Our Ultimate Guide To Measuring Your Frying Pan

Whether you've lost the lid to your old frying pan or you are looking to replace one, you will need to know the exact measurements of your frying pan. 

Measuring a frying pan is pretty simple, all you need is a ruler or some measuring tape making sure you measure from wall to wall of the pan rather than the base which is not accurate.

We've composed a small informative guide below which will take you through how to measure your frying pan, different frying pan sizes and their uses plus some common sizes to look out for on your new frying pan. 

Why It's Important To Measure Your Frying Pan

If you want the same size frying pan as your current frying pan or need new frying pan lids it is essential you accurately measure your old sized frying pan. 

Without measuring your pan you are likely to have a different cooking volume and actual cooking surface, guessing the size is not practical as frying pan measurement can differ widely. 

Our Step By Step To Measuring Your Frying Pan 

It's not hard to measure your current frying pan, you just have to make sure you are not measuring the flat surface and instead wall to wall of the pan or edge to edge.

We've listed a few simple steps to measuring your frying pan down below. 

1. Place your frying pan flat on its base and grab a ruler or some measuring tape. 
2. Place your tape on side of the edge of the pan and measure the width to the other, this will give you the inch frying pan size you need, you should also check if you have a deep skillet frying pan, standard or shallow. 

Common Frying Pan Sizes & Uses 

Frying pan sizes differ according to the type of skillet frying you need to do and the volume of cooking, they typically come in standard inch frying pan sizes but can vary slightly by a couple of centimetres as they are rounded up to the nearest inch. 

We've listed out some common frying pan sizes and their uses down below. 

8-Inch Frying Pans 

These are very small sized pans and are excellent for even heat distribution as they heat up very quickly, they are best used as a one-person pan and are great for making one egg dishes or omelettes.

10-inch Frying Pans 

A medium pan is better for cooking more food and still heats up pretty fast, you can typically fit three egg dishes are two chicken breasts in these kinds of pans with no issues. 

12-inch Frying Pans 

This is one of the largest frying pans you can buy and are best for bulk cooking, you do have to look for high-quality material for this as you need the best heat retention possible due to its large size. 

You could make a pan pizza with this size pan or fry up to 3/4 chicken breasts at once. 

Which Frying Pan Material Should I Choose 

As well as the size of your frying pan you also need to consider the material of the skillet frying pan, we've listed out a few common ones to choose from below. 

• Stainless steel - This is great for pan-frying or sautéing veggies, it is most common and affordable too.
• Non-stick fry pan: Best for cooking foods such as eggs and meat which tend to stick to your pan thanks to their non-stick coatings.
• Carbon steel - This is most heavy-duty and is great for pan searing or charring food.
• Cast iron skillet - A very duty type of pan but does take a while to heat up and is very heavy.

Last Words

Overall, measuring a frying pan is easy if you have a tape measure nearby, just make sure you are measuring from wall to wall rather than the base of the frying pan. You should also consider the type of food you want to cook and the material in order to choose the best pan for you.