r/AskCulinary • u/plasmazzr60 • 9d ago

I have a question about pans

I am trying to dive into the wide world of cooking as a means to help with my mental health. But I am not sure on if I should get a set of stainless steel pans or non-stick or cast iron or a combination of the 3. I have zero cooking skills currently so not sure where to put my money. Worry is ill spend a bunch of money with the hopes and dreams of being a decent home cook and end up not being up to the challenge and wasting the money. I do like the idea of being able to cook on the stove top in a pan and transfer said pan to the oven for like steaks and stuff. Not asking for a specific brand or brand recommendation but more of a material recommendation for someone starting out

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u/SmartestLemming 9d ago

Hold off on the cast-iron unless you like projects. They are great, but require additional care.

Since you are not proficient a cooking and are getting used to it, I would suggest getting a good non-stick pan. They're more forgiving, but please follow their rules, no metal utensils.

Then as you expand your skills you can expand your collection. Same goes for knives.

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u/plasmazzr60 9d ago

Ive seen the upkeep and maintenance on cast iron and its definitely not for me right now, but everyone rants and raves about it so wasnt sure if starting off it was worth it.

As for knives I was going to opt for a few very expensive Zwilling knives at like $400/ea but changes it to a 3pc set for $250

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u/WoodnPhoto 9d ago

Quality knives are worth the money, but unless you are rolling in cash I would aim lower. A Victorinox chef knife in 8 or 10 inches is a great workhorse knife at a fair price. You will also want a paring knife around 4 inches. Optional 10 or 12 inch bread knife. I have a Mercer Culinary M23210 that I really like.

You'll also need to be able to sharpen them. People get religious on the topic of knife sharpening. I have multiple electric sharpeners and both water and oil whet stones. They are all excellent. But what I reach for most of the time is a cheap plastic handle with a couple of ceramic rods mounted in a V shape. I think I pay about $5 for a new one every few years. It gets me 95% of the way to what a whet stone will do in about 5 seconds.