Saucepans

Saucepans are the household kitchen workhorse: the right pan for boiling, simmering, sauce-making, blanching and most everyday cooking. Archiproducts UK, Cherry Lane Garden Centres and Denby Retail Ltd between them cover £1-£199 across the range. Material decides the cooking behaviour. Stainless steel (the all-rounder, no reactive coating issues, lasts decades); aluminium (lightest, heats fastest, can react with acidic ingredients without coating); copper (the chef's pick, finest heat control, expensive); cast iron (heaviest, holds heat for searing, slowest to respond). Sizes are described by base diameter: 14-16cm (sauces, single portions); 18-20cm (household standard); 22-24cm (family meals); 26-28cm (stockpots and bulk cooking). Hob compatibility matters more than ever - induction hobs need ferromagnetic-base pans, which excludes pure-aluminium and pure-copper construction. Look for "induction compatible" in the spec for any modern household.