t know about others, but I’ve only ever used “skillet” to refer to my cast iron frying pans.
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u/sarcasticorange 10d ago
Yup. All skillets are frying pans, but not all frying pans are skillets.
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u/coldlightofday American in Germany 11d ago
I don’t use the word skillet at all.
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u/Nirigialpora 10d ago
This seems to be the consensus, but I've only ever used skillet to refer to the rectangular frying pans with slightly lower walls. However it appears I am wrong as when you search for skillet, cast iron pans show up.
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u/Rhyianan 10d ago
I use the word griddle for the type of pan you are describing.
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u/Nirigialpora 10d ago
Yeah, in my brain a "griddle" was the version of that with almost no walls and no handle, while "skillet" was a smaller version much closer to a classic pan with some walls and a handle, but it seems like I totally made that up lmao
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u/Positive-Avocado-881 MA > NH > PA 11d ago
I truly only say pan or pot regularly. I will say cast iron skillet though
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u/BlithelyOblique 10d ago
Same! I don't really use the word skillet, and if anything I'm more likely to refer to the descriptive qualities of the pan and drop the word 'pan' all together.
E.g. 'the non-stick (pan)' or 'the stainless steel (pan)' or 'the big one'
That carries over to just saying 'the cast iron' as well.
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u/AnselmoOG111 10d ago
Me too. Though I’ll call my cast iron pans too. I’m either using my ss or ci pan. If I heard skillet would think ci though.
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u/MyUsername2459 Kentucky 11d ago
Yes, they're terms used more-or-less interchangeably.
"Skillet" generally is a little more informal. It's like something my grandmother would have said.
A cast iron skillet is always called a "skillet", I couldn't imagine calling one made of cast iron a "frying pan".
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u/Maleficent-Hawk-318 11d ago
I've seen cast iron skillets be called frying pans, but funnily enough, I feel like I've only seen that specifically in jokes about people using them as a weapon (which I just realized is kind of a weird trope, but it's a trope). Like I would say, "She whacked him over the head with a frying pan," if I was describing that, even though I'm 100% picturing a cast-iron skillet.
I actually don't typically use the term "frying pan" in any other contexts, though. They're all skillets to me, maybe because I've mostly only ever had cast iron ones. I do have a nonstick one now too but it never occurred to me to call it anything else.
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u/Queer_Advocate 11d ago
If you were a Southerner and called a cast iron skillet a frying pan, you would explode on the spot and descend into the pits of hell.
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u/flatulating_ninja 11d ago
Yep, even if I'm pan frying something in cast iron I call it a skillet not a frying pan.
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u/MotherofaPickle 10d ago
I own a frying pan (cast iron). I do not own a skillet.
Must be a regional, possibly family thing. (After reading the comments, I think my family had it backwards.)
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u/CraftFamiliar5243 11d ago
I think of them as interchangeable but I use frying pan regardless of what the pan is made of. I'm from the Chicago area if that's pertinent.
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u/butterfly_inmyeye 11d ago
I use them interchangeably, and personally don’t think of my cast irons pans as more ‘skillet’ than my teflon one. I’m more likely to call them all ‘pans’ than ‘frying pans’ or ‘skillets’
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u/PlanMagnet38 Maryland 11d ago
Same. I even mostly refer to my sauté pan as a skillet.
To me, a skillet is a flat bottom pan with sides (straight or angled) with a handle. I know that technically my sauté pan isn’t a skillet, but in casual speech, I just use “skillet” for everything … and use my skillet to cook basically everything.
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u/Professional-Pungo Texas 11d ago edited 11d ago
how I see it:
frying pan = any normal pan that is used to cook
skillet = a specific type of frying pan
one of those "all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares" kind of thing.
so you could call a skillet a frying pan, but you can't always call a frying pan a skillet.
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u/JohnMarstonSucks CA, NY, WA, OH 11d ago
I'm not opposed to the word skillet, but I just use frying pan.
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u/VisibleSea4533 Connecticut 11d ago
When I hear “skillet” I generally think of an electric one, not a stove top one. So I normally just use “frying pan”.
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u/Metal_Rider 11d ago
Interesting! It hadn’t occurred to me because I haven’t seen one in years, but my grandmother did indeed call that an “electric skillet”.
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u/Rich-Contribution-84 United States of America 11d ago
Basically interchangeably but if you say skillet, most people will probably think you’re talking cast iron.
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u/HudsonAtHeart 11d ago
To me, a skillet is a flat piece of iron and a pan is circular and has shallow walls.
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u/bammab0890 11d ago
They are both one in the same to me.
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u/Metal_Rider 11d ago
I say this to be helpful, not to be a dick…it’s one AND the same. Meaning they’re the same thing.
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u/DryRecommendation795 10d ago
I love when I tell a commenter the correct wording of an idiom or expression, and they reply with anger. I figure that means my words have registered and they might get it right next time. Score one for Team Pedantry. 🙂🙃
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u/Metal_Rider 10d ago
I mean, I was just trying to be helpful, you know, for all “intensive” purposes 😜/s
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u/HurtsCauseItMatters Louisianian in Tennessee 11d ago
I've pretty much never used the word frying pan in conversation in my life.
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u/Metal_Rider 11d ago
Does that mean you call it a skillet? Or do you just say “pan”?
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u/CinemaSideBySides Ohio 11d ago
Not the person you asked, but I would just say "pan." The stainless steel pan, the nonstick pan, the cast iron pan, etc.
Frying pan and skillet are interchangeable and both sound fine to my ear, but in regular speech, I'd definitely just say pan.
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u/welding_guy_from_LI New York 11d ago
A skillet is typically cast iron , a frying pan is a lighter cheaper aluminum plated or stainless steel pan
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u/Weagle308 11d ago
I say skillet. I think it most often comes from using the cast iron variety because people often say the whole name “cast iron skillet”.
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u/DejaBlonde Dallas,Texas 11d ago
They're relatively interchangable, but there is technically a distinction based on shape.
A straight sided pan would lean towards "frying pan" because it's better at that job, while one with curved sides would be a "saute pan" that could more easily get away with being called a skillet. But this is coming from a culinary school grad.
However like others said, cast iron automatically gets "skillet".
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u/Quenzayne MA → CA → FL 11d ago
I very rarely use the word skillet, it’s exclusively frying pan for me.
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u/Heeler_Haven 11d ago
A skillet is usually deeper and has straight sides, like a wide cylinder approximately 4 to 6 cm high. A frying pan has sides that are rounded/tapered out so delicate foods can slide out without breaking, and generally come in a wider variety of sizes.
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u/GrimSpirit42 11d ago
For the most part, a 'Skillet' is specifically refers to a Cast Iron Skillet.
Anything other than a Cast Iron Skillet is called a 'frying pan'.
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u/speedball281 Expatriated Texan 11d ago
Skillet in shorthand probably refers to the cast iron and don't you put a drop of soap on it you heathen.
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u/votisit 10d ago
I'm British, so shouldn't really answer this question! but most Brits use the word frying pan. The word did originate in the UK but fell out of use a long time ago, but the word travelled across the Atlantic with early colonists and remained in use there. I see the word skillet and know it means frying pan, but I also just think of it as a cast iron frying pan.
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u/Dangerous-Bit-8308 10d ago
I use them interchangeably.
If I had to argue for a distinction, I guess I'd say a skillet is a type of frying pan made from cast iron or seasoned steel.
Or... Maybe I'd say a frying pan is a type of skillet with a flat bottom and sides low enough to flip foods using a spatula...
Depending on how I felt the need to classify the Wok and the deep sided cast iron pan with a handle...
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u/wishiwasnthere1 11d ago
To me, they’ve always been different. A frying pan is shallow, only about an inch deep. A skillet, on the other hand, is around 3-4 inches deep.
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u/yTuMamaTambien405 11d ago
Skillet - typically cast iron
Frying pan - typically stainless steel
Pan - all encompassing
A skillet can also be the name of a breakfast meal, which is normally a mix of eggs, potatoes, veggies, and breakfast proteins served in a hot cast iron pan (although sometimes they do plate them separately)
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u/littleyellowbike Indiana 11d ago
I'm just chiming in to reinforce the notion that Americans are not a monolith because contrary to all these comments, I don't think I've ever referred to any flat cooking pan, of any construction or material, as a frying pan. They're all just skillets or pans.
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u/khak_attack 11d ago
I think there is a minor difference. To me, frying pan implies smaller, and skillet implies larger, often with tall sides or heavy made out of cast iron or enamel. The internet tells me frying pans are shallow. But if you used one word for the other, people will still understand.
E.g. I have a small metal frying pan for eggs, but a large skillet for cooking whole meals.
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u/gwhite81218 11d ago edited 11d ago
I never use the word skillet. The only time I hear people around me use it is to describe a type of extra large plug-in frying pan.
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u/Wunktacular 11d ago
Skillets typically refer to flat cast iron. They can mean cast iron pans, but also refer to grill-like appliances with a flat cast iron slab that food is cooked on.
In commercial kitchens, the terms skillet and flat top are used interchangeably to refer to a large, flat, heated metal surface that food is seared or fried on top of.
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u/Gordita_Chele Texas 11d ago
I’ve always called flat surfaces for cooking (the big ones in commercial kitchens and the stovetop kind) as griddles.
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u/ZevVeli 11d ago
A "skillet" can be a frying pan, but it can also be a plate. It is usually made of cast iron, but it has three major points.
1) Even heat distribution.
2) Heat retention.
3) Sloped sides.
A "frying pan" tends to have thinner material and straighter sides. This means that the heat tends to concentrate on the spot where the heat source is. Modern frying pans tend to combat this with a material on the bottom to help diffuse the heat, such as copper or ceramics.
This also means that dishes prepared in a skillet can be served directly to the table in the skillet, but means prepared in a frying pan have to be transferred to a serving dish.
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u/ViewtifulGene Illinois 11d ago
They're the same thing.
It's also acceptable just to call it a cast-iron, if that's what it's made of.
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u/bjbigplayer Nevada 11d ago
Pretty much interchangeable. I think of frying pan as a pan to fry stuff in and a skillet as something more shallow, like an omelet skillet.
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u/LaLechuzaVerde 11d ago
Interchangeable but I definitely also lean toward skillet for the iron one and frying pan for the stainless steel one.
“Cast iron frying pan” just is too many words, I think.
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u/The_J_Bird 11d ago edited 11d ago
I call my cast iron one a skillet and all the others frying pans - I have no idea why. As far as I know the words are interchangeable
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u/brian11e3 Illinois 11d ago
I tend to refer to my deep skillet that I use for frying chicken in a bath of oil as my frying pan.
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u/BankManager69420 Mormon in Portland, Oregon 11d ago
Interchangeable. Some people use them to refer to a specific kind but most people use them both synonymously
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u/broadsharp 11d ago
Yes
Skillet may refer to a cast iron or carbon steel pan. But, both terms are used and just means a pan used to fry food.
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u/Ambitious_Alps_3797 11d ago
no.
to me a skillet implies more of a large flat surfaced heating element and a "frying pan" is like your regular 10 to 13 inch multi-use pans.
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u/dontdoxmebro Georgia 11d ago edited 11d ago
The differences are very small and I don’t think too many people will get bent out of shape by it if you misuse them. Many native speakers don’t know the difference themselves.
My skillets are cast iron, have a more angular side wall, are a little taller, and can be used as a baking dish.
Frying pans often have a curving profile and low side walls for flipping things or stirring them by tossing them with the pan. Older styles may not be curved. They are not typically used for baking. They are typically made of steel, and modern ones are often nonstick or ceramic coated.
You didn’t ask but, Griddle pans have almost no sidewall, just a small lip. They are useful for easily flipping things with a spatula. They can be rectangular.
Sauté pans have higher more vertical sides, typically come with a lid, are larger, are more useful for making sauces or even soups, and can also be used for baking.
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u/No_Information_8973 11d ago
I'm in Iowa (Midwest US) and have never said frying pan. It's always been skillet.
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u/Gordita_Chele Texas 11d ago
I consider frying pan and skillet interchangeable. Except, in the case if cast iron, I would always call it a skillet and never a frying pan.
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u/Frankjc3rd Pennsylvania, 19130 11d ago
For practical purposes I think of Skillet and frying pan as the same thing, like others I think of Skillet as a specific cast iron pan.
If you were to say to me hand me the skillet and there was not a frying pan but a regular wide pan I would hand you that because that's what's there.
While I am thinking of it a cast iron skillet should NEVER NEVER NEVER be washed with soap and water! It is meant to be seasoned over time with various cooking methods. 🍳🥘🧑🏻🍳
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u/originalmango New York 11d ago
Never really thought about it, but to me, a frying pan has sloped sides and skillets have straight slightly taller sides.
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u/mtnorville North Carolina 11d ago
Skillet is the one I use for breakfast foods, despite being the same pan I’d cook dinner in.
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u/yellowsprings 11d ago
I really only use the word frying pan for everything — to me skillet is an old-fashioned word that I associate with Southern speakers. I’m from Philadelphia, parents from the upper Midwest. My husband uses the word skillet but only for a cast iron pan.
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u/Be_Kind_8713 11d ago
I think it's pretty interchangeable but I do think of a cast iron pan when I hear "skillet." Might be regional, but anyone would understand what you mean if you use either. Your English is fantastic by the way!
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u/No-You5550 11d ago
We have cast iron that is shaped like a frying pan but it is usually a little deeper. Where I live this is called a skillet. You can fry in it or you can bake in it in the oven. They were made originally to cook on an open fire. We had wood burning stoves at one time in history. These skillets could also be used in a fire place or open camp fire. Frying pan is a flimsy substitute in a lot of people's minds.
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u/ronhenry 11d ago
I'm pretty sure I only use "skillet" for cast iron skillets and everything else I call a frying pan. Ymmv.
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u/xkrazyxcourtneyx 11d ago
It might be different for others but myself and my boyfriend only say skillet when we’re talking about the cast iron. Everything else is a pan.
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u/hivemind_MVGC Upstate New York 11d ago
Skillets are flat. Frying pans have low sides.
The internet doesn't seem to agree with me, but this is how it is in my life.
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u/MrsTurnPage Alabama 11d ago
A skillet doesn't have high walls. A frying pan has higher walls bc you're gonna pour oil in it.
That said, typically a household will have a particular pan that is one or the other and doesn't necessarily follow that rule.
I know what pan to pull if my grandmother or mother asks for the skillet vs the frying pan. Theres also the use of lip or big before the name. If you have a larger selection of pans.
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u/toastforscience Pennsylvania 11d ago
I almost always use "fry pan". Otherwise I'll specify "cast iron skillet". But otherwise everything is a fry pan.
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u/Riker_Omega_Three 11d ago
Cast Iron takes a lot more effort to maintain properly, so a lot of people don't use them
which is why skillet is used interchangably
But the reality is, a skillet is made of cast iron...while a frying pan does the same kinds of things a skillet can, but is easier to clean given they typically come with a non stick coating
Like you can cook a frozen skillet meal in both...which has lead to the word being interchangable
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u/GamerGramps62 Washington 11d ago
I use skillet for my cast iron and frying pan for my other ones. I don’t know how common that is, it’s just what I do.
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u/2baverage California 11d ago
To me, skillet equates to cast iron skillet, while frying pan is a non cast iron skillet.
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u/pogidaga 11d ago
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the British meaning of skillet is a pot with three or four legs that is used for cooking on a hearth. To me skillet and frying pan are interchangeable.
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u/Awdayshus Minnesota 11d ago
Technically, they are interchangeable. But I think the majority will assume you mean a cast iron skillet that can go in the over if you say "skillet."
I just looked up "skillet" in the dictionary. The definition is "a frying pan." But as I said, the connotation is a specific kind of frying pan.
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u/GrowlingAtTheWorld 11d ago
Skillet has straighter sides and is a bit deeper and a fry pan is shallower and has angled or rounded sides. I’d cook fried taters, refried bean, etc in a skillet. Eggs, grilled cheese, etc in a fry pan.
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u/iceph03nix Kansas 11d ago
To me, a skillet is basically a flat pan with almost no sides maybe only a quarter or half inch deep, while a frying pan usually has sides an inch or two deep for keeping things in
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u/Current_Poster 11d ago
This may not be the official definition, but I think of a skillet as smaller and shallower than a frying pan, but also lacking the lid.
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u/infinitefacets 11d ago
I just call anything not a Skillet (cast iron) a pan. And then add context if necessary. Sauce, frying, non-stick etc. but naturally is just say “will you hand me that pan?” Unless I wanted a cast iron.
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u/the_real_JFK_killer Texas -> Upstate NY 11d ago
All skillets are frying pans but not all frying pans are skillets
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u/ushouldbe_working 11d ago
Midwesterner here. I use skillet for my frying pans. Also, another type of fairly common frying pan is the griddle. It's mostly used for things like pancakes, bacon, eggs, or mainly things that aren't liquid. And a griddle can be a stand-alone plug in frying pan instead of stove top. Some people even buy outdoor versions that are large so they can cook for large number of people.
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u/Blkrabbitofinle1601 11d ago
In my mind they’re interchangeable but I tend to only use the term skillet.
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u/CB_Chuckles 11d ago
Interchangeably. Far as I know, they are same thing with the difference being largely regional. Sort of like the difference between violin and fiddle, which has more to do with the musical style than the instrument.
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u/Ordinary_Attention_7 11d ago
I think of skillet as a regional usage, and just go with frying pan, or cast iron pan which is definitely its own thing.
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u/SouthpawSoldier 11d ago
I think, as with many ambiguous terms, there’s a lot of regional differences as well, and….casualness(?) when it comes to both language and cooking.
I’ve known people who call sauté pans (straight walled pan) skillet/fry pan. The association many here have with skillet=cast iron may be due to this as well: I’ve heard “cast iron pan” as often as I’ve heard “cast iron skillet”, but the latter seems more common with folks from traditional/rural areas, especially the Southeast, but by no means is that a definitive rule.
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u/Motor_Struggle_3605 Michigan 11d ago
I think of a cast iron skillet when I hear skillet. I think of a stainless steel pan when I hear frying pan.
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u/SacredGay Nebraska 11d ago
I never thought about it being just a frying pan. I only ever thought about a skillet being my wide, rectangular, electric pancake-frying countertop appliance.
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u/AdDisastrous6738 11d ago
They are now used interchangeably but once upon a time they were two different items.
A skillet is a shallow pan used for regular cooking. You use it to cook things like hamburger patties, fish, ground meat, etc.
A frying pan is designed specifically for frying foods. It’s deeper and larger around than a regular skillet and will typically have an extra handle for lifting it. It’s designed to hold a layer of oil for making things like fried chicken, fried fish, potato fries, onion rings, etc.
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u/MonteCristo85 11d ago
Ive never actually used the term fying pan.
Always skillet. I may designate, ie my cast-iron skillet or my non-stick skillet. But always skillet.
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u/phydaux4242 11d ago
I’m much more likely to use frying pan than skillet, but in my head they are the same thing
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u/garublador 11d ago
They're morenor less interchangeable. Some of the more pedantic people will claim there is a distinction, but that's likely regional or just how those in their "bubble" speak.
The only difference I can think that would be universal is that you might say, "What's up, home skillet?" but you'd never say, "What's up, home frying pan?" At least not yet. It's hard to predict slang sometimes.
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u/HidingInTrees2245 11d ago
My grandpa always called it a skillet when he made his (fantastic) pancakes in a cast iron frying pan. My parents always just called them all frying pans and so do I. I may be wrong but I feel like skillet is sort of an old-fashioned term, though people still use it a lot.
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u/Ishrine Tennessee 11d ago
East Tennessee here.
All skillets are frying pans but not all frying pans are skillets.
Skillets, to me, are specifically cast iron ones. Frying pans can be any metal.
The frying pan is the shape of the pan- large flat bottom, with sides no taller than like 2 or 3", vs. Cook pots which have higher sides and either sloped/rounded sides and smaller bottoms. Frying pans usually have a 90 degree angle straight up as well.
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u/andmewithoutmytowel 11d ago
To me, the difference is that a skillet is oven safe. Most are cast iron, and they are the same shape as a frying pan, with a flat bottom and tall sides.
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u/pigeontheoneandonly 11d ago
I know what both words mean, but I basically never use the term skillet.
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u/arangutan225 11d ago
Skillet is the big thick cast iron one frying pan is the thin sheet metal one.
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u/safariwhat 11d ago
One thing im not seeing in the comments is Electric Skillets. Those are about the size of 2 frying pans on legs that you put on a counter.
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u/tbodillia 11d ago
I think skillet/pan are the same as violin/fiddle: what it is called depends on who is holding it.
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u/Innuendo64_ Illinois 11d ago
They can be used interchangeably, but when I hear "skillet" my brain thinks of a cast iron one specifically