Name your cookware 'essentials'
I'm remodeling my kitchen, and I'm almost done. I've bought an induction stovetop so I have to replace all my cookware. Up until this point I've pretty much used hand-me-down pieces and wedding gifts. At the time I got all this stuff, I was not vegetarian and knew next to nothing about cooking.
Now that I'm meat free and shaping up to be a pretty decent cook, I want some quality in my kitchen. I need a good knife and some pans. My minimalist nature (as well as my super tiny kitchen) demands that anything I buy be suitable for multiple purposes. I've been looking around on the internet to see what most cooks consider 'must-haves' for the kitchen, but find that even most of that stuff isn't necessary if you don't cook with meat.
Right now all I have a small Le Creuset dutch oven and a 7 quart stock pot that I'm willing to keep. Everything else has been tossed.
I'm pretty sure I'll be buying an All-Clad stainless 2 quart saucier and a Lodge cast iron skillet (the biggest I can comfortably hold).
Beyond that I'm really not sure.
So. What do you have in your kitchen that you absolutely could not live without? The more things you use it for (whether that is it's intended purpose or not), the better! Also feel free to name any electrical appliances that you have found make your life complete ;D
You mentioned knifes....a good chef's knife is what I would put 1st on my list. It's the knife I use the most. It is really worth investing in. There are a thousand knifes out there....so it is kind of easy to get carried away with knifes but the chef kinfe is the one used the most.
Secondly, for me a coffee grinder that is dedicated to grinding whole spices into powder comes in very handy.
Thrid I would say a good food processor can save you a lot of time and effort cooking. You don't have to go top of the line. My own is a cheapy....but it works for me living alone. Just get the best you can afford and for how much you will use it.
As for cookware....kind of depends on what you like to cook. I would recommend a nice stainless steel stock pot. Very versitile...use for making veggie stocks, soups, cooking pastas, cooking batches of beans to freeze..etc. A couple of teflon fry pans....I don't really care for teflon because you can't heat it too high but it really works best for low-fat veggie cooking. A couple of stainless steel sauce pans with good fitting lids come in handy also.
Good luck with the new kitchen! I am so jealous! Do we get pics?????
definitely a food processor, I use mine almost every day, or a vitamix if you can afford it! Look at TJ Maxx and/or The Home Goods store, they have lots of expensive brands at a big discount. I have bought tons of kitchen gadgets, knives, pans, etc there
I LOVE my combo cooker
http://www.castironcookware.com/lodge-combo-cooker.html
it is a pan, a pot, and a dutch oven. we have a whole set of pans from my parents, but we really most use this.
I LOVE my combo cooker
http://www.castironcookware.com/lodge-combo-cooker.html
it is a pan, a pot, and a dutch oven. we have a whole set of pans from my parents, but we really most use this.
We have this too and love it!
We cook almost all of our meals (maybe go out once or twice a month if that), so I've stocked up on good-quality kitchen stuff. My essentials:
1) Good chef's knife and paring knife (both of mine are Wustof). Besides a bread knife, these are the only knives I own and don't see the need for any others.
2) Food processor. I have two different sized ones depending on what I'm making, but if I had to give one up, I'd keep my larger one (I think it's 7 or 10 cup...can't remember). They are both Cuisinart and I LOVE them. Perfect for making dips, sauces, purees, and so much more!
3) Cast iron pans! I rarely use my other ones because I love my cast iron so much. I have a large Dutch oven, the combo cooker that hiimkelsi posted, and some smaller skillets. They're all Lodge brands. I use them all!
4) A Cuisinart combo rice cooker/veggie steamer and it's awesome. I just got this for Christmas and love it. The steam from cooking the rice cooks the veggies and the rice turns out perfect every time! Plus, when you're making a more involved meal, it's nice to not use stove space for a rice pot and steamer pot. I've also used the steamer to cook tempeh.
I also have a decent blender and a hand mixer that I use occasionally. I wouldn't say they're "essentials", but they're nice to have when I need them. I don't think I'll ever really have a use for a nice stand mixer (and I do A LOT of baking) or a Vitamix, but some find them invaluable.
Ah! I love kitchen stuff!! I'm jealous of your renovation!
@ Jane M: LOL. Thanks for taking an interest in my kitchen. It's a tiny little thing but I'm so proud of it. Sadly though, no one I know is really into cooking so they just politely nod when I start talking about my plans. I'll have pictures soon I hope ???
As far as knives go, I've decided I love both Shun and Global. I know I should probably grab a chef's knife (I have two but neither is any good any more), but I have to admit to being drawn to the lighter and smaller santoku. And just yesterday my husband brought home a nakiri that he won in some sort of contest. It seems awfully tiny, but it's hella fun to hold. Thought I'd give it a try for a while, since it's a pretty nice knife (Calphalon Katana series).
Coffee grinder sounds like a good idea. Thanks for that.
No teflon for me--I have a parrot. Non-stick coatings never last long with me anyway.
@ lubimiller: I have a tiny 3 cup processor, but I think the only time I use it is when I need to puree a sauce.
@hiimkelsi: That's multi-functional alright. Exactly what I'm talking about. Any idea how heavy it is? People look at me funny when I talk about how much I love cast iron. I was mentioning it to my mom the other day and she off-handedly remarked that my grandfather left a ton of cast iron behind when he died but that they tossed it b/c no one wanted it. :'(. I didn't tell her that she had probably thrown away a small fortune, but I did yell are her for not offering any of it to me.
@mdvegan: I don't know why, but I just never find German knives comfortable. I think they were designed with larger hands than mine in mind.
Does bamboo offer a certain advantage over other wood cutting boards? I never really put much thought into what type of wood to use for cutting.
I'm so happy to have people to talk about cookware with.
I'm a minimalist cook, too! And I have a tiny kitchen!
1) GET THE CAST IRON! I :)>>> my cast-iron skillet. Best housewarming gift ever.
2) A garlic press! I cook with a ton of garlic.
3) I WISH I had a food-processor. Maybe when I get married...
4) Spoonulas! I use them for everything from stirring curry to icing a cake. They're very useful.
http://www.chefdepot.net/graphics14/color_spoonula_scraper.jpg
5) A stainless steel pot with a lid. Something big enough for steaming veggies, but small enough for just heating up soup for one.
6) A veggie steamer rack thing that fits inside above-listed pot.
7) An enormous cutting board.
Seems like you have everything else on my list: giant stock pot, good knife (which I don't have, mine is cheap and crappy), etc.
Re: cutting boards
I think the bamboo has the advantage of not really absorbing water, so it won't warp or crack like some wood cutting boards can. And bamboo is harder than most woods, so I think they don't get as scratched? I don't have one, but that's what I've heard.
the combo cooker is definitely heavy. i cant even pick up the skillet with one hand to scrape the food out. but you can either hold it with two hands and dump out the food, or spoon it out. both work just fine. i can definitely pick them up with one hand to move them around the kitchen and such, but not to hold it in one place over a plate for an extended amount of time.
Ummmm.....kinfes.....I go over knife catalogs like some women go over fashion magazines.....drool. One of the visiting chefs let me use one of his knifes once....gorgeous japanese knife...made of the same stuff as samaria swords.....loved it....wanted it....looked it up on line....YIKES!!!!!! Over $500!!! I shall continue to dream.....
A hand blender (immersion blender), pref one with a chopper box for chopping small amounts of onion etc.
A good garlic press for when you only need a clove or so.
An oil can for olive oil. (or whatever oil you use)
Good knives, including a small, well-balanced paring knife for fruit etc.
Decent peelers.
Pyrex measuring cups: 1 c, 2 c and 4c.
Small plastic containers with TIGHT lids for things like sauces etc. I know a lot of people are anti-plastic these days but they are good for small amounts.
An electric coffee grinder for grinding spices.
I hope you donate your 'old' stuff to goodwill and don't just throw it away ;)b
I agree with pretty much everything on here, plus a kick-ass hand mixer or stand mixer. I know some people who love their stand mixers, but I find hand mixers are way better with a smaller amount of ingredients than stand mixers. So, I love my hand mixer for making frosting, but I aspire to get a stand mixer for making bread (because you can use a dough blade).
small things I like: garlic press (get one that's easy to clean...), potato masher thingy (not just for potatoes!), pasta spoon/fork/dealy.
My bf has a stock pot with a twist-on lid that has holes so you can strain noodles while keeping the food in the pot. I've found this to be really handy, considering the amount of noodles we tend to eat. I also use said pot for boiling potatoes (-> mashed potatoes, potato salad, whatever), but the problem with the pot is you can't make anything that needs to be covered (rice, some stews, etc) in it.
Wow a lot of good ideas, several I haven't thought of before.
When y'all talk about blenders/food processors/mixers/etc, do any of you use those wand type immersion thingies? Appliances tend to take up too much space for something I so rarely use, but I could see something like that as being handy, especially if I could switch out attachments.
So much cast iron love! I'm a Southerner so I grew up with a large cast iron skillet that just sat on the stove all day. Yet nowadays nobody seems to like the stuff. I begged for cast iron as a wedding present and instead got a ton of flimsy teflon coated pans that I've long since had to replace. I am worried about how much weight my pot rack can hold before the ceiling collapses, so I'll have to limit myself to just a couple of pieces.
I'm really surprised no one has mentioned a wok. People seem to love those things.
Also does anyone own a ceramic knife, especially a paring knife? I saw one in a store and thought 'Brilliant!'. Those things are too damn small to sharpen, so I always end up buying cheap ones and tossing them when I use them up--but that seems awfully wasteful.
I can tell you one thing not to waste your money on.....a rice cooker.
I bought one and it sucks.
I can tell you one thing not to waste your money on.....a rice cooker.
I bought one and it sucks.
im so confused now. everyone over in the rice cooking thread is raving about them and making me want one, now this. :-\
What kind did you get Erin? And what was wrong with it? I loooove mine, and my mom's is pretty good too.
Wow a lot of good ideas, several I haven't thought of before.
When y'all talk about blenders/food processors/mixers/etc, do any of you use those wand type immersion thingies? Appliances tend to take up too much space for something I so rarely use, but I could see something like that as being handy, especially if I could switch out attachments.
I mentioned the immersion blender, and I highly recommend the Braun version that comes with the chopper box and beater attachments. There's a fancy upgrade with a "vaccuum box" to seal your leftovers in but I think that's just gratuitous, it's a lot more expensive than the regular ones.
What kind did you get Erin? And what was wrong with it? I loooove mine, and my mom's is pretty good too.
Its a rice cooker/steamer. The steamer part works awesome, but every time I've tried to cook rice in it, the rice burns and becomes imbedded in the pot. I think its made out of aluminum, at least thats what it looks like. And no, it wasn't an expensive rice cooker, but still....
What kind did you get Erin? And what was wrong with it? I loooove mine, and my mom's is pretty good too.
Its a rice cooker/steamer. The steamer part works awesome, but every time I've tried to cook rice in it, the rice burns and becomes imbedded in the pot. I think its made out of aluminum, at least thats what it looks like. And no, it wasn't an expensive rice cooker, but still....
:( That's a bummer. The steamer thing sounds pretty cool though. Like for steamed dumplings? Mmm..
PPC: I really recommend one. The one I have came from an Asian market and I'm pretty sure it has a non stick pot in it. It's teeny, but makes enough rice for one or two, and eeee I love it.
Stick blender! Thank you, Dreena Burton, for educating me on why this is so essential! ;)b
Also - regular blender, food processor, Wusthof chef's knife.
I use 1+ of these items every single day.
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