Pros

• Nice dimensions
• affordable

Cons

Base Diameter: 10.25″
Height: 5.7″
Material: 3-ply Stainless steel
Size: 8 qt.
Weight: 4.5 lb.

To determine a testing standard, we decided that the pot needed to be large enough to accommodate four pounds of chicken wings, two onions, two carrots, and four celery stalks. We ultimately landed on 8 quarts as our benchmark minimum volume for a stockpot. Anything smaller will have a limited versatility and capacity for larger scale tasks.

Bon Appétit’s deputy food editor, Hana Asbrink, who ate miyeokguk, Korean seaweed soup, nearly every day for over a year after giving birth to her daughter, contributed her insights. We also consulted Renee Erickson, James Beard Award–winning chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author; Tyler Malek, pastry chef and cofounder of Salt & Straw; and Angelo Sosa, chef at Kembara and Tía Carmen in Phoenix.

To get a sense of how efficiently each stockpot transferred heat, we timed how long it would take to bring 64 oz. of water to a boil. We used an induction burner at the exact same setting for each pot.

Actual dimensions can differ significantly, even for pots with the same advertised volume. That’s why we measured the actual maximum volume of each pot. We determined this by filling each stockpot with water and then placing their lids on top, to displace any excess liquid. We then poured that liquid in a Cambro with volumetric measurements and marked the fill line by brand. We repeated this process with each pot.

We sautéed a mirepoix or sliced onions in each pot to see how they responded to heat, how evenly they browned, and how they reduced vegetables. Early stockpot tests included pasta, beans, and stock, but we found those results less informative than the measurements and heat tests we emphasize now.

All pans are sold by size, but the actual dimensions can vary from brand to brand, meaning one 8-quart stock pot can be quite different from another. For this reason, we take our own measurements for more reliable comparison. We measure the dimensions of each pot, and weighed them using our own scale as well. This is why you might notice discrepancies between the specs in our tests and what a brand reports on their website.

We looked for easy-to-grip handles, a generously sized cooking surface, and a tight-fitting lid to minimize evaporation. The taller a stockpot is the more difficult it is to handle and store, so we looked for 8-quart stockpots with broad and squat designs. We should note that for larger volume stockpots this preference is reversed, as you’ll want a base that can still fit over a standard stovetop burner.

Chefs across the board recommend stainless-steel stockpots over the cheaper aluminum models ubiquitous in restaurant supply shops. “The absolute worst is when the pot starts to warp on the bottom; a trait that almost anyone who has worked in a commercial kitchen has seen” Tyler Malek says. Malek has dealt with the warping issue a lot in his capacity as the pastry chef and cofounder of ice cream maker Salt & Straw. “The only way to avoid this is to buy thick bottomed, stainless-steel pots. Stainless steel also tends to heat more evenly and consistently, which is especially helpful when trying to get finicky recipes like caramel sauce to come out perfect every time.”

Aluminum stockpots can also leave a bad taste in your mouth—literally. “Oftentimes, when you cook with acidity in an aluminum pot, the metal taste transfers and the pans tarnish quickly,” says Angelo Sosa, chef at Kembara and Tía Carmen.

One final problem with aluminum stockpots: They don’t work on induction cooktops. Aluminum isn’t compatible with the technology. If you want more on the pots and pans that will work with induction you can check out this guide.

We also don’t recommend nonstick stockpots because you shouldn’t use high heat on nonstick coatings (Teflon or ceramic); high heat can cause them to break down. Nonstick cookware can also scratch easily, which is not good news in a pot that you need to deglaze and scrape.

You’re looking for the same things in a stockpot that you’d look for in saucepans or frying pans: responsiveness to changes in heat and even heat distribution. However, since stockpots tend to be used for much longer sessions than many other pieces of cookware, their ability to withstand hours of heat on the stovetop—and effectively distribute that heat to all parts of the pot—is even more important. A quality stockpot should also be oven-safe so it can stand in for jobs that call for a Dutch oven in a pinch (another reason you don’t want a nonstick stockpot).

There are a few other details that the experts look for as well. Are the base of the pot or the handles welded on? “It’s really important to get handles that are riveted rather than spot-welded. They will hold up longer and are way less likely to fall off the pot,” says Renee Erickson, chef and owner of Sea Creatures restaurant group in Seattle.

Another hallmark of a cheap stockpot is a seam between the sides and the base of the pot. After repeated use, that warping mentioned by Malek can cause the seams to actually begin to leak, and no one wants a pot that functions like a colander.

As a result, the pots we recommend are the most expensive of the lot we’ve tested, but that’s because they are the ones built to last the hours and hours on a hot stove we expect a stockpot to handle.

We appreciated pans that came pre-seasoned, but didn’t rule out unseasoned pans entirely, as many professional high-quality carbon steel pans come this way. For those that did come pre-seasoned, we took note of the quality of that seasoning based on how it performed out of the box. We also observed how well seasoning builds on a pan after several rounds of cooking.

We looked for pans that had consistent heat distribution across the cooking surface with no noticeable hot or cold spots. We also took note of the thickness of the pans—too thin and the pan is prone to scorching, too thick and the pan will take longer to respond to heat changes and weigh more.

The shape and form factor of the pan is more subjective. Some people prefer a wider cooking surface so you can fit more food in the pan without crowding, while others prefer wide, shallow-angled sides at the expense of a smaller cooking surface so that food is easier to flip and maneuver with a single hand. Ultimately we think it’s a matter of consumer choice and what sort of experience an individual wants out of their pan. But for pans designed to have relatively small cooking surfaces, you can always go a size up to make them a little more comfortable to use—a 12″ de Buyer, for example, instead of a 10″ one.

Maneuverability and comfort were the most important factors for us to compare in terms of how these pans measured up design-wise. The overall weight factored in as well, but wasn’t a be-all-end-all guideline, as handle design and shape can change how heavy a pan actually feels in the hand.

While Lodge cast-iron pans have a great reputation, we unfortunately noticed some issues with the carbon-steel skillet. We found the initial seasoning lacking in quality, with observable chips right out of the box. The pan had a rougher surface compared to traditional carbon-steel pans, which contributed to its sticking problems.

The Vollrath, one of the most affordable carbon-steel pans, we found to be a bit too thin. It had a tendency to burn food, which also frequently stuck. The handle got particularly hot early on into cooking.

If you see “blue” in the name of a carbon-steel pan, that means it comes pre-seasoned, so you don’t have to go through as much of a process, adding layers of seasoning yourself. This pan was middling in terms of performance. It was a bit sticky out of the box, and heat distribution was a little uneven across the cooking surface.

This pan comes with a really excellent pre-seasoned nonstick surface, and it’s both lightweight and affordable. However, we also had an issue with this pan being a bit too thin, as it totally scorched our chicken thighs five minutes into cooking.

This pan has an almost wok-like shape with wide, rounded walls. We appreciated the stainless-steel handle, but reviews were mixed on the particular curve of the handle. Morocco, in particular, felt it was too severe.