topic Re: Which Size Pots Do YOU Find Essential? in Kitchen

Which Size Pots Do YOU Find Essential?

Mellyg — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 14:11:04 GMT

I recently decided it was time for new pots. I didn't need to purchase a set (as I have quality pans); and have 2 Le Creusets (that get used regularly).

I understand everyone has a different need for sizes of pots (dependent on type of cooking, skill level, family size). That being said, what pots do you find "necessary" for your cooking needs?

Re: Which Size Pots Do YOU Find Essential?

amyb — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 14:34:35 GMT

small 1 qt sauce pot for little jobs.

my 2 and 3 qt pots ...rice, quinuoa, soups, steaming veggies etc

my 5 1/2 qt dutch oven...soups, stews, big jobs

Re: Which Size Pots Do YOU Find Essential?

ScrapHappy — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 15:14:50 GMT

Years ago I got rid of my old pot and pan set and replaced them with just the pieced I'd use most often. I got all clad:

12 inch nonstick fry pan with lid

omlette pan

essential nonstick pan with lid: basicaly like a frying pan but deeper. Found this in the clearance section. I use this a lot for stir fry, all in one skillet meals, etc.

very large soup pot (don't know size, it has something in it on the stove right now)

pasta pot with drainer

1.5 qt. saucepan

3 qt. saucepan

All clad stove top grill pan

Re: Which Size Pots Do YOU Find Essential?

ALRATIBA — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 15:49:42 GMT

All of mine are essential .... otherwise I wouldn't have them.

I have a set with a bunch of different sizes.

In addition - large cast iron frying pan.

Re: Which Size Pots Do YOU Find Essential?

Still Raining — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 15:53:38 GMT

Since it is just me, my 8" cast iron skillet and rice cooker get the most use.

Poor ole skillet often gets reused each day.

Re: Which Size Pots Do YOU Find Essential?

lork — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 15:58:41 GMT

I'm a widow, but cook everyday, often for friends & family. For about 40 years, I cooked with a huge set of cookware we were given as a wedding gift. So many pieces, some I never used, and some I literally wore out. Anyway, I put them away (didn't discard) and now use Rachel Ray's 8 qt pasta pan, a couple of Curtis Stone's small skillets, a QVC 2 quart pot (multiple uses daily!) 3 cast iron (garage sale) skillets, a cast iron grill pan and griddle. I also love a large Staub duch oven I bought at TJMax for just over $100. I think I'm set for the rest of my life!

Re: Which Size Pots Do YOU Find Essential?

Sooner — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 16:03:43 GMT

We almost never use our All Clad 4 qt. pot, which used to be in constant use. Now we use an Instant Pot (often the 3 qt.) for much of that type of cooking: Soups, greens, sweet potatoes, etc.

We use a stainless wok-shaped All Clad a lot for stir frys and it cleans up easily.

On the stove, we use a 4 qt. and a smaller Le Creuset soup pot almost daily. We use LC cast iron skillets as well to saute or make cornbread.

Our stainless steel All Clad pots are rarely used, but their smaller skillets are. We just cook very differently than we did 5 years or more ago.

Re: Which Size Pots Do YOU Find Essential?

Mellyg — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 16:15:13 GMT

@ScrapHappy wrote:
Years ago I got rid of my old pot and pan set and replaced them with just the pieced I'd use most often. I got all clad:
12 inch nonstick fry pan with lid
omlette pan
essential nonstick pan with lid: basicaly like a frying pan but deeper. Found this in the clearance section. I use this a lot for stir fry, all in one skillet meals, etc.
very large soup pot (don't know size, it has something in it on the stove right now)
pasta pot with drainer
1.5 qt. saucepan
3 qt. saucepan
All clad stove top grill pan

I went with All Clad, as well. I was contemplating the pasta pot w/drainer; I should have purchased that.

For some reason, I rationalized buying a 2qt saucier and a 2qt saucepan w/lid. Now that they are here, I'm wondering "what was I thinking"?!

Re: Which Size Pots Do YOU Find Essential?

Sooner — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 16:21:46 GMT

@Mellyg Don't worry about that strainer from All Clad. We have it and almost never use it. It is too easy to dump the pasta out from a smaller pot into a strainer or just scoop it out with a Chinese strainer or sieve! Also, you don't need a ton of water to cook pasta either like you see and hear on tv.

Your saucier is a lot like the All Clad soup type pots we have and use a lot.

Re: Which Size Pots Do YOU Find Essential?

nyc1 — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 16:39:57 GMT

I LOVE to cook and bake. Some of your choices should depend on how many people you are cooking for. You also can add on with other brands. I have a lot of Cook's Essential basic pots and have quite a few Staub pieces that I love and a Lodge cast iron skillet. We are only 2 but I love to entertain, and look forward to doing that again. I also like to cook enough, most of the time, to have left overs. I own A LOT of pots, and use them. This would be just the start of a basic set for me....

1-1/2 qt sauce pan (i like having 2 of these)

8" non stick fry pan

10" non stick fry pan

10" fry pan

13" fry pan

double boiler (you can use as a steamer & the bottom alone as an additonal pot)

4 qt stock pot

larger stock pot (bigger than the 4 qt)

pasta pot with drain

WOK - critical for me (I have 2 NON STICK, which I prefer)

cast iron skillet (I have 2 - 1 with ridges and one flat)

I use a lot more than the above, but these are the very basics used ALL THE TIME.

Also sheet pans!!!!

Re: Which Size Pots Do YOU Find Essential?

Nightowlz — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 17:19:10 GMT

I have non stick & stainless steel skillets, sauce pans & stock pots. I also have a 4.5 qt with lid.

I have a carbon steel wok, cast iron skillets, a 5 & 7 qt dutch oven, 2 pressure cookers (1 for backup) LOL!!!

Re: Which Size Pots Do YOU Find Essential?

ECBG — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 23:27:02 GMT

I use the 1 qt., 2 qt., and 3 qt. sauce pans from Revere Ware the most. They're light weight and cook evenly. Never wanted another set.

I also have a duplicate 2 and 3 qt.

Re: Which Size Pots Do YOU Find Essential?

candys mine — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 00:18:32 GMT

3 qt and 2 qt. I use these almost exclusively. I have one larger pot for soup and a duthc Oven for pot roast. And One large uncovered roaster with a rack for turkey.

Re: Which Size Pots Do YOU Find Essential?

Icegoddess — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 00:27:10 GMT

I'm done buying sets. I'll only purchase individual pans as I need them. I almost exclusively use nonstick, but I do have one heavy stainless steel skillet I really like. Last thing I need is another stock pot. I only use it to boil spaghetti anyways. Also, some of the fry/saute pans have gotten so large that I can't even use my one remaining eye when I use them on the larger eye.

Re: Which Size Pots Do YOU Find Essential?

LilLadyNJ — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 01:31:44 GMT

I'm a household of one, but I cook for friends quite frequently. My essentials are:

a 2-quart sauce pan

a 4-quart sauce pan

a 8-inch and a 10-inch skillet

a 8-quart stock pot

a 8-inch fry pan

a 2.5 Quart Brasier

a 5 quart dutch oven

I won't list the other pans that I have that I also use, though rarely. This doesn't include the bakeware that I use for meals that I cook in the oven.

I like cooking for friends and I'm sticking with that story,

Re: Which Size Pots Do YOU Find Essential?

amyb — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 04:02:13 GMT

I took this too "literally" at first, I guess...naming only "pots" I use most.

As for pans...I have an older "Cook's Essential" kind of medium large saute' pan, not sure the diameter...I'd say 10", with one long handle (as opposed to the two side handles type)...been used to death, still love it for a lot of things I make. Stir frys, pasta dishes where I make all the fixin's in that pan, then throw in the pasta last. It's been my workhorse for years. I have a larger one from the same set, (mom kept buying me CE from Q years ago)...it has the long handle one side and little grip handle at the other end...that's tucked away in the cabinet and I've yet to use it...but it will come in handy should I ever have to make a bigger saute' dish.

I also have a variety of sizes of non-stick fry pans...I use them all. One fried egg in the smallest, to various size frittatas, or side dish saute's.

Re: Which Size Pots Do YOU Find Essential?

Mominohio — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 15:37:06 GMT

I like to have the right size for the job. And because I still grow a huge garden and have a small fruit orchard, I process and can a lot of food most years. That requires pots and pans of all sizes.

I like to have a small one quart for small jobs, and increasing sizes up for whatever I need. I most often just cook for the two of us, but I batch cook often as well, so I use a lot of pans at once and stock pots right up to 10 quarts to cook ahead to freeze.

I have and use 1 quart, 2 quart, 3 quart and 4 quart sauce pans, as well as stock pots in 6 quart, 8 quart and 10 quart. The biggest ones are kept in the basement and just brought up for occasional use. Don't like them taking up space in the kitchen, but when I need them, I really need them.

All my sauce and stock pots are vintage. I have complete sets of Rever Ware copper bottom and also complets sets of Farberware, older ones. I have a set of waterless cookware that I picked up second hand as well, but I'm just not as in love with it like other people are. I tend to mix and match all three sets, choosing the sizes from the various sets that just feel right.

I would prefer that since I remodeled the kitchen, I have all matching things, and I could easily do it because I have such big sets, but I like some of the Revere better (big stock pots and my double boiler) and then some of the Farberware pieces better (all the sauce pans) for other things. So I am frustrated that I don't have all matching pans in the cabinet when you open it. I give up the nice streamlined look for a mix match of things that function better for my uses.

Re: Which Size Pots Do YOU Find Essential?

Pink123 — Sun, 28 Apr 2024 19:45:19 GMT

Hi all you cooks out there. I'm searching for a large pot for cooking pastas, rice, etc with a lid if possible. 5 quart? Mine is bigger than the glass top burner but I burned it yesterday, lol.

And a 12 inch pan for frying chopped hamburger with lid.

Calphalon looks good? They have different lines in quality?

Oh and a cooking wood spoon, and spatula.

1 pot and 1one pan with lid with utensils.

PS. a good 7 inch chef knife would be helpful as well.

Thank you for your help and input!

Re: Which Size Pots Do YOU Find Essential?

wagirl — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 14:09:38 GMT

I use my skillets all the time--from 8" up to 14". I have many sizes of saucepans/pots I use.

Re: Which Size Pots Do YOU Find Essential?

Carmie — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 14:32:20 GMT

I have pots that hold as little as 1 cup and some that are large enough for a toddler to hide in it. They are 30 inches tall.

I have some that are 100% copper that are only for candy making.

I probably use my 1.5 qt , 2 qt and two 6 qts the most often for everyday usage.

The giant resturant size ones I use to make soup or cook for holidays or picnics, but I use them all.