# How many saucepans does the average American household have? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 28, 2017, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-saucepans-does-the-average-american-household-have/783216 "2017-03-28T13:30:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-saucepans-does-the-average-american-household-have/783216/21 "2017-03-28T22:00:35Z")
Assuming general stovetop cookware, rather than specific sauce pans. More than many restaurants. As older relatives died all the good stuff in the houses was taken(including cast-iron pans) and the rest of the back-up, damaged, or worn out cookware was boxed up and moved to a basement. Over time this conglomerated at other basements as more people moved or died this eventually ended up as many large boxes at my parents house. When they moved, I was the closest around(and no way in hell was anybody going to sort through it or just throw it out, because depression in the '20s) so I got all the boxes. Plus I once rented a huge house,and had many roommates through about 10 years, who often left stuff behind, plus all of my own upgrades, and experiments in cookware over the years I probably have 500+ pounds of various stuff designed to be set on burners. 3/4 of it is total crap, and the rest is about 8 pieces I use regularly, maybe 6 more used occasionally, or backup. And somewhere in some of those boxes are probably very cool things, that will not be seen till after I die ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-saucepans-does-the-average-american-household-have/783216/22 "2017-03-28T22:10:16Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > A saucepan is a deep cooking vessel with a flat bottom and one long handle. If it has 2 small handles it’s a pot. If it’s deep but bowl shaped, it’s a saucier. If it’s shallow, it’s a pan. I was going to say I had only 1, but I guess I have 3. And yes, they came as a set. I have never used any of them to make a “sauce”. At least not one that is separate from the dish it is part of. The small one, I use for heating up left-overs. The large one I use for making popcorn. The medium one also makes popcorn (if I feel like not having too much) and sometimes I use it to cook udon. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-saucepans-does-the-average-american-household-have/783216/23 "2017-03-28T22:20:24Z")
I have three proper saucepans (scr4 def) that I regularly use (one with a matching lid), another larger one for boiling pasta water, an old-fashioned pressure cooker which can be used for a very large one, and two frying pans, including a cast-iron. All are quite old but still very serviceable, none are teflon (any more). Only three of them get near-daily use. ---
**Author:** ![Periwinkle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Periwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Periwinkle)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-saucepans-does-the-average-american-household-have/783216/24 "2017-03-28T22:21:18Z")
There are 2 that came in an All Clad set that I bought a few years ago, and 3 from the Revere Ware set I got when I got married. Plus one little nonstick one with a pouring spout that is very handy to heat up soup. Each of the aforementioned sets has a pot, plus I have a Le Creuset Dutch oven and a pasta pot. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-saucepans-does-the-average-american-household-have/783216/25 "2017-03-29T17:22:01Z")
I represent the true _American household_[sup]TM[/sup] in that I have no freaking clue how many saucepans we have. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-saucepans-does-the-average-american-household-have/783216.md?page=1)