In our advice for gas the handle determines the order first, and then the weight. If your pan tips on the grate toward its handle, the handle is too heavy relative to the pan itself. A pan that weighs more is less likely to tip, but requires more from your arm when lifting. With equal grips we prefer the pan that is easier to lift.

The handle of the Beka Koekenpan Maestro 5-Ply ø 28 cm is designed as a cool-touch handle that conducts little heat from the pan. There's an auxiliary handle on the opposite side. This stainless-steel pan without a non-stick coating weighs 1.6 kilos empty. It's strong for steak; those who mainly cook eggs are better served by the pan with a ceramic coating, mentioned a bit further on.

The Beka Koekenpan met tegengreep Stark ø 28 cm, made of pretreated cast iron, has, like the 5-Ply, a cool-touch handle and an auxiliary handle. It weighs 2.3 kilos empty, the heaviest of the four: heavier to lift, but also steady on your grate. If you've previously seen a light pan slide off the grate, this is the other extreme.

Next comes the Sola Koekenpan Ceramic Deluxe ø 28 cm, the only one of the four with a non-stick coating: a ceramic layer without PFAS on aluminium. Its handle is also a cool-touch handle, but it lacks the auxiliary handle of the two pans above. It weighs 1.08 kilos empty, the lightest of the four.

The De Buyer Koekenpan Mineral B Element ø 26 cm has a steel handle without a cool-touch grip. So have an oven glove ready before you pick it up over the flame. It's a pan made from 3 mm thick sheet steel, without a non-stick coating, intended for searing meat. Your gas burner is a good place for seasoning a sheet-steel pan.

Every frying pan that the Consumentenbond tests is put on an induction hob for that test. How a handle warms above a flame and how a pan sits on a grate therefore remains outside of that test. The order here differs from that in our advice on the best frying pan, because there we decide based on your way of cooking and here on the handle and weight.

Where an induction hob places requirements on a pan's base, a gas flame does not. You therefore won't find a gas-specific symbol on any frying pan in our range.

A pan that only works on gas would also be a shame if you ever get an induction hob. With the four pans from our recommendation you won't run that risk. Save our article on switching from gas to induction, which states for each type of pan whether it works on an induction hob.

If after years on gas your current pan has a slight dome, it will usually still work on the same burner. According to our pan expert, a more expensive pan is no guarantee against warping if the burner is always on full.