What according to you is the heart and soul of your house? Ok, the easiest thing that comes to our mind is, food. It is what binds a family together because eating together is ‘we’ time. It can be that dinner time is the only time in the day when you all sit together or it may be sitting for a quick breakfast bite on the kitchen counter is your ‘together’ time. So, if food is the heart and soul, then it will not be wrong to say that the kitchen is the repository of all the food energy. Afterall kitchen is the place where the much-needed food prep action takes place. So, here’s a quickie! When someone says kitchen, what comes to your mind? Well, ok this one was easy! Great quality kitchen utensils, kitchen accessories, and appliances that come in handy and supplies of course.
Whether you are moving into your new home, to your next apartment or just adding new stuff, a kitchen essentials list should come in very handy in all situations. Let’s do this. Let’s divide our kitchen essential list by category. These could be like
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Food Prep talk- basically the items we would need to do all the background work like different types of knives, chopping boards, measuring bowls and spoons, colanders, peelers, tongs, mortar & pestle {uh fancy!}, strainers, rolling pin, oil containers, spatulas.
Doing the actual cooking– pans {non-stick, cast iron}, cook pots, large, extra-large and medium stockpots, baking pans {all sorts, trust yourself to need all of them}, roasting rack.
Getting a little help and jazzing it up– blenders {stick blender, blender with all attachments, blender for sauces, dips & smoothies}, Instant Pot, Rotimatic {pricey lot}.
What will my kitchen do without you– storage jars, boxes in a variety of sizes {microwave & dishwasher safe in glass or plastic}, paper towels, cloth towels, baking sheets, foils, cling wraps, cleaning essentials.
Phew, that’s almost all of our kitchen in a few paragraphs! That’s a comprehensive list {almost}. But if you are asked about your absolute essential kitchen items, what will you say? We’ll come to that in a bit. But before that let’s talk a bit about things that we usually should keep in mind while buying our kitchen stuff.
What to Consider When Shopping for the Best Essentials for You?
There are few pointers that many usually swear by. Very simply put the durability of the kitchen utensils, equipment or storage. Another aspect is the make of the products. What does that mean? It means that with all the health hazard consciousness that has gained ground, if it is plastic storage that you are shopping for, looking into the grade of plastic {BPA free} it is made of is a good idea.
Will you look up reviews on the performance of kitchen equipment before swiping your credit card? Of course, yes! Take for instance if you are looking to buy a piece of one-pot cooking equipment and considering the Insta Pot, then do give a thought whether it will work optimally for your requirements or will you consider the Ninja instead.
Here’s another one. Big one. Budget. Deciding to get one kitchen equipment, tool or essential over another keeping in mind the amount you want to spend is basic to any kind of shopping. For instance, while buying a blender deciding to get the Ninja Professional Blender instead of the Vitamix Professional Series 750 Blender is because you want to stick around your budget, simple.
Ok, let’s get rolling baby! Come let us jot down the absolute essentials that apply to all our kitchens.
A set of good quality knives
How important is a good knife? Very important! Whether you are cutting up meat, chopping vegetables, slicing up fruits or cutting a loaf of bread, a knife is what we need all the time. A chef’s knife, a paring knife and a serrated knife, and you are all set. But why three kinds? Because they serve different purposes. A chef’s knife is the one you will use most of the time for most food preparation, a paring knife for smaller cutting jobs like apples or oranges and a serrated knife for cutting bread or meat. Check out this Victorinox Swiss Army Cutlery Fibrox Pro Knife Set, Knife Roll, 7-Piece, it has everything you’ll need. But if that sounds a bit pricey for you, check out the Cuisinart C77BTR-15P Triple Rivet Collection 15-Piece Cutlery Block Set, Black
Chopping Boards
Where do you do all the chopping and cutting, not on your counter of course! You need a good non-slip chopping board for this and is probably the most used item in the kitchen along with the knives. If you are swearing by a hardy chopping board, look at this Totally Bamboo 3-Piece Bamboo Serving and Cutting Board Set . If you are looking for a pricier product see the Prep Series Cutting Boards by Epicurean.
Ladles, spatulas, spoons
Whether you are stirring the soup, stew, or just want to sauté your veggies or mix the cupcake batter- a wooden spoon is irreplaceable in the kitchen. And now add to that a ladle for serving the soup or stew; a perfect combination! Just remember to use a high-quality ladle while serving these hot liquids, like silicon or steel or plastic which can endure heat up to a very high level. And yes, the spatula is another essential item that you would absolutely need for those frying, turning needs {think fish fry, slurp!}. You can grab this all-in-one Scanwood Olive Wood Utensil Spatula Spoon Ladle 3 Piece Set 12 Inch . Looking for more options, try the ÉLEVER Kitchen Utensil Set – 9 Cooking Utensils, this one has a bonus pasta server, basting brush, tongs, and slotted spoon. This one is a winner!
This is ideal for cooking the soup, stew, pasta, boiling the linguine or any dish which you want to make for a large group or maybe for slow braising the meat. You could safely put money on the Simply Calphalon Nonstick 4-Quart Saucepan or may decide on the Cuisinart MCP194-20N MultiClad Pro Stainless Steel 4-Quart Saucepan with Cover
A Skillet or flat pan
A Colander
Raise your hand if you are a salad person and like to clean every leaf before tossing it in the salad bowl! Well, the colander is for you then, for washing the veggies or for draining the angel hair or pasta. Just make sure the one you get has sturdy handles on it like the OXO Good Grips 5-Quart Stainless-Steel Colander or the KUKPO EASY GRIP-5-Quart Stainless Steel Colander with heat resistant handles.
For everything in the kitchen from tossing the salad or putting your marinated stuff in the oven or just for storing in the freezer, mixing bowls of different sizes come in handy and are very versatile. Consider buying a set with different sizes and with an airtight lid. The Gorilla Grip Original Mixing Bowls Set serves most of your purposes or check out the Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls.
Baking trays & sheets
For all your baking needs, you need sheets and trays all the time. It can be for baking a quick batch of blueberry muffins {need a muffin tray for that} or roasting vegetables or meat {baking trays}. Keep in mind to search for the ones which are easy to clean, durable, and lightweight at the same time. Calphalon Nonstick Bakeware Set is a great buy.
Measuring cups & spoons
So, every baker knows that the quintessential part of successful baking is measuring all the ingredients right. Hence the importance of measuring cups and spoons in your kitchen I recommend Stainless Steel Measuring Cups and Spoons Set. Picture this, how important these two will be when you are preparing your own cake flour at home with the help of all-purpose flour and cornstarch.
Oven mitts & towels
Small kitchen tools
The bottle opener, wine opener, baking thermometer, tongs, silicone basting brush are the small things that you might not need every day, but suddenly one day you will need it and then have to rush to the departmental store to fetch it. So might as well keep these at home in a small kitchen cabinet and quickly bring out that cork opener when your friend gets a bottle of wine.
The Last Bite
Did all that talk about kitchen essentials and associated food get your appetite bells ringing? I am sure it did! So, let’s go to the kitchen, get that chopping board and serrated knife out, chop the meat put it into the baking tray and use the basting brush to get the marinade on it. Shove it into the oven and count the minutes and aha, aromatic juicy meat is ready! But wait, don’t forget your oven mittens while getting this out of the oven!