Stainless steel pots and pans are a great addition to every kitchen. They look gorgeous, last a lifetime, and can be used for everything from steaming rice to braising chicken to simmering soup. There’s no argument with the fact that nonstick coatings keep food from sticking and make cleanup easier.
It can also handle high heat and can be used on induction cooktops. A small frying pan is great for cooking one or two eggs, while a large stockpot is exactly what you need for cooking large batches of soup stock. There’s no right or wrong answer when it comes to the perfect size for a piece of cookware. It just depends on how many people you’re trying to cook for and how much you want to make at one time.
Our testers started by looking at the overall design of the set, observing the materials, quantity and quality of cookware pieces, storage capabilities, shapes, and any extra features. Then they performed two tests to evaluate temperature consistency using medium and high heat, placing them on a stovetop and in an oven. With a delicious tomato sauce as their test subject, they looked for any signs of scorching. Then, to test overall performance, these in-house chefs prepared two dishes—a classic French omelette and rice pilaf — checking to see if the eggs or rice stuck to the pans. Afterward, they scrubbed the pans to evaluate how easy they were to clean.
Good Housekeeping participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer cuisinart knife sites. For many people, washing dishes by hand is their worst nightmare. If eggs are a regular part of your breakfast, an egg poacher can definitely make your life easier.
There are many different kinds of cookware sets on the market, so choosing the correct one for your kitchen is crucial. A good omelet pan should also be able to respond to heat changes quickly and allow you to control the temperature precisely. For this reason, omelet pans are usually made from aluminum or hard anodized aluminum with a non-stick coating. A Dutch oven is a large, heavy cooking pot with a tight-fitting lid.
If you get impatient waiting for water to boil and you don’t need the extra room, consider a smaller saucepan. Saucepans with high evaporation rates reduce sauces, soups, and stews more quickly. Donna Currie is a food writer and blogger specializing in recipes and kitchen gadgets. She covers kitchen tools and gadgets for The Spruce Eats and is the author of Make Ahead Bread. We independently research, test, review, and recommend the best products—learn more about our process.
A small frying pan may be perfect for a single person, but much less useful for a family. If a set is almost perfect, but is missing a piece, most manufacturers sell open stock cookware, so you can get that huge stock pot or grill pan you’ve been coveting. Keep in mind that lids count as pieces, and some sets include inexpensive extras, like spoons and spatulas that add to the piece count.
Once you’re done, these stackable pieces nest easily into one another. The Caraway Ceramic Coated Set is an eco-friendly alternative to traditional nonstick pots and pans — and it’s available in six attractive colors. The more pieces in the set, the more storage space you’ll probably need. With that said, if you lack space, either Cookware Sets look for a smaller or stackable set. “In general, sets with larger pieces are better buys unless you cook in very small quantities,” noted Franke. The highlight here is Scanpan’s signature 5-layer nonstick—called “stratanium”—which had a slightly different feel than other pans and was highly effective at preventing sticks.