So essentially I want to buy one pan, I don’t want to care about what utensils I use in it (metal, plastic, or wood), or what I cook in it, and I want to clean it easily by just putting some soap on it, using the rough side of a sponge and drying it off and tossing it back in the cupboard.

Ideally, I’d also like this pan to last longer than 2-3 years.

So overall I am thinking I want enameled cast iron because it seems like it could take all of that but then I recently read how you don’t want to cook something like eggs or fish in it because they’ll stick.

The other bit I’ve seen is just buying a coated non-stick pan of any sort but be prepared to throw them away in 1-3 years and don’t use anything metal in them.

Should I just buy enameled cast iron and cook whatever I want in it? Should I buy multiple types and cook different things in them? Should I just stick with non-stick?

Overall, I am a very novice cooker who simply cooks for a family of 4. Typically using something like everyplate. I’m not looking for fancy but I am looking for “buy it once then use it until I die with low maintenance.” I essentially want the Toyota Camry of cookware. Reliable, low maintenance, not going to win any cooking contests.

Any suggestions?

Thank you.

  • PiecePractical
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    10 months ago

    I’m not sure.

    IMHO, the cast iron wouldn’t be too bad maintenance wise once you got it well seasoned and learned how to use it but, that takes some time so it might be more fussing around than you’d like for the first several months. And even then, you’ll probably still want a non-stick around for some recipes. The stainless sounds like it might be what you’re looking but, I’m not well versed with that. The one time I tried it, the food stuck so bad that I never tried it again but, all the recommendations I’ve read about it since then make me think that was probably user error.