7 Must-have Pots and Pans (and a Knife)

You don’t need a bunch of expensive cookware for serious cooking at home. But there is no compromise regarding some items from the list.

Even if you can invest thousands of dollars in the best pots, pans and knives, you probably don’t have room for them in your kitchen.

These seven pots and pans and one good knife are about everything you need to get into the cooking seriously. It is necessary to invest a little more in each, but the result will be more than enough justification for such a cost. After all, when you complete this list, you will not need anything else, except small pieces of utensils and accessories, strainers and sieves, for example.

A heavy-duty, sharp knife

Many tractates, books, and scientific research are written about knives, and we will not go into depth here at all. The only thing that matters is that until you have a solid knife, don’t think about being good at cooking. The knife does not have to be too expensive or exotic, but it must be of good quality, well balanced and sharpened. This means it will cost you more than you would expect, but only when you try a high-quality knife, you will realize how much you can enjoy cooking.

Cast Iron Skillet

If you don’t have absolutely anything in the kitchen, you should first buy this cast-iron skillet if your kitchen racks and cabinets are empty. Heavy, thick cast-iron pans are the foundation of good home cooking.

You need one that will last for years if you treat it the right way. Cast iron as a material is not only the reason for maintaining a constant temperature for a long time. When it warms up well, it can help you get those magical crispy crusts that fail when using the pans you buy in sets of five (or even more) on sale.
These pans are not easy to handle as long handles make this massive cookware even heavier. Still, lighter versions on the market with higher iron content are also a great starting point for building your kitchen arsenal.

Stainless-steel pan

You can’t ignore the beauty of this pan, but its beauty is not the reason why it is one of the must-have pots and pans in every kitchen. Stainless steel pans are the cornerstone of your home cooking. Cast iron pans heat up slowly and unevenly, and once they reach the temperature, they hold it long and evenly but are relatively insensitive to sudden changes in temperature.
When cooking meals that need to react quickly to lowering and raising the temperature, you will need stainless steel pan with a thicker bottom, preferably copper, because copper conducts heat better.

Stainless steel pans heat up quickly. A lid is not necessary but can be useful for many meals.

T-Fal Pan

There is no alternative to a T-Fal pan when it comes to eggs, no matter how you prepare them. With T-fal pans, the coating is more important than the material. We all know from experience that the cheap ones have a lower quality coating and don’t last too long because the coating cracks, and food starts to stick in the cracks. Also, it is believed that they become toxic if they are damaged for too long. You can choose a more expensive or high-quality T-fal pan or change the cheap ones more often, but you must have it in the kitchen and keep it in good condition.

Saucier / Sauce Pan

Saucier is also one of the must-have pans for every serious cook. The pan with higher walls, rounded towards the bottom to make every millimeter accessible to cooks, is designed for mixed dishes. The bottom should be thicker for better heating and maintaining a constant temperature, and the walls should be tilted outwards so that the liquid evaporates more easily. It is simply necessary for sauces, soups, risottos, and other dishes when precise mixing is crucial.

Dutch Oven

If you were looking for the embodiment of primordial cooking, it would probably be this pot. The most usual name for it is Dutch oven, but it has a few variations around the globe, like the Japanese tetsunabe.

This piece of pottery is one of the few direct descendants of prehistoric discoveries about the technology of heat treatment of food on which, if you will, today’s civilization originated.

People used the traditional Dutch oven for cooking soups and stews on an open fire. The modern Dutch oven is a lacquered mixture of alloys that ensure perfect roasting, slow roasting, stewing large pieces of meat, stews, bouillabaisse, vegetables and all dishes that require the pot. In some cases, it’s not unusual to use it for making bread.

You have probably noticed that dishes prepared in this way in restaurants are usually served in eye-catching miniature decorative pots with lids – and it’s probably Le Creuset Dutch oven. It is the most popular and one of the best brands, but others are on the market.

Every high-quality Dutch oven is also expensive. But Dutch oven is an investment for your entire culinary life. And a powerful ally for preparing good food.

Stock Pot with Cover

For every dish you need to cook in a lot of water – from pasta to vegetables – you need to have this pot. It doesn’t have to be very expensive or heavy. It is enough that it is made of solid chrome material because these pots are always sensitive enough to temperature changes, and that is, apart from the volume, the only thing you need to focus.

Saute Pan

There is always something to sauté. A large, lightweight aluminum pan with a long handle and flat walls is indispensable. If the walls are high enough, do not hesitate to cook in them, also.

Last update on 2024-04-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API