How to Choose the Right Pan & Pot Size [1]

나에게 딱 맞는 스텐팬, 냄비 사이즈 선택법

18 cm or 20 cm?
2 litres or 3.5 litres?

Cookware sizes can look straightforward until you actually have to choose one.

A larger pan may seem more versatile. A smaller pot may look perfect for a one-person household. But the most useful size is not simply the biggest, smallest, or most popular.

It depends on how many people you cook for, how much food you usually prepare, and what you cook most often.

Here is a practical guide to finding the right size for your kitchen.

1. Start with how much you actually cook

Household size is a useful starting point, but it does not tell the whole story.

Someone cooking for one may prepare three meals at once. A couple may regularly cook large portions of pasta or curry. A family may use a small saucepan every morning for eggs or reheating.

Before choosing a size, think about your three most common meals.

How many portions do you normally make?
Do you mostly fry, sear, boil, simmer, or make one-pot meals?

That will usually point you towards the right size much faster than household size alone.

2. Choosing a Stainless Steel Frying Pan Size

With a frying pan, the usable cooking surface matters more than the number printed on the box.

Food needs enough room to make good contact with the hot surface. When ingredients are packed too closely together, moisture can build up, causing the food to steam rather than brown properly.

As a general guide:

• 22 cm: Small portions, one egg, or simple side dishes.
• 24 cm: A practical everyday size for one or two people. Good for eggs, vegetables, small portions of meat, and quick meals.
• 28 cm: A versatile choice for couples, families, or anyone who prefers more cooking space. Better suited to several pieces of meat, stir-frying vegetables, or most family meals.
• 30 cm and above: Useful for cooking larger quantities, but may feel too large and heavy for everyday home cooking.

The most important question when choosing a frying pan is:
“How much food needs to sit flat in the pan at the same time?”

3. New to stainless steel? Do not start too large

If this is your first stainless steel frying pan, a very large pan is not always the easiest option.

Larger pans have more surface area to heat and can feel heavier when moving, washing, or controlling the temperature.

For most home cooks, 24 cm and 28 cm are practical, comfortable sizes to start with. Both give you enough space for everyday cooking without making heat control unnecessarily difficult while you get used to preheating, adding oil, and adjusting the temperature.

4. Choosing a Stainless Steel Pot Size

With pots and saucepans, diameter alone can be misleading.

A 20 cm pot may be shallow and wide, or tall and deep. Both may have the same diameter but hold very different amounts of food.

That is why it is worth checking both the diameter in centimetres and the capacity in litres.

As a rough guide:

• 1 to 2 L: Good for sauces, milk, noodles, eggs, reheating, or small portions.
• 2 to 3 L: A useful everyday size for one or two people. Suitable for soup, vegetables, grains, or smaller pasta portions.
• 3 to 4 L: More flexible for couples and small families, especially for curries, soups, stews, and larger portions.
• 5 L and above: Better suited to family meals, larger batches, stock, pasta, or cooking ahead for several meals.

The shape matters too:

• A wide, shallow pot can be useful for braising, reducing sauces, or one-pot dishes.
• A deeper pot is often better for soup, pasta, stock, or dishes with more liquid.

So when comparing two pots, do not stop at “20 cm” or “24 cm”. Check the litre capacity as well.

In Part 2, we will look at some of the most common cookware sizing mistakes, along with induction compatibility and how different stainless steel constructions can affect the way your cookware performs in everyday cooking.