For those who are just starting out in cooking, a cookware and bakeware set is obviously mandatory. However, one doesn't need to go over the board shopping for cookware and bakeware items. There are some utensils which are more important than others and one cannot do without them even for the most basic recipes. The cookware can always be expanded as and when one feels more comfortable with cooking and needs new vessels to try out different recipes. The most basic cookware can consist of 7 15 items. The cost too varies anywhere between 100 dollars to an excess of thousand dollars depending on what you want as the material, size or the brand.
The most important items are obviously the frying pans or the omelet pans with a non-stick surface. Whether you want to make a quick and easy 2-egg omelet or fry a vegetable, you need this frying pan. A large frying pan would be good for flipping of the veggies, adding lot of oil etc. and is made of angled edges and shallow surface. Skillets and saut pans are required when you want to go for searing and crisp fries. Pressure cooker is indispensable as part of your cookware set, whether it is a small 3 liter cooker or a 7 liter cooker for families. Whether you want to cook vegetables for healthy diet or rice, pressure cookers are handy for a lot of recipes. Stainless steel cookers are the best choice costing anywhere from 50 dollars and above.
Another item which is part of basic cookware sets is the sauce pan or saut pan. These pans which can be small or large are useful for stir frying, cooking small amount of liquids or whole means. The edges of these pans are slightly higher than the normal frying pans and straighter too.