A small frying pan is purchased for one serving or as a second pan alongside a larger one you already have. Those who ask us for advice hear that a family also needs a small pan.

How much fits in a small frying pan?

In a 20 cm pan, you can cook one serving without measuring, such as an egg or a hamburger. Where the product page specifies the bottom of such a pan, it is 13.5 to 16 cm.

Three hamburgers side by side do not fit in a 20 cm pan; that is work for one of the 24 cm frying pans. For more eaters, there is an article that shows which size frying pan you need per household, and how to measure a pan yourself.

The smallest frying pan here is 16 cm. Below 20 cm, you will only find pans without a non-stick coating: a 16 cm cast iron and an 18 cm carbon steel. Their cooking surface is even smaller than that of a 20 cm pan. If 20 cm is fixed for you, then the 20 cm frying pans only show that size.

Does your induction plate recognize a small pan?

Each induction zone has a lower limit for the bottom of your pan, manufacturers of cooktops write. If the bottom is smaller, the zone does not turn on, and your pan does not get warm. A cooktop has its own limit for each zone, and a separate induction plate does too.

Follow these steps:

Check in the manual or specifications of your cooktop how small the bottom of a pan can be, as only that limit applies to your plate.
Compare that size with the diameter of the bottom, if it is listed in the features of the pan.
Place the pan on the zone that is closest in size to its bottom, usually the smallest: a smaller zone will notice a small pan sooner. If that zone also does not activate, then the bottom is likely too small, and you should look among the induction frying pans for a size with a larger bottom.

On gas, nothing needs to recognize your pan. Place a small pan on a small burner, so the flame stays under the bottom and does not come up the sides.

Which small pan do you place next to your large one?

A small pan complements your large one, in size and sometimes in material. If your large pan is made of stainless steel, carbon steel, or bare cast iron, then take a small one with a non-stick coating. You can easily slide a fried egg out with a spatula. The Sola Frying Pan Ceramic Deluxe ø 20 cm is such a pan from the mid-range, with a ceramic layer; it is not made for the oven.

Sola Frying Pan Ceramic Deluxe ø 20 cm

Next to a large pan with a coating that you are satisfied with, it is easiest to place a 20 cm pan from the same line. You already know how it cooks and how to keep it clean.

If the large pan still needs to be added, then a set is worth considering. Some of the frying pan sets have a 20 cm pan alongside larger sizes. Alone, especially one of the 28 cm frying pans fits next to it, as in almost all those sets, 28 cm is the largest size.

How heavy and labor-intensive is a small pan of cast iron or steel?

This applies to a small pan of cast iron or carbon steel, just like with a large one:

You season it before it goes into use: you let a thin layer of oil burn in, and that works as a natural non-stick coating afterwards.
You wash it by hand and let it dry completely on the cooktop, otherwise it will get rust spots.
You lift 0.8 kg with the 16 cm cast iron pan and 1 kg with the 18 cm carbon steel. That is more than most 20 cm pans with a coating or made of stainless steel weigh.

The Blackwell Frying Pan Skillet Cast Iron ø 16 cm is the entry-level model among these small pans and comes without a seasoned layer. Before you cook in it, you need to find out how to season a cast iron pan.

Blackwell Frying Pan Skillet Cast Iron ø 16 cm

The only 18 cm pan here is made of carbon steel: the De Buyer Frying Pan Lyonnaise Carbone Plus ø 18 cm. For this pan, you need to know how to season a carbon steel pan; you can fry an egg in it as soon as the seasoned layer is well established.

De Buyer Frying Pan Lyonnaise Carbone Plus

A small pan of cast iron or carbon steel fits best as a second pan, next to a pan with a coating that you use without preparation.
A stainless steel pan also has no coating, but you can place it on the fire immediately after unpacking. The Beka Frying Pan Cicla Stainless Steel ø 20 cm weighs 0.64 kg and can be put in the dishwasher in this size. It is best with a piece of meat for one; frying an egg in stainless steel requires more skill.