Every budding chef should choose to invest in cookware sets that include the basics; at least one frying pan, a stock pot, casserole dish and a number of different sized sauce pans. Purchase these items and the possibilities in the kitchen are endless.

If you had to choose just one piece of cookware to have in the kitchen, which would be the most suitable? Like the members of The Fellowship of the Ring, you’d probably take a larger frying pan. If there had to be a Big 3 of cookware, then they would be the frying pan, sauce pan and stock potgood, old-fashioned pots and pans. All of this is just to create some sort of hierarchy of utility when it comes to cookware.

A frying pan enables you to cook a plethora of different dishes. If you partner a good quality frypan with an equally adept sauce pan, you have the basis a simple yet highly effective set of cookware. Saucepans can be used for just about anything. Are you a big fan of stews or casseroles? A sauce pan is an effective vessel for cooking or reheating such delicious recipes. For more specialised recipes, a Dutch oven or casserole dish is recommended, but don’t underestimate the value of your humble sauce pan.

This is just a very broad overview of the most fundamental kitchen gear. As can be imagined, there are a variety of specialised pans out there: chef’s pans, crepe pans, egg poachers, grill pans and saute pans, to name some of the more well-known ones. The same can be said for saucepans. Among the special-duty pots are double boilers, pasta pots and inserts, mussel pots and wokswhich occupy a space somewhere between pot and pan. Knowing the uses of these items will go a long way towards bringing out your inner chef.