Cast and CarbonKitchen tools judged by the task

Kitchenware

How to choose

The decisions that actually change what you end up with.

1 guides

An antique three-legged cast-iron spider skillet on a wooden table beside a steel ruler — An early three-legged skillet, made to stand over coals, shown next to a ruler for scale.Photo: Modemac · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Open source page

An empty black cast-iron skillet with long handle and helper handle on white background

How to choose

Which pan to buy first: cast iron, clad stainless or nonstick

Three skillet materials, three jobs. What each one is good at, what the nonstick coating really is, and the magnet test that settles induction.

Updated 11/3/2026 · 8 min

Photo: Evan-Amos · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons