What type of pan is best for lazy cookers?

MJBrune@beehaw.org to Food and Cooking@beehaw.org – 38 points –

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.

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How is a stainless steel pan ‘particular’?
I have several and I don’t baby them, I throw them in the dishwasher etc.

Personally I moved away from teflon back to steel and I cant go back. In addition to no longer having to baby it to keep the thing from going from nonstick- to stick and being able to scrub that badboy. On top of that going from plastic and silicon spatulas back to a metal spatula is just incredible.

That said if youre a novice cook and dont want to clean dishes then a stainless steel can sometimes require some scrubbing(though you can usually mitigate this by adding water while hot and essentially deglazing the shmutz off

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You need to heat it before putting anything in and you need to use enough fat/oil to keep things from sticking. Non-stick is more forgiving on this front. It can also be harder to clean

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