Pots & Pans

A baking sheet is often called a sheet pan or bun pan and is typical for having a large space for baking and low rims around (about 1″).

It is perfect for baking cookies, roll up cakes, buns, bars and more.

On the other hand, it is not suitable for baking products which have excessive liquids (for those select a baking dish, chafer pan, or other options – read more here).

You can buy multiple sizes, shapes, and surfaces (for example, special sheets for cookies), but I recommend that you select the commercial grade version since they are usually cheaper and perform better than those made for home use.

If you go the commercial route, your kitchen will be more organized since they are stackable. You can also purchase useful and perfectly fitting accessories for commercial baking sheets which expand their versatility:

• Cooling rack (which create a great food container) – read more here
• Parchment paper (precut exactly for the size of your baking sheet) – read more here
• Silicone mats (fitted exactly to your baking sheets) – read more here
• Lids – read more here

In commercial baking, you have these three most common sizes of baking sheets:
¼ size (9 ½ x 13″) – buy only if you often prepare very small batches
½ (medium) size (13 x 18″) – best for households too, fits most ovens
Full size (18 x 26″) – great for large batches, but only fits very large home ovens

Note: In our recipes, we often require a ½ baking sheet, but you can use any other kind of sheets you already have too.

I would recommend you buy a few. I have about 30 and sometimes, especially during Christmas baking, I still run out of them since I use them for storage too. In my opinion, 6 should be a decent starting number for all families, and since they are very affordable, it should be manageable.

A brazier can be also called a braising pot or rondeau. It is a very wide but short pot (much shorter and wider than a sauce pot). It is a pot with the most surface area which brings all sorts of advantages for certain cooking techniques that require easy access to the bottom. Similar to a sauce and stock pot, brazier’s always have two handles (one on each side) to lift the pot with both hands.

They are great for:

1. Cooking side dumplings.
2. Stewing and braising (read more about all kinds of cooking techniques here)
3. Searing meat and vegetables
4. Simmering over low heat with a small amount of liquid or other similar applications
5. Cooking in an oven.

How to select the best brazier?

• Best is to purchase a large brazier pot (12 QT) with a bottom diameter of 14” that is big enough to boil large dumplings, but still fits into the majority of home ovens and lets you effectively perform all other tasks that you would like your brazier for.
• Buy a professional grade NSF certified brazier – it will last a lifetime in most households
• Buy a brazier made from stainless steel with an aluminum-clad bottom for best performance, heat distribution, and durability.
• Buy a brazier that are ovenproof – can be placed in the oven giving you even greater versatility.
• Always buy with matching lids.

General info about pots here.

Bundt cake, sometimes called Babovka (Czech name), is delicious and fun to make, but to make it, you need a real Bundt cake pan. The great news is that you can use it for other kinds of desserts too (for example, pudding with fruit). You will always get this nice round shape with the pattern on top and a hole in the middle that will impress everyone.

It is perfectly enough to have just one in any household. Most convenient is the full size that is usually 4” tall and 8 ½” wide since more recipes are written for this size (including all my recipes). It is good to select a non-stick version to make sure that you will never have a hard time flipping your Bundt cake out. I would recommend professional grade that will provide durability as well as long lifespan (you will not have to worry about the coating peeling away).

In my recipes I often ask for collapsible cake pan (also called a springform pan or cake pan), since it is very easy to remove cake from them after baking. You can go ahead and use any other kind of cake pan you prefer. I don’t recommend buying non-stick versions since they are usually more expensive, often do not provide good enough non-stickiness, and sometimes the nonstick layer peels off or chips overtime. Aluminum versions would be the way to go since they provide a decent quality for a low price, and with good care, will last forever. I would recommend that you have two collapsible cake pans: one smaller, preferably 9″, and the second larger, preferably 12″ (most of my recipes call for a 12” pan). A cake pan should be preferably 3” deep. If you like to prepare Japanese cheesecake or any other kind of cake baked in a water bath, you can also consider buying one solid (non-collapsible) 9″ cake pan, which is 3″ deep.

A double boiler can be also called a water bath when it’s important to prepare more heat sensitive contents, such as hollandaise sauce or chocolate coating. It can be prepared using a small or medium sauce pan along with a medium mixing bowl. The mixing bowl can be glass, stainless steel, or ceramic (as long as it fits on top of your sauce pan).

A more comfortable, but also most expensive option would be a precise heat mixing bowl attachment for your KitchenAid (see section “Additional KitchenAid Attachments” here).

Read more about how to prepare a water bath here.

Fry pans are often called frying pans or skillet pans, and are is typical for their short edges (shortest from all the pans) and slightly angled edges that allow you to effectively flip your ingredients without utensils (if you so desire).

They are great for:

1. Frying meats, steaks, and fish.
2. Making grilled cheese, pancakes, or crepes
3. Searing
4. Cooking any meal that doesn’t have a lot of volume to it

Read more about cooking techniques here.

How to select the best fry pan?

• Best is to select a large one (12” or more) and if your budget allows, it is also great to have a small pan (with a diameter of 7-8″), which will be used for preparing eggs or smaller portions.
• Buy a professional grade that is NSF-certified – it will last a lifetime in most households.
• Buy fry pans made from stainless steel with aluminum-clad bottoms for best performance, heat distribution, and durability.

Buy fry pans that are oven proof – can be placed in the oven giving you even greater versatility.

General info about pans here.

A muffin pan is also called a cupcake pan since it works for both kinds of products. For muffins, I prefer a jumbo muffin pan (with about 5 oz capacity in each compartment), which is in accordance with my muffin recipes. I believe that muffins should be larger for greater satisfaction. You can use a regular muffin pan (with about 3 oz capacity in each compartment) or any other size muffin pan (for my muffin recipes) by simply having more muffins or adjusting the recipe.

For cupcakes, I prefer a regular-sized pan since they also have frosting, and it will be more a convenient for portion size. Whatever size you decide, make sure that it will have properly sized and fitting liners. Best is to buy liners in bulk since each one will be significantly cheaper.

When you are selecting your pans, you have to decide if you go the way of nonstick pans or another kind of pan, such as stainless steel, aluminum, or cast iron.

Nonstick pans are a great solution for beginners since they don’t stick as much and are very low maintenance. On the other hand, they are not as durable: they have problems reaching higher temperatures, and some researchers associate some of them with increasing the risk of cancer.

Other groups of pans require seasoning from time to time, but perform better, can handle higher temperatures, and generally speaking, are more durable.

There are many kinds of pans but let me talk about 3 most common kinds that will cover all your needs:

1. Fry pans

• Shorts edges from all pans.
• More specific info about fry pans below this section or here.

2. Sauté pans

• Edges are often narrow and taller than on a fry pan.
• More specific info about sauté pans below or here.

3. Stir fry pans (works)

• It is the deepest pan of all with the tallest sides.
• More specific info about stir fry pans below or here.

How to select the best pans?

• Buy a professional grade that is NSF certified – if it’s made for restaurants, imagine how long it will last in your household with lighter usage (most likely your kids will gladly inherit your pans 😊).
• Buy a pan made from stainless steel with an aluminum-clad bottom for best performance, equal heat distribution, and great durability.
• Buy pots that are oven-proof – can be placed in the oven for greater versatility.

Which to buy?

• Every household should have at least one large fry pan and one large sauté pan (each with a diameter of 12″ or more) and also one small fry pan (with a diameter of 7-8″), which will be used for preparing eggs or smaller portions.
• Optionally, it is great to also have one large stir fry pan, but if you budget is limited you can substitute a stir fry pan with a sauté pan for most applications (12″ or larger).

There is no need to emphasize that pots are a very important part in any kitchen, not just for general cooking, but also for simmering, braising, stewing, steaming, or even frying (if you don’t have a deep fryer available).

Kinds of pots

There are many kinds of pots, but here I’ll describe the four most common kinds that will be most useful for your household:

1. Sauce pan

• Even though it is called a pan, it is classified as a pot. It has a handle like any regular pan. The main part is taller than any regular pan and looks more like a sauce pot –just with a pan handle.
• More specific info about sauce pans below this section or here.

2. Sauce pot

• Usually lower and wider.
• More specific info about sauce pots below or here.

3. Stock pots

• Usually taller than wider.
• More specific info about stock pots below or here.

4. Braizer pot

• Very wide but short pot (much shorter and wider than a sauce pot).
• More specific info about brazier pots below or here.

How to select the best pots?

• Best is to choose a professional grade, NSF-certified pot- it will last a lifetime in most households.
• Buy pots made from stainless steel with aluminum-clad bottoms for best performance, heat distribution, and durability.
• Buy pots that are ovenproof – can be placed in the oven giving you even greater versatility.
• Always buy pots with matching lids.

Why is better to avoid nonstick cookware?

Non-stick cookware is a great option for beginners since food does not stick on its’ surface while cooking, but the downside are these disadvantages typical for non-stick cookware:

• Less durable – shorter lifetime.
• Problem with consistent distribution of temperature – poor performance.
• Problem reaching high temperatures when needed.
• Some research associated Teflon surface cookware with increasing the risk of cancer.

It is good to have a variety of kinds and sizes to be able to prepare all kinds of meals:

• I would recommend having at least 1 small sauce pan (2 QT) and 1 medium sauce pan (4 QT), and if your budget allows, you can also purchase a large sauce pan (6 QT or more) that will be very convenient too.
• It is good to also have one larger sauce pot 8 – 12 QT. Rather than a smaller sauce pot, purchase more sauce pots that are better for smaller sizes.
• You need at least one stock pot, 8 QT or more.
• Best is to purchase a large brazier pot (12 QT) with a bottom diameter of 14” that will be the most convenient size for households and still fits the majority of home ovens.