What is an item below 100 bucks that everyone should own?

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A cast iron pan. Not only under $100 but will last generations. I just passed the one my father used and gave to me down to my Son when he moved out.
- if you go garage/yard selling, and arent afraid to do a little work.. You can built an entire castiron collection by buying rusty cast iron.
  Then take it home, hit it with steel wool to knock the rust off down to bare metal, wash it, dry it, slather them with crisco, and throw them on a grill until they stop smoking.
  
  My wife recently told me we have too much cast iron...like that is even possible. Lol.
  I have a couple older Griswolds with a slight warp though. Going to give them to a friend of mine that loves to cook and has a gas stove. The rocking on our electric stove isn't worth it.
- You can buy a stainless steel pan in IKEA for like 30 bucks or something, it will last forever too and you don't need to do anything to it to avoid rust. And you can cook anything in it, unlike cast iron, which doesn't tolerate highly acidic foods.
  
  I don't have any fears cooking acidic food in my cast iron, I just clean it out afterwards like normal. People way over baby cast iron pans for no good reason.
  
  Mine was $60 and it's noticably better than my cheaper smaller one. Likely due to thickness, potentially due to steel quality. Or maybe just being bigger and having more thermal mass? Anyway, no more non stick for me ever again minus the 8" egg pan.
  
  Well, I'm not sure about prices in US, I lived in Europe, maybe IKEA stuff is cheaper here.
- Similarly, a carbon steel wok. Well maintained, it will last a lifetime.
- Also great for smashburger flattening

968 comments