The Only Things Your Kitchen Needs
- Curry Forest
- May 25, 2020
- 5 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
Most good kitchen items are meant to last you a lifetime.
Let me start by saying you don't need a gas stove, microwave AND an oven. Having one of the three is plenty! There is nothing you can make using one that you can't make using the other. In fact, you don't even need a gas stove, microwave or oven. If you have either a pressure cooker, a rice cooker or a slow cooker, you are good to go.
You don't need serveware that is separate from your cookware or prepware.
You also don't need other appliances like a refrigerator, toaster oven or grill. Sure, having them would be wonderful. What is life without a few indulgences? But, remember that these are not things you NEED, but things you WANT!
Most of the kitchenware listed below will focus on NEEDS and not WANTS. In fact, you will find that you may not even need some of the things on this list.
Most good kitchen items are meant to last you a lifetime (or at least a very long time) and are covered by a full lifetime warranty (or at least a prolonged warranty). So when you choose an option, ask yourself three questions. Is it made of non-toxic material? Will it last me at least ten years? Do I love it enough that I will want it in my kitchen for at least ten years?
THE LIST:
1. A sauté pan:
Find a flat-bottom sauté pan that is at least 10-inches wide and 3 inches deep, or can hold at least 3-quarts of food. You don't need any other pot or pan if you have one large sauté pan. I use mine to make eggs and toast, pancakes and crepes, soups and stews, rice and noodles, pizzas, salads, fritters, cakes and other desserts and even drinks. You can even cook for several people with just one pan!
Find one that is both stove-safe and oven-safe!
2. A casserole dish with a lid:
Find a casserole dish that is at least 10-inches wide, and can hold 2.5-quarts of food. Everything you can cook in a sauté pan, you can also cook in a casserole dish (except deep-fried foods). You may not need both a sauté pan and a casserole dish. Having one of the two is plenty. But, having both will allow you to make more than two complex dishes and save you time! Your casserole dish is also your mixing bowl, serving bowl and storage container.
Find a casserole dish that is microwave-safe and oven-safe!
3. A strainer:
A large fine-mesh strainer or chinois (conical sieve) will allow you to make the finest powders, the creamiest soups, the silkiest desserts free of lumps or grit.
4. A knife:
Find a big and sharp enough knife that can cut a pumpkin, a potato and a tomato. If it can handle these three veggies, it can handle anything. In fact, if you have one good knife, you won't need a separate can opener, bottle opener or peeler!
5. A cutting board:
Find a cutting board that can be used for more than cutting. I use the back of my large cast iron pizza pan as a cutting board, but you can also use a griddle pan or wooden pizza paddle! Look for a cutting board that is either stove-safe, oven-safe or microwave-safe.
6. A stainless steel spatula:
Find a stainless spatula that has enough curvature that it also serves as a ladle.
7. A wooden turner:
Turners make it easy to flip crepes and other delicate foods. Make sure to get a slotted turner so that you have one utensil that is slotted, and one that is not (spatula). Having both a spatula and a turner also makes it easy to serve salads, pastas and noodles. A slotted turner, also does the job of a colander. Get a wooden turners so that it doesn't scratch the surface of the pan.
8. A pasta bowl:
If you have a large pasta bowl which is at least 8-inches wide and 2-inches deep, you won't need a plate AND a bowl. You can use a pasta bowl to eat everything from cereal in the morning to stir-fry at night! If the pasta bowl is large enough, you can use it exactly like you would a mixing bowl, which gives you a third dish to cook with!
Find a pasta bowl that is oven-safe and microwave-safe. Or oven-safe and stove-safe.
9. A spork:
There are two types of sporks. One is a fork shaped like a spoon, and another has a spoon on one side and the fork on the other side. I recommend the latter. Some even come with a butter knife on the handle (That's an accident waiting to happen). If you are not comfortable with a spork, get a spoon and a fork. Don't overthink the small things.
10. A pressure cooker:
Pressure cookers are the most versatile multi-cookers that were ever created. If you open a pressure cooker recipe book, you know that there is nothing one can't do using a pressure cooker. It takes just a few minutes to boil the hardest of beans. It's the quickest way to make rice. It allows you to cook several dishes at once. You can bake a cake in it. You can make yogurt in it. Some people have even successfully made pancakes in it. Apart from gas stove pressure cookers, there are also electric ones. They are both easy to use and come with their own advantages! You can't go wrong with either option.
Can you do without a pressure cooker? Sure. But, having a pressure cooker eliminates the need for several other pots and pans. It also opens up a whole world of options that is sure to enrich your cooking repertoire.
11. A Compact Blender:
Just like the Pressure cooker, this is another thing on the list that is more a WANT than a NEED. You can easily argue your way out of it. But, you can justify it as a NEED if it does more than chop, blend, whip or grind your food. If you can use it as a coffee/tea/smoothie cup, as a microwaveable container to cook with, a storage container to save your leftovers, a strainer, it is a NEED! This is your only lunch box, coffee mug, cereal bowl and storage container you will need! If you don't want a blender, get yourself a microwaveable lunchbox that can be used to hold both a soup and a sandwich!
12. You Pick:
Everyone has a kitchen item they can't do without. It could be something as small as a coffee mug or something as large as a toaster oven. If you are attached to it, or feel helpless without it, it is a NEED. Your kitchen needs to be your place of comfort, where you go to renew yourself and let your creative juices flow.
NOTE:
Throughout this post, I say FIND or GET instead of BUY, because buying is not the only way to get your hands on things. For example: there are apps and websites where people give away used and unused items. It's okay to buy things, but why limit yourself to that one option, when there are so many other ways to find beautiful and useful things.
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