The Basic Equipment For a Perfectly Stocked Kitchen — How to Get Started
So, you need to stock your kitchen from scratch. Maybe you’ve just moved into a new place and have no supplies to your name, or maybe you have only just gotten into cooking and had never properly stocked up before. Hey, maybe you happened to run out of everything at the same time, I don’t know your story. Honestly, the reason for your predicament doesn’t matter one jot. What does matter is what you can do about it. If only there was some kind of article or blog post out there which could guide you through the process in an entertaining yet informative way. Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll find one somewhere.
Alright, now that we’ve got today’s facetious joke out of the way, let’s get on with the matter at hand. First, we’ll tackle the equipment side of things, then we’ll look at ingredients and seasonings in a future article because I realised that this article was getting too long.
As odd as it sounds, I love kitchen knives. Good kitchen knives, that is. In my last article that I wrote an embarrassingly long time ago, I mentioned that a decent, well sharpened knife is probably the most vital tool in your arsenal. Even an indeterminate amounts of months later (whoops), I still agree with this assessment. While a collection of specialised knives is a wonderful thing to have on hand, it’s not strictly necessary. My recommendation is to instead get a half-decent all-purpose chef’s knife and work from there. If your circumstances allow and if you’ll be cooking often, then something from the Robert Welch Signature collection would serve you well, especially if you manage to get one of their knives on sale. No, I’m not affiliated or anything, I just really like their knives. Also the link shows you the kind of knife I’m talking about. I personally prefer larger knives, because I have massive hands, but that size will comfortably deal with vegetables, meat, cheese, or whatever else you’re chopping, without feeling unwieldy. Some people prefer different blade shapes for their everyday knife, so bear that in mind. As well as a chef’s knife, it might be good to have at least a bread knife (for cutting bread, shocking, I know) and either a paring knife or a smaller kitchen/utility knife, for more delicate work. But if you’re going to have one good knife, go for a chef’s knife as you can use it for almost anything.
A knife isn’t the only equipment you’ll need, of course. Unless you really like the idea of damaging your countertop and knives alive, you should also go for a chopping board. I prefer wooden chopping boards, because they have a slight amount of “give” and are less likely to blunt or damage your blade than glass boards. Plastic boards can also work, they’re cheaper and are also soft enough, but plastic boards get more damaged over time than good wooden boards. Also, wooden boards are prettier. I also recommend that you buy at least two chopping boards, so that you can use one for raw meat and the other for things that won’t give you food poisoning.
Other cooking tools that you’ll find useful include:
- Wooden spoons for stirring: Wooden spoons are ideal because they’re heatproof and won’t damage your pans. Also, let’s not forget the aesthetic.
- Serving spoons and ladles: Wood, plastic, or metal spoons are fine. I recommend a slotted spoon, a ladle, and an ordinary serving spoon to get started.
- Whisks: There are two main kinds of whisks that I use (although there are others), the round whisk (balloon whisk or piano whisk) which is great for whipping and the flat whisk (sauce whisk or vinaigrette whisk) which is good for deglazing and mixing up small amounts of ingredients. Get one of each, or try a more all-purpose French whisk.
- Peeler: Yes, you can use a paring knife to peel things but I hate it and it hurts my delicate hands, so just get a peeler.
- Tongs: Lest we forget the glorious tongs. They’re so useful for moving hot things about without burning yourself and are ideal for serving. Get at least one set of the long barbeque style tongs, but I also recommend some shorter salad tongs.
- Spatulas: There are a few different types of spatula, and they’re all incredibly useful. First, there is the rubber spatula that is used in baking and scraping ingredients from the sides of your bowls. Then, there’s what’s known as a “fish slice”, which is a metal spatula with slots. This is useful for turning and flipping fish, meat, and whatever else you fancy flipping. Finally, there’s the flat wooden spatula which can also be used to flip things, or to scrape the bottom of your pan for all that good stuff. As usual, I recommend one each, as they will all make your life easier.
- Potato masher: This is useful if you ever want to eat mashed potatoes. Even better, you can also use it to mash other things. Isn’t life wonderful?
- Microplane/grater: If you can only get one of these, get a grater with different sizes of grooves. But I also recommend getting a microplane or zester, which is very useful for zesting citrus peels or easily grating ginger or garlic.
- Kitchen scissors: These are fantastically useful for cutting through packaging, twine, or even meat and some veg. Just snip your spring onion and bacon down to side without even bothering with knife skills.
- Can opener: While ring-pulls are slowly taking over the world and slicing knuckles everywhere, some cans still need a can opener to access the deliciousness inside.
- Sieve: Do I really need to explain why being able to sieve things would be useful? You can separate solids from liquids, and even make sure your flour is weevil free if you live in the 1950s. I use three sizes of sieve, which I’ll imaginatively describe as “small, medium, or large”. I recommend that you get at least one sieve.
- Stick blender: You know what’s smaller than a blender and does the same thing? A stick blender. It’s not as powerful and won’t give you a wonderfully smooth product, but it also takes up almost no space and is easier to clean.
- Digital scales and measuring jugs: You know, for measuring. I eyeball a lot, but even I recognise that these come in handy if you want certain things to turn out right. This is especially important if you’re new to cooking.
- Knife sharpener: It’s not technically a cooking tool, but if you want sharp knives (which you do), then you’ll need to maintain them. I recommend a pull-through sharpener, as it’s easy to use and will keep your blade sharp if you use it semi-regularly.
Now, there are so many more tools that you can use in the kitchen, but you should have most situations covered with that collection. You should definitely be able to prepare a full roast dinner with gravy and whatever trimmings. However, if you want to actually cook the food, you might need pots, pans, and trays.
I can go through plenty of pots and pans when I cook, especially if I’m not washing up, but you don’t need all that many to get started. First off, frying pans. I recommend two frying pans, an ordinary (or cast iron) one and a non-stick one. If you only get one, get the ordinary frying pan as this is the best tool for searing. Yes, non-stick is incredibly helpful and easy to clean, but you can just use this stuff called “fat” to make sure your food doesn’t stick. I also recommend at least two deep-sided saucepans, one large and one less large. That’s the hob (or stove-top) covered, but what about the oven? For our roast dinner, we will need at least one deep-sided roasting tray, along with a baking tray. Your life might be easier if you have two of each, but you can survive with just the one. If you ever plan on cooking pies or cakes, which you should, then also grab yourself a pie tin/dish and a cake tin. Finally, while it’s not strictly necessary, get a Dutch oven. These ceramic pots are fantastically versatile, you can use them for stews, casseroles, braising, roasting, and even for baking bread. Actually, it is necessary. Get one. I command it.
So, you can cook the food. You can chop and prepare the food. But what about mixing the food? For this, you’re going to need mixing bowls. Mixing bowls should be made either out of glass or non-reactive stainless steel. Ceramic can also work, but it’s comparatively very heavy and can be expensive. Plastic is cheap, but it stains, doesn’t react well to heat, and it retains oil, making whipping egg whites a pain. I recommend two mixing bowls, a big one and a mid-sized one, for your big and mid-sized cooking needs respectively. While you’re bowl shopping (not bowel shopping), see if you can find some oven-safe glass dishes. These can be used both to cook your food and to serve it, as they look a bit nicer than an array of dangerously hot pots, pans, and trays.
This isn’t an exhaustive list of every single piece of kitchen equipment out there, nor is all of it strictly necessary, but it will help you to cook most meals. If you feel like I’ve missed something out, like a wok (it hurts me too) or a rolling pin (I have no regrets), then get one. The more you cook, the more you figure out what you would find the most helpful.
