Consumer Reports buys and tests stainless and nonstick cookware sets, Dutch ovens, woks, and a variety of frying pans, including nonstick, stainless, cast iron, carbon steel, and copper ones. Undecided about what you need in your kitchen? Consider the information below before you start shopping.
siao Product Page
Sets vs. Open Stock
Take inventory of the pots and pans you own to determine what has to be replaced or which new pieces you&#;d like to have. Individual pots and pans&#;called open stock&#;are widely available. If you need to swap out only a scratched frying pan, open stock is a cost-saving way to go, and it&#;s the most common way cookware is sold.
If you decide that you want a new cookware set, make sure the pieces in the set you choose complement your cooking style so that you aren&#;t storing pans you rarely use.
Consider What You Cook
Think about what you cook frequently; this will influence your choice of pots and pans. For example, if you sear meat often, you&#;ll want a cast-iron skillet that facilitates even browning. Nonstick frying pans are best for scrambled eggs, pancakes, and delicate foods such as fish. And stainless is perfect for almost any food that needs searing or browning. To help you decide, read &#;Best Frying Pans for the Way You Cook.&#;
A stock pot is great for soups or boiling pasta, but if you like to cook stews or sauces low and slow, consider a Dutch oven. A Dutch oven can brown, braise, boil, and bake bread, and moves easily from the oven or stovetop to your table. In fact, you can cook almost anything in a versatile Dutch oven. For inspiration, see &#;Why Every Home Cook Needs a Dutch Oven.&#;
Match Your Cookware to Your Cooktop
Last, consider how your new cookware pairs with your cooktop. Flat-bottomed pans that don&#;t warp are essential for a smoothtop range. Gas ranges are a little more forgiving, but you still want good contact between the bottom of the pan and the burners. Cookware with magnetic properties is a must for an induction cooktop. Bring along a magnet when you shop. If it sticks to the bottom, it&#;ll work with an induction range or cooktop. In our ratings, we note which pans are induction-compatible.
Food52's Editorial Assistant (and college student) Brette Warshaw is curating her very own first kitchen -- and she needs your help.
Today: Finding the right cast iron pan
Shop the Story
Buying a cast iron pan is like buying a first cell , or appointment book, or pair of glittery high heels: it makes you a little bit more adult.
I&#;ve got the cell , the appointment book, the glittery heels. That cast iron pan? Not there yet.
During my first three years of college -- while not a real adult, per se -- I avoided thinking about cast iron pans, about knives, about Dutch ovens: those culinary badges of honor, those hallmarks of seasoned cooks. I instead relied upon the cheap tools and kitchenware my roommates once bought for our &#;kitchen&#; (read: wall of kitchen appliances in the living room) and saved my major culinary projects for the kitchens of my parents, whose cookware collections were plentiful and familiar. Buying sturdy, expensive kitchenware for myself felt frivolous, unnecessary. I was too inexperienced. I was too young.
Until now.
Now, I&#;ve got cast iron pans on the mind, cutting boards and baking sheets, food processors, immersion blenders. (Is that weird? Probably.) I&#;m ready to cut my bread with a sharp, serrated knife; I&#;m ready to present dinner on a big, wide serving platter. It&#;s the summer before my final year of college, and I&#;m thinking about adulthood. I&#;m thinking about the real world.
If you want to learn more, please visit our website Cast Iron Cookware Supplier.
I&#;m thinking about my real world kitchen.
In curating this real world kitchen, I&#;ve made a vow to myself: I will choose all of my cookware intelligently. I will research every major purchase. I will ask for advice. I will make all of my kitchen investments worthwhile, so that in ten years I can look down at my cast iron pan -- or my knife, or my sauté pan, or my Dutch oven -- and remember the time I first used it.
And I will remember how you, dear FOOD52-ers, helped me.
I therefore bring you the series First Kitchen, where I will guide you through the curation of my first kitchen -- and ask for your help along the way. These posts aren't aimed just at college students. They&#;re for everyone who wants to make smart choices about their kitchenware -- for experienced cooks looking for a new tool, for novice cooks looking for their first, for a mother or father or friend looking for a thoughtful, useful gift.
My mother and father, though, won&#;t part with their cast iron pans -- kitchen tools that better with age, that can be passed down through generations. I&#;ve got to do the adult thing. I&#;m on my own.
So, naturally, I ask the most adult question one can ask: What&#;s the best pan to cook pancakes in?
Pancakes, along with more-wholesome eggs, greens, fish, and chicken, are the things I cook the most. A cast iron pan can be used for all of these, plus searing steak and other meats, shallow frying, baking bread, even baking cakes. It passes my first test: it&#;s worth buying.
But I&#;m greedy; I want more. I don&#;t just want a pan that can cook them all. I want a pan that can cook them all...efficiently. Kindly. Perfectly. This is a long-term commitment. I have high standards.
Bare, Pre-Seasoned or Enameled?
My major decision is what type of material to choose for my cast iron pan. If I base my selection on looks alone, it&#;s easy; I&#;d go for the Le Creuset Round Skillet. It&#;s got elegant, sloping sides and a surface so smooth I stroke it when nobody&#;s looking. The fact that it&#;s enameled makes it virtually maintenance-free; no seasoning, no difficult cleaning, little-to-no sticking. It&#;s also $154.95 &#; $99.95 for the 10 ¼-inch.
Bare cast iron, on the other hand -- the kind that most often gets handed down through generations -- is much less expensive: $16.99 for the classic unseasoned Lodge Logic 10&#; Chef Skillet. What bare cast iron lacks in looks -- though I still think it&#;s ruggedly handsome -- it makes up for in economy. The more you use a cast iron pan, the less maintenance it needs; since I&#;ll be using it often, it won&#;t take us long to settle in together. A good bare cast iron skillet can cook the same things as the enameled cast iron, though you shouldn't cook anything acidic -- anything with tomatoes, wine, or citrus, for instance -- in a pan that is not properly seasoned.
Buying pre-seasoned cast iron is the other option -- $20.97 for the Lodge Logic Pre-Seasoned 12-inch Skillet. Though there&#;s something romantic about seasoning my own. It&#;s the adult thing to do, right?
What kind of cast iron pan would you recommend? Check out my First Kitchen Pinterest board to follow along.
Next time, I&#;ll be covering knives -- and I could use your suggestions!
me at [ protected] with your First Kitchen recommendations -- your favorite tools, your favorite cookware, your favorite cookbooks. All wisdom is appreciated.
Are you interested in learning more about Cast Iron Cookware? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!