The proper cookware every kitchen needs
Until a few weeks ago, I thought I was an OK cook. I was wrong. In fact, I probably have no business writing about cooking, but since when has lack of knowledge stopped me?
During a recent two-hour conversation with America’s Test Kitchen’s executive reviewer Lisa McManus, who really does know what she’s talking about, I learned that my kitchen, though it contains plenty of cookware, is in fact ill- equipped. Of the four essential pieces of cookware Mcmanus says every kitchen should have … I had only two. I was lacking a Dutch oven and a cast-iron skillet.
No wonder my cooking isn’t better!
Now, as a compulsive home organizer and improver, I pride myself on having only what I need and no more, and on buying household goods once and buying them right. However, in my kitchen, not only do I not have the right basics, but what I do have is subpar.
“What are you doing?” my husband DC asked when he found me in the kitchen with our pans all over the counter.
“Our pans are all wrong,” I said. “The nonstick surfaces are shot. The handles are plastic. The metal is too thin.”
“What are you telling me?”
“If you want better dinners, we have some pan purging and purchasing to do,” I said.
Normally, DC would question the need to buy more anything, but the prospect of better meals prompted him to hop online.
“Since the pandemic, folks are cooking more at home and turning to us,” Mcmanus said. America’s Test Kitchens teaches cooking basics through public TV shows, magazines and a subscription website.
Mcmanus had her work cut out with me. I told her about my cookware, an assortment of 10 pots and pans, half of which I have never used.
“That’s typical of people who buy sets,” Mcmanus said.
The four pans I do use are nonstick — not her first choice — and, I learned, they were also well past their prime, if they ever had a prime. The surface of a nonstick pan only lasts a few years, and mine were going on 10.
“In our kitchens, we test pieces, not sets,” McManus said. A pan test involves making the same recipe over and over in many pans of the same size from different makers to see what works and what annoys. “If I am fighting the pan and burning my hand, it’s not working.”
Because good pans are both a household staple and an investment, McManus tells home cooks to buy pans one at a time based on what they cook and can afford. Start with a few durable, f lexible workhorses that will earn their keep. Here are four pieces every wellequipped kitchen should have, and the brands ATK recommends:
A DUTCH OVEN >> These high- sided, cast- iron, enamel- coated cookers can go from stovetop to oven, and can be used to steam, deep fry, braise, bake or roast. Choose round over oval because round fits burners better, and get the 7- quart size. Cooks universally agree that Le Creuset makes the winning Dutch oven, but it’s expensive at *cough* around $ 375. However, Mcmanus also recommends a best- buy runner up, the much less expensive Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Enameled Dutch Oven Casserole.
A LARGE FOUR- QUART SAUCEPAN WITH LID >> A high-walled saucepan that can handle gravies, soups and puddings is another kitchen must. At ATK, the category winner is the All- Clad tri- ply stainless saucepan. “You can always cook a small amount of food in a large pan, but you can’t cook a large amount in a small pan,” Mcmanus said. So start large and get smaller pans later.
A 12- INCH STAINLESSSTEEL SKILLET >> Again, the ATK team favorite is the All- Clad D3 stainless- steel frying pan with lid, which sells for around $120. “That may sound like a lot, but these are the hardest workers in your kitchen,” Mcmanus said.
A SECOND 12- INCH SKILLET MADE OF CAST IRON OR CARBON STEEL >> Lodge makes the winning castiron skillet, which, for a change, fits most budgets. “This is the one pan to get if you’re broke,” she said. Last week, I found a Lodge 12-inch cast-iron pan at Home Goods for $15. I have cooked in it every night since, and dinners are markedly better. Carbon steel offers the same benefits of cast iron but is lighter. The ATK team favorite is the Matfer Bourgeat Black Steel round frying pan. When properly cared for and seasoned, both materials develop nonstick surfaces naturally and never need replacing.
NICE TO HAVE >> After you have your core set, the following items fall in the would- be- nice- tohave category: A generous stockpot (eight to 12 quarts), a two- quart saucepan, a 10-inch skillet and an 8- inch skillet.
AVOID NONSTICK >> Although nonstick pans are easy to clean and inexpensive, don’t make them your first purchase, Mcmanus said. The coating goes downhill fast, so they need to be replaced every few years. With wear, the coating, usually made of polymerizing tetraf luoroethylene, or PTFE ( popularly known as Teflon), blisters, peels and gets in food, which has raised health concerns. Though alternative nonstick surfaces are available, you’ll be better off starting your recipe with a little oil in a regular pan.
My worn- out nonstick cookware is panned and banned. A Le Creuset and a tri- ply stainless frying pan are on the way, and my cast-iron skillet and I are making beautiful meals together.
Syndicated columnist Marni Jameson is the author of five home and lifestyle books, including “Downsizing the Family Home What to Save, What to Let Go” and “Downsizing the Blended Home — When Two Households Become One.” You may reach her at marnijameson.com.