Which pans are actually worth buying?

Pans are bought as sets and used as three or four favourites. Buying those few properly costs less than a set and works considerably better, because each material is good at something specific.

Step by step

1. Understand what each material does.Stainless: browns well, oven-safe, indestructible, sticks if used badly. Cast iron: holds heat, excellent sear, heavy. Carbon steel: like cast iron but lighter and responsive. Non-stick: only for eggs and delicate fish, and it wears out.
2. Buy heavy rather than light.A thick base spreads heat evenly and holds it when food goes in. Thin pans develop hot spots and burn in the middle. Weight is the most reliable quality signal in a shop.
3. Get a stainless sauté pan first.Straight sides, wide base, lid, oven-safe. It browns, deglazes, braises and reduces. If you buy one pan, buy this.
4. Add a cast iron or carbon steel frying pan.For searing, where the heat retention matters. It becomes naturally non-stick with use and lasts indefinitely.
5. Keep exactly one non-stick pan.For eggs and delicate fish. Treat it as consumable — the coating wears out in a few years however careful you are — so do not spend a great deal on it.
6. Check it suits your hob.Induction needs magnetic bases. Test with a fridge magnet — if it does not stick, it will not work.
7. Check the handle and whether it is oven-safe.Riveted metal handles last and go in the oven. Plastic handles limit the pan and eventually loosen.
8. Skip the set.Sets pad the price with sizes nobody uses. Three or four good individual pans cost less overall and get used.

Tips

• Second-hand cast iron is excellent value. Rust cleans off and the pan is effectively indestructible.
• Copper looks wonderful, conducts superbly, and needs re-lining and polishing. Buy it because you want it, not because it will change your cooking.
• The lid matters more than people expect. A well-fitting lid turns a frying pan into a braising pan.

Questions people ask