How to choose cookware for limited kitchen storage

Measure the cabinet opening, handle span and lid space before deciding that a set will fit.

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Measure the space the cookware actually uses

Measure the cabinet's depth, width and usable shelf height, and the door opening the pans have to pass through. Allow for hinges, shelf lips and whatever else lives there. Then compare with each pan's full length, handle included, and its height, not the size on the label.

Box sizes aren't pan sizes. Several makers publish a set's shipping dimensions but not each pan's length with its handle. If you can't find that length, treat the fit as unknown until you can measure.

Only some sets are made to nest

Some sets are designed so the pans and handles stack inside each other. All-Clad's Essentials and GreenPan's Reserve Pro say so, and Staub's stackable set stacks three pans under one shared lid. That's more than pans that happen to fit one inside another.

Storage racks are a different answer. Caraway includes pan racks and a lid holder with some sets, but its pans don't nest. The finder's stacking filter counts only sets the maker designed to stack, not sets that come with racks.

Count the space for lids and duplicates

Lids can take more room than you'd expect. Work out whether each one can sit on its pan, in a rack or on the inside of the cabinet door. If you stack coated pans, put protectors between them as the maker asks; they protect the pans and don't count as pieces you cook with.

Keep only the shapes and duplicate sizes you use. A second skillet earns its space if you often cook with two at once; a near-identical extra pot probably doesn't. Add your cabinet measurements and your questions about each pan to My kitchen. Your list stays on your device, and you can print it or download a copy without an account.

How these comparisons are made

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Updated · The Well Stocked Kitchen