Professional Chefs on the Best Pots and Pans | The Strategist

06 May.,2024

 

Professional Chefs on the Best Pots and Pans | The Strategist

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Owning a ton of pots and pans isn’t necessary, even if you cook a lot — but owning a mix of the right ones is. In my years of using and testing many different pieces of cookware in my own home, as well as talking to dozens (and dozens) of professional chefs, recipe developers, and cookbook authors about their own favorites, I have a pretty good sense of how to curate a well-rounded collection. The most important thing is to have a mix of shapes and sizes as well as materials (dependable stainless steel, decent nonstick, and workhorse cast-iron being the most important). The rest should be determined by how much space you have, how often you cook, and how many people you usually cook for.

If you want to go deep on specific categories, I’ve rounded up longer lists of the best skillets, nonstick skillets, Dutch ovens, saucepans, woks, and full cookware sets. Here, I’ve culled the top players from those stories, as well as added some additional enthusiastically recommended picks for good measure (like a rice-specific donabe and dedicated hot pot).

Best saucepan overall

Best less-expensive saucepan

Cuisinart MultiClad Pro Saucepan

$30

This saucepan from Cuisinart has the same makeup of the All-Clad above: a stainless-steel finish and aluminum core. But it’s markedly less expensive. Strategist senior editor Winnie Yang has owned hers since 2017 and says “the quality is exceptional for the very reasonable price.” She uses it at least five times a week for cooking grains or heating soup and just sticks it in the dishwasher afterward for easy cleaning.

$30

at Amazon

Buy

$30

at Target

Buy

Best cast-iron skillet

Best carbon-steel skillet

Lodge 12-Inch Carbon-Steel Pan

now 29% off

$40

Sometimes cast-iron pans can feel heavy. Carbon-steel pans, however, are much lighter — and otherwise behave similarly. (This is the material most woks are made out of, too — much more practical for maneuvering around the stove and picking up and flipping ingredients). “I use mine for everything from paella to pressing Cubanos,” says chef Jordan Wallace. “And over a coal or wood fire camping, these are clutch.”

$40

at Amazon

Buy

$45

at Walmart

Buy

Best nonstick skillet overall

Zwilling Madura Plus Nonstick Skillet

$80

I’ve used my Zwilling Madura every day for the past several years — and it’s still in great shape. This is huge for a pan that’s made of a material that isn’t built to last forever, like cast iron and stainless steel. I think it hits the perfect sweet spot of being affordable (not the cheapest on the market but also not prohibitively expensive) and still incredibly well made.

Recipe developer and writer Rebecca Firkser says that despite the finish, “when I’ve scraped the pan accidentally, I’ve never seen a scratch on the surface.” It’ll even survive the dishwasher, says recipe developer and cookbook author Molly Baz, who has cleaned hers this way for five years and says it has shown “no signs of degraded coating.” Baz says she also loves how ergonomic the handle feels, noting she “can hold it in one hand without it hurting my wrist or flopping over to the side.”

$80

at Bloomingdale's

Buy

$75

at Wayfair

Buy

Best less expensive nonstick skillet

Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Nonstick Skillet

$45

$45

For half the price of my Zwilling Madura, you can get this eight-inch Cuisinart nonstick pan, which I owned and used regularly for a full three years before I finally said good-bye. For a cheaper pan, that’s a great lifespan. My main qualm is that the handle isn’t quite as comfortable for holding and flipping in comparison to the Zwilling Madura — but it never actively bothered me. And otherwise, the smooth, easy-release surface really works.

$45

at Amazon

Buy

$45

at Amazon

Buy

Best saucier

All-Clad Stainless Steel 2-Quart Saucier

$160

$160

If you’re cooking larger quantities of food, like a risotto or seafood pasta, consider a saucier, which is slightly taller than your standard frying pan with sloped sides. Chef Tony Cacace of Long Island City’s Jackson’s Eatery believes it’s the most important pan you should own, “perfect for almost anything that has a longer cooking time but needs a gentle hand,” he says. “It will handle everything from oatmeal and black-rice porridge for breakfast to risotto for dinner and ice-cream bases for dessert.”

$160

at Williams Sonoma

Buy

Best stainless-steel fry pan

Best Dutch oven overall

Best less-expensive Dutch oven

Lodge Cast-Iron Round Dutch Oven

$80

$80

For a fraction of the price of a Staub or Le Creuset, Lodge’s enameled cast-iron Dutch oven is an affordable and well-made favorite of both Irani and Todd Pulsinelli, executive chef of The Chloe in New Orleans. Both chefs say they’ve had theirs for about eight years and still use them all the time with Irani saying that the Dutch oven is “pretty damn near indestructible.” Although he acknowledges that the Staub looks a bit more refined, Irani says he appreciates that the Lodge comes in multiple colors.

$80

at Amazon

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From $106

at Wayfair

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Best griddle

Best wok

Joyce Chen Carbon-Steel Wok

now 10% off

$36

Joyce Chen is one of the most widely known and trusted names in this category, according to all the pros I’ve talked to, and it’s no surprise: The company introduced flat-bottomed woks to American households, now the norm for what you see on the market here. (This is opposed to rounded models that need a special burner to sit upright.) The one I have — our best overall pick — is made of carbon steel (as many others are, too), which means it’s super-sensitive to heat fluctuations. This is what makes it so ideal for stir-fries and fried rice: It gets blazing hot when the flame is strong but cools down when needed, or when new ingredients are added to the mix. (To paint the picture more vividly: It works beautifully when I want to get a quick sear on a protein and then add vegetables and reduce sauce without burning anything.) It’s not too heavy, but it sits on my stovetop sturdily all the same.

$36

at Amazon

Buy

$32

at Walmart

Buy

Best pot for hot pot

Best donabe rice cooker overall

Toiro Kamado-san Double-Lid Donabe Rice Cooker

From $160

From $160

This Toiro donabe is a favorite of Jing Gao, the founder of Strategist-favorite brand Fly by Jing, who says the manual method makes rice taste better. That’s because Toiro’s owner and donabe expert, Naoko Takei Moore, says, this model’s thicker shell provides even and steady heat distribution, while the double lid increases pressure and prevents overboiling. The rounded shape also allows for “the most ideal circulation of water and moisture and steam during cooking,” Takei Moore says. Whereas traditionally shaped donabes require paying more attention to heat levels, this version was designed to be as convenient as an electric model — simply set your flame high for 15 minutes, turn it off, and let it all sit for another 20 to steam. If you’re interested, Toiro also has some of the most stunning standard donabes (meaning, not rice-specific ones) around, which you can shop here.

From $160

at Toiro Kitchen & Supply

Buy

Best less expensive donabe rice cooker

Kamacco Japanese Rice Cooker

$70

Chef Brandon Jew of Mister Jiu’s and Mamahuhu loves the Kamacco, which has been produced in Japan by Tsukamoto Pottery since 1864 and is half the price of the Toiro. “It has a double lid that helps concentrate steam to cook rice better,” Jew says. “The pot can go over a low flame on the stove, but recently I took it camping with me and was able to cook rice over an indirect campfire. It can be used for heating things up, like stews, and retains heat really well, so serving food in this vessel will keep food at the table hot longer as well.”

$70

at Jinen

Buy

Best cookware set

Made In Stainless Clad Set

From $636

While some people might prefer to build their cookware collection in bits and pieces, if you’re shopping for an entire cookware set, it doesn’t get better than Made In’s, which allows you to choose from three different makeups that include pieces in various sizes, made of different materials. The smallest has a few essentials, the middle one only features stainless steel (but will have you supremely well covered with the assortment), and the largest features every pot and pan you will need to cook any meal you could possibly dream up.

While I won’t detail each and every one, I will say that Made In’s stainless steel works phenomenally well (on par with All-Clad in my opinion), as does its nonstick (again, on par with the Zwilling Madura). And each grouping features one piece I didn’t specifically call out earlier in this story: a fantastic stock pot. It fits a ton but isn’t too large for storage, is durable as can be without being heavy or cumbersome, and has comfortable handles.

From $636

at Made In Cookware

Buy

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The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Right Cookware for Your ...

The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Right Cookware for Your Kitchen

Cookware pk

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2 min read

·

Dec 10, 2022

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When it comes to investing in cookware, there are several different types of pots and pans you can choose from. Do you want something that is heavy-duty and will last for years?

Or maybe you would prefer something a little more affordable that still does its job well?

There is also a middle ground — thicker pans that are not as expensive or sturdy as the heavy-duty options, but they get the job done. we will take a look at some of the best types of cookware on the market and help you decide which one is best for your kitchen!

When it comes to investing in cookware, there are several different types of pots and pans you can choose from. Do you want something that is heavy-duty and will last for years?

Or maybe you’re looking for a thinner pan that is more affordable but still does its job well. Somewhere in between those two options is the best type of cookware for you — thicker, but not as expensive or as sturdy as cast iron. In this guide, we’ll take a look at the different types of cookware available and help you decide which one is best for your kitchen!

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