Upgrading Your Cookware? The Pieces You Actually Need (and Can Skip)
Here's something worth hearing before you spend a cent upgrading your cookware: you don't need more cookware; you need the right cookware. A drawer full of pots and pans you never reach for isn't a collection; it's clutter.
People who cook well every day, day in and day out, tend to rely on the same three or four well-made pieces for years. So if you're upgrading your cookware, the job isn't to build a set. It's to work out which pieces will earn their spot every week for the next twenty or more years.
We recommend running every item on this page you’re considering through one question: “Does this cookware change what I can cook, or would skipping it change nothing?”
This question turns your research from kitchen shopping into an order of operations for upgrading to the best saucepans and pots for everyday cooking.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- The Priority Order - What to Invest in First, What Can Wait
- The Lid Question Nobody Budgets For
- Building It Piece by Piece vs a Starter Set
- Ready to Upgrade?
- Frequently Asked Questions
The Priority Order - What to Invest in First, What Can Wait
Three pieces carry almost all daily cooking in an Australian kitchen: a frypan, a saucepan, and a casserole dish.
Everything past these three kitchen items should earn its place via your actual cooking habits. We have three tiers of buying consideration you can follow:
|
Piece |
Priority Order |
Buy it when... |
|
Tier 1: Buy first |
||
|
Frypan or Multi Frypan (24 to 28cm) |
1 |
Always. Go searing-focused or liquid-heavy depending on how you actually cook most nights |
|
Saucepan (18 to 20cm) |
1 |
Always. It's the one you'll reach for on an ordinary weeknight |
|
Casserole or Dutch Oven (28cm) |
1 |
Always. It rounds out the three pans you’ll reach for the most |
|
Tier 2: Buy second |
||
|
Second saucepan (24cm Multi Saucepan) |
2 |
Once you're regularly cooking for more than two people, or requiring multiple pans per meal |
|
Roasting pan (32 to 40cm) |
2 |
Once entertaining or roasting whole cuts becomes a regular thing |
|
Larger casserole (32/37cm) |
2 |
Once your current casserole runs too small for how you cook |
|
Tier 3: Specific items |
||
|
3 |
Only once that particular dish is a weekly regular, not an occasional one |
|
|
A second colour collection |
3 |
Once an existing piece needs replacing, t because a new shade caught your eye |
Most Australian households use the frypan, saucepan, and casserole or Dutch oven most weeks of the year, while specialty pans like grill or crepe pans can sit unused for months at a time. If you're trying to compare saucepans before you buy, that daily-use question is the one to answer first, not capacity or colour.
The Lid Question Nobody Budgets For
Most individual Bessemer pans don't include a universal lid. A lid is a separate purchase, sized to match your pan (18 to 37cm), and it unlocks the Oven-Effect that turns a frypan, multi frypan, or casserole into a stovetop oven.
The Oven Effect causes steam to condense on the domed lid and drip back down over the food, basting it automatically while it slow-cooks, so a braise or a one-pot roast keeps moisture in without you needing to check or stir it every few minutes.
A matched universal lid gets you:
- Self-basting, hands-off moisture retention on slow cooks
- Stovetop-to-oven flexibility in one vessel
- Fewer interruptions to check, stir or add liquid
Not every piece needs a lid. A crepe pan, for example, is built for fast, high, uncovered heat, so you don't need to budget for a lid there.
Forgetting to add a lid is an easy cost to miss, so consider what meals you’re cooking and budget for a universal lid if you need one.
Building It Piece by Piece vs a Starter Set
Buying piece by piece gives you full control over exact sizes, but a starter cookware set gives you the daily-use core essentials and a matched lid in one purchase.
Here are some Bessemer cookware products by use case to help you decide what’s right for you:
|
Approach |
Best for |
What it gets you |
Trade-off |
|
Piece by piece |
Someone who knows their exact cookware gap, for example, replacing one worn item |
Exactly what's missing |
A lid is a separate add-on for each piece |
|
3-piece Starter Set (Multi Frypan + Casserole/Roaster + Universal Lid) |
Building your collection from zero or gifting to someone moving out of home |
The core essentials plus a matched lid in one purchase |
Less control over exact sizes than buying individually |
|
A bigger household or frequent host |
Extra vessels and multiple lids for Oven-Effect across more pieces |
The largest single spend, worth it only if all the Tier 1 and Tier 2 pieces are ones you'll actually use |
If you're extending a cookware collection rather than starting from zero, we recommend staying within your existing colour collection (Black/Ebony, Red, Teal or Stone). A prestige pan set reads as considered when every piece matches. That's a small thing to check before buying, and it's the difference between a collection that looks planned and one that looks like a series of unrelated purchases.
Ready to Upgrade?
Upgrading your cookware doesn't have to mean buying a whole set, and it definitely doesn't mean buying everything at once. Ask the same question we asked at the start on every piece: “Does this piece change what I can cook, or would skipping it change nothing?”
If you're starting from zero or helping someone move out of home for the first time, a Starter Set gets you the core and a matched lid in one purchase. If you're adding to prestige cookware you already own, buy only the specific cookware gap you've identified.
Either way, the goal is the same: a kitchen where every cookware piece gets pulled out often enough that you'd notice if it were gone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to buy a lid with every Bessemer pan?
No, a universal lid is sold separately from most individual pans and is sized to match, from 18cm up to 37cm. A lid is only essential for pieces used in slow, one-pot cooking, such as a multi frypan or casserole dish, where Oven-Effect self-basting makes the biggest difference.
What's the difference between a frypan and a Multi Frypan?
A standard frypan is built for everyday searing and shallow frying, while a multi frypan has higher sides for liquid-heavy one-pan meals like braises and curries. If your cooking leans more toward saucy, simmered dishes than quick searing, the multi frypan is a great first buy.
Is it better value to buy a starter set or individual pieces?
A starter set is great value if you're building from zero, since it bundles the daily-use core essentials with a matched lid at once. Buying individually makes more sense once you already own most of the core and only need to fill one specific gap.
Can Bessemer cookware go in the oven, and up to what temperature?
Yes, Bessemer cast cookware is oven-safe (generally up to 180°C, but check the specific temperature limit listed on the individual product), which is part of what makes Oven-Effect cooking possible with a matched universal lid. That limit comes from the Bakelite handles and lid knob, not the metal body, so it holds consistently across the range.