What the quarts mean

Quarts, not servings

We size pots in quarts of liquid because that number does not lie. A "serves twelve" label depends on who the twelve are; 30 quarts is 30 quarts on any porch. Learn the bands once and every listing on this rack reads at a glance.

The bands

• 9 to 20 quarts. Fish fries and weeknight-scale cooks. A fry pan or small pot heats fast, uses little oil and packs away in a cabinet. This is the size that gets used most often, if not most famously.
• 29 to 44 quarts. The turkey class, and the everyday boil for one family. Tall enough to stand a bird upright with oil to spare, small enough that one person handles the pot alone.
• 60 to 80 quarts. One-sack territory. Crawfish, crab and shrimp for a yard full of cousins, with room for the corn and potatoes riding along.
• 120 to 160 quarts. The big irons. Two sacks, church fundraisers, game-day lots. At this size the basket and a second pair of hands stop being optional.

Aluminum and stainless

Most of the rack is aluminum: it is light for its size, spreads heat quickly and shrugs off the bumps of yard duty. Stainless steel costs more and weighs more, and repays it by keeping its shine and standing up to rougher scrubbing. Either metal boils the same water; pick by how you clean and store, not by the flame.

When in doubt

Buy the size for the biggest cook you actually host, not the biggest you can imagine. A pot one band up from your usual crowd covers the surprise guests without turning every boil into a two-person lift.