Over time, wear and tear on kitchen equipment is to be expected, especially if you cook every day. Take nonstick skillets, for example, with their slick coatings that eventually peel and degrade with use. That’s why we recommend grabbing a cheap pan if you really can’t part with nonstick. Other kitchen gear, however, should last you virtually forever, like a sturdy Dutch oven or stainless steel pan.
Kitchen gear upgrades don’t necessarily have to be expensive either—our favorite time-tested cast iron skillet from Lodge is only $14 right now. In the spirit of finding out what kitchen tools are truly worthy of the buy-it-for-life seal of approval, we asked Serious Eats staffers for the best upgrades they’ve made. Their picks include the KitchenAid bowl-lift stand mixer, a Wüsthof chef’s knife that’s lasted over 25 years, and more.