Best for: Almost any food that needs frying, browning, or searing. Because it’s ovenproof, stainless is also a good choice for foods that you start on the stovetop and then move to the oven to finish, like thick pork chops.

The details: Nitahara says that 95 percent of the pans used in the CIA’s teaching kitchens are stainless steel because they can take a lot of punishment. “The only time we don’t use them is on egg day, when we use nonstick,” he says. He adds that the shiny surface of a stainless pan makes it easy to see whether your food is browning.

In CR’s tests of stainless steel pans, we measure heating evenness by cooking pancakes, and we gauge how evenly a pan sautés by cooking potatoes until they’re tender. We also conduct a cleaning test to see how easy it is to remove cooked-on food. You’d think that all stainless pans would be about the same to clean, but our tests show that some require a lot more scrubbing than others.

Here are two recommended stainless steel pans from CR’s tests.

While cast iron skillets take longer to heat up than other frying pan materials, they heat evenly and consistently with no hot spots. They are great at retaining heat and can be taken from the stovetop to the oven or grill and then to the table for service to keep the food warm. A well-seasoned cast-iron skillet is naturally non-stick and can withstand very high temperatures without warping or getting damaged. Cast iron requires frequent maintenance, but the benefit is that it can last a lifetime with routine seasoning and using proper cleaning techniques.

STAINLESS STEEL FRYING PANS

 When caring for enameled cast iron cookware, it is important to avoid using metal utensils that can scratch the enamel surface.  Instead, choose wooden or silicone utensils to maintain the integrity of the coating.  Additionally, it's best to hand wash enamel-coated cast iron cookware to prevent the enamel from chipping or getting damaged.

ALUMINUM FRYING PANS