How to choose cookware

The materials

Stainless steel

Durable, non-reactive, oven-safe, and it browns and develops fond beautifully. Poor at conducting heat on its own, so buy one with an aluminium or copper core. The best general-purpose choice.

Cast iron

Enormous heat retention, so it sears superbly and recovers fast. Heavy, slow to heat, and it needs seasoning and care. Excellent value.

Enamelled cast iron

Cast iron's heat retention without the seasoning. Ideal for braises and stews. Expensive and chips if dropped.

Non-stick

For eggs, pancakes and fish, and nothing else. It cannot take high heat, cannot develop fond, and it wears out — treat it as a consumable.

Carbon steel

Like cast iron but lighter and faster to respond. Seasons the same way. Excellent for woks and frying pans.

Copper

The best heat control of all and the most responsive. Very expensive, needs lining and polishing. A luxury rather than a need.

Aluminium

Light, cheap, conducts well, reactive with acid unless anodised. Good for stockpots.

Why heavy is better

A heavy pan holds more heat. That matters at the exact moment cooking is hardest — when cold food goes into a hot pan. A thin pan's temperature collapses, the food releases water, and it steams instead of browning. A heavy pan barely notices.

A heavy base also spreads heat sideways, evening out the hot spot directly over the burner. That is why thin pans burn things in a ring and heavy ones do not, and why a heavy base is the first thing to look for in a saucepan.

The trade-off is weight and slower response. On a hob where you need to change temperature quickly, cast iron is frustrating; for searing and braising it is exactly right.

The short list

This covers the large majority of domestic cooking.

• A large heavy frying pan, 28–30cm, stainless with a clad base or cast iron. For searing, browning, pan sauces and most stove-top cooking.
• A small non-stick pan, around 20cm. For eggs and pancakes. Buy cheaply and replace it when it wears.
• A heavy casserole with a lid, enamelled cast iron or similar, 24–28cm. For stews, braises, soups, and baking bread.
• Two saucepans, one small and one medium, heavy-based, with lids.
• A large stockpot, for pasta, stock and anything in quantity. This one can be cheap and thin.
• A heavy baking sheet or two, and a metal roasting tin. Not glass or ceramic, which insulate.

Buying and looking after them

• Pick the pan up in the shop. Weight is the most reliable proxy for quality, and a handle that feels wrong will feel wrong for twenty years.
• Check it is oven-safe and what temperature. A plastic handle limits a pan considerably.
• A flat base matters on induction and ceramic hobs. Warped pans rock and heat unevenly.
• Season cast iron and carbon steel by heating a very thin film of oil until it smokes, repeatedly. Wash them without soaking, dry immediately, and wipe with oil.
• Never put a non-stick pan on high heat, never use metal utensils on it, and replace it once the coating is scratched.
• Discoloured stainless is cosmetic. Burnt-on residue lifts with water, bicarbonate of soda and a simmer.

Common questions