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Commercial Sauce Pans

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Commercial sauce pans are what the stove section makes sauces, stocks and reductions in, and they are on the heat for most of service. A commercial saucepan with a thin base scorches a sauce at the edges before the middle moves; one with a heavy, clad base holds a steady simmer.

Base construction is the thing to compare. Saucepans in clad stainless, with an aluminium or copper layer through the base, move the heat across the whole base and respond quickly. A stainless steel saucepan with no core is cheap and will catch a milk-based sauce.

The second decision is shape. A taller, narrower pan reduces slowly and loses little to evaporation, which suits a stock. A wider, shallower pan reduces fast, which suits a pan sauce. Most sections need both.

Sauce pans sit in commercial cookware with commercial saute pans, commercial stock pots and commercial casserole pans, and the straining end is conical strainers and chinois.

Filling out the sizes a stove section needs? The price guide lists the saucepans by capacity with the lids, so you can see the small, mid and large together before you order.

These are the top FAQs for Commercial Sauce Pans

How thick should the base be?

Thick enough that the pan does not glow hot in one spot on a gas burner. A clad or sandwich base spreads the flame, which is what stops a dairy or sugar sauce catching in a ring over the burner.

This is the specification worth paying for in a saucepan. It is also the hardest to judge from a photo, so check the base construction stated on the product page.

Which sizes does a sauce section need?

A set of small pans for à la carte sauces, a couple of mid-sizes for batch work, and one large one for stock reduction. The small ones get used constantly and should be bought deep.

A section with only large pans ends up reducing a small sauce in too wide a pan, which burns the edges.

Tall or wide?

Tall and narrow to hold and simmer with minimal reduction; wide and shallow to reduce quickly. Using the wrong one costs you either time or control.

If you can only hold one shape, go mid-range and adjust the heat. For stocks specifically a proper stock pot is the right vessel, not a saucepan.

Do I need lids?

For anything held or simmered, yes. A lid cuts evaporation and holds temperature, which saves gas and keeps a stock from reducing while nobody is watching it.

Buy lids with the pans rather than later, and check they are sized to the pan. See cloches, food covers and lids for the service-side equivalents.

Will stainless work on my cooktop?

On gas and electric, always. On induction, only if the base is magnetic — many clad pans are, plain aluminium is not, and the pan simply will not heat if it does not couple.

Check the induction rating before an induction cooktop install, because a whole set of pans can turn out to be unusable.

Why do my sauces catch even in a good pan?

Heat too high and nothing moving. A heavy base buys patience, not immunity, and dairy and sugar will catch on any surface if the pan is driven hard.

Lower the flame and use a flat-ended tool that reaches the corner where the base meets the wall. A spoonula does that better than a whisk.

How are they cleaned?

Deglaze warm, then wash. Stainless pans go through a machine cycle without trouble; a burnt-on sugar or dairy base needs soaking or a dedicated cleaner rather than scouring.

Avoid scouring the inside of a clad pan to a shine. It does nothing for performance and it wears the surface; the cooking equipment cleaners range covers the baked-on cases.