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This read like pan recommendations for people that never intend to learn to properly cook. In which case, there is no point. All pans will perform equally badly. See the section on cast iron: >I can’t really recommend cast iron and carbon steel for most people. Cast iron/carbon steel pans are heavy (heavier than any other cookware of comparable size and thus an automatic “no” for anyone with weak wrists/arthritis/etc.), require seasoning and sometimes re-seasoning by burning oil onto its surface (seasoning can wear off, and for those of you trying to escape Teflon nonstick, I’ve found no scientific studies about the long-term health effects of eating tiny particles of seasoning), require care to avoid rust (will all members of your household treat it right, including kids who might decide to soak the pan in water?), unevenly heat up and thus require more babysitting on the stove (constant stirring), can’t be used with acidic foods or the iron leaches and give off-tastes/colors (unless you get enameled cast iron pans but those cost a lot of money and still have the other disadvantages of cast iron, plus enamel is brittle and can chip), typically have horrible handle comfort that also get hot during cooking much faster than stainless handles would, can take longer to clean since you can’t just use abrasives or scour like you could with stainless steel, and takes a long time to heat up and cool down (which can hurt unaware pets/kids and also means higher energy bills). Cast iron is fine for low-heat stovetop cooking or oven use, but it’s not all-purpose the way other pans can be. You don’t even need a cast iron pan for searing: it’s a myth that only cast iron/carbon steel hold enough heat to sear meat without collapsing in temperature. Sure, thin aluminum nonstick pans crash hard in temperature. But thicker aluminum and copper pans can match or even beat cast iron, and the aluminum/copper-based pans also spread heat much more evenly. That’s not to say that you can’t cook with cast iron on the stovetop, but if the objective is to make cooking easier so that you’re more likely to eat healthy home cooking, then most people would be better off with something lower-maintenance and easier to use It's tough to put into words how wrong this is. I'll agree on comfort, but I'll follow it up by saying it matters little. If you can't maintain cast iron because it's too complicated, you probably aren't an accomplished enough cook to be hand tossing things in the pan. Use both hands to move it, and a wooden spoon to stir with. The list goes on: requires seasoning (yes, put it upside down in a hot oven for an hour with a thin layer of oil - simpler than cooking even the most basic of recipes), re-seasoning (with non-stick this is the point where you'd throw the pan out), there have been scientific studies that show health benefits, they heat unevenly and slowly, so just add 1-2 minutes preheating, The great thing about cast iron for new cooks is that you cannot ruin them. Throw cold water in. Leave it to soak in the sink. Try your best to scratch it with a metal spatula. Leave tomatoe sauce in it overnight. In a year when your non-stick teflon pan is sticking, and your stainless steel tri-ply is coming apart, and your alumimun pan warped, get out the scrubber, scrub the rust off your cast iron, put a thin coat of vegetable oil on it, flip it over and bake it in the oven for an hour. Good as new. |