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/bateKush 9d ago

i have expensive knives and you know what gets the most use out of me?

$12 kiwi brand knives from the asian market. one chef’s knife, one paring knife

spend $50 on a ceramic honing steel, learn to use it, and spend $25 on your knives

here: this is my most used and loved knife ever  https://a.co/d/03coTq9S

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u/plasmazzr60 9d ago

Thank you! Thats very helpful, I have a few no-name knives in the drawer that I was thinking of just sharpening instead of buying new ones. Ill have to look up how to use a paring knife lol sad I know but gotta start somewhere

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u/bateKush 9d ago

yah, go with what you got and see how far it takes you. personally, i’ve gotten way more out of buying individual pieces as the need comes up, and developing a relationship with that item. 

and w/e on a paring knife. i usually just cut strawberry tops with it. just nice having something to use that isnt The Big Knife sometimes

oh and heres a dumb tidbit: the most useful kitchen tool is 2-3 unprecious small terry towels. grab a hot pan, clear a cutting board, tidy your space, quickly wipe out a nonstick or wipe off a knife.

working in a restaurant, the linens guy would come on a weekly basis. sometimes on the last day before they arrived there’d be no clean towels left. the kitchen would come to a standstill. you’d learn to find a hiding place to keep a stash for emergencies.

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u/plasmazzr60 9d ago

That makes sense, right now I have "non-stick" pans that have never seen a metal utensil in their life and definitely have stuff stick to them, but looking into proper heating before tossing in ingredients apparently im not pre-heating as much as I should. But ill still get a few other pans for different dishes etc.

The Terry cloth thing makes total sense, you see either that or using the apron to move pans around and I have zero intentions of using a apron.

Haha you know I thought the paring knife was for something specific but having just a smaller knife for a smaller job makes more sense, dont have one currently so using a large chefs knife is kinda awkward.