Final answer:
Overcrowding a sauté pan prevents proper cooking by reducing the temperature too quickly, which can make food soggy or poorly browned, akin to how a larger pan needs more energy to heat up due to a greater heat capacity.
Step-by-step explanation:
When you overcrowd your sauté pan, you inhibit the cooking process because too much food lowers the temperature of the pan too quickly. Since each item added to the pan requires energy to cook, overstuffing a pan can result in uneven cooking, as the larger amount of food causes a drop in temperature. This can lead to food that is improperly browned or even soggy because the water released from the food cannot evaporate quickly enough. This is similar to how a larger cast iron frying pan requires more energy to raise its temperature due to its larger heat capacity. The more material there is, the more energy it needs to increase in temperature.