The price of cast iron cookware can vary depending on the brand, size, and type of cookware.  Generally speaking, if properly maintained, cast iron cookware is an investment that will last a lifetime.  While the initial cost may be higher than other types of cast iron cookware, the longevity and performance of cast iron make it worth the purchase.  Additionally, shopping for cast iron cookware on sale or on sale can help you save money while still providing your kitchen with high-quality cookware.

Made from: aluminum, which heats up and cools down quickly, coated in several layers of a nonstick polymer known as PTFE (which is less toxic than Teflon)

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.

Copper cookware is best known for its luxurious finish and excellent heat conductivity, as well as for its price—a small copper saucepan can fetch around $200, while a stockpot can cost upwards of $1,000. This makes copper relatively uncommon as a cookware material, though many cooks swear by it.

Whereas skillets are commonly made from cast iron or stainless steel, giving it its rugged and robust nature. You’ll also be hard-pressed to find a “cast iron frypan”, but you’ll often find “cast iron skillets”. Even though stainless steel is one of the common materials used to make skillets, cast iron is the more popular option. 

    Regardless of size, cast iron skillets are a kitchen essential that can handle a variety of cooking tasks.  Whether you're cooking for one person or more, there's a cast iron skillet to suit your needs.