{"id":1204,"date":"2017-01-19T13:17:33","date_gmt":"2017-01-19T13:17:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.abasiccook.com\/?page_id=1204"},"modified":"2017-01-20T14:03:43","modified_gmt":"2017-01-20T14:03:43","slug":"basic-kitchen-equipment","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.abasiccook.com\/?page_id=1204","title":{"rendered":"Basic Kitchen Equipment"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first apartment I moved into (about a hundred years ago!) was a tiny unfurnished place with a very small kitchen. \u00a0Not only was it completely empty – not even a teaspoon to be found – but there was hardly any space to store any kitchen equipment. I was on a tight budget and had to make do with the absolute essentials. Over the years, my kitchens have got bigger and I have accumulated more and more equipment. It seems that no matter how big the space, I can quickly (over)fill it with kitchen paraphenalia! \u00a0In truth though, you can get by and cook most recipes with very little equipment.<\/p>\n

I have set out a list of what I have found to be essential kitchen items and then a further list of “nice to have” items if kitchen space and budget permit.<\/p>\n

\"KitchenEssentials1\"<\/p>\n

Small Kitchen Utensils<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Knives<\/b> – small, medium and large and a serrated bread knife. \u00a0Buy the best quality you can afford as they can last you a lifetime if you look after them. \u00a0They do need to be sharp (there really is nothing worse than a blunt knife – and ironically, these are more dangerous than sharp knives) and they also need to be sharpened regularly. You can buy a steel or a knife sharpener to do this.<\/p>\n

Vegetable<\/b> Peeler<\/b> – although you could get by with a knife to peel vegetables, a good peeler makes short work of vegetable peeling and is useful for making thin slices of cheese or fruit and vegetables.<\/p>\n

Can opener<\/strong><\/p>\n

Corkscrew\/bottle opener<\/strong><\/p>\n

Whisk<\/strong> – a large one is essential and an extra, smaller one, is a nice to have for whisking up dressings.<\/p>\n

Wooden spoons<\/strong><\/p>\n

Spatulas\u00a0<\/strong>– A large one is very useful and a second, smaller one, is nice to have.<\/p>\n

Good scissors\u00a0<\/strong>– useful for 101 things including cutting herbs, jointing chickens, cutting the tops off packets etc etc etc.<\/p>\n

Fish slice<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ladle and slotted spoon<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tongs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Potato Masher<\/strong><\/p>\n

Garlic press<\/strong> – you can make do with a knife but a press is useful.<\/p>\n

Grater<\/strong> – either a box grater or micro plane with large and small holes (large holes are ideal for grating cheese and root vegetables for coleslaws and other salads. \u00a0Small holes are ideal for grating parmesan and chocolate and zesting oranges and lemons)<\/p>\n

Mixing Bowls<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"KitchenEssentials4\"<\/p>\n

Large, medium and small mixing bowls<\/strong> – these can be plastic, glass\u00a0or crockery. \u00a0A very large bowl is essential for mixing cake mixture, biscuit and bread dough and large salads. \u00a0It is handy if smaller ones are microwave proof, if you have a microwave.<\/p>\n

Measuring Tools<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"KitchenEquipment9\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For me, kitchen scales, measuring cups and spoons and measuring jugs<\/strong> are essential – especially if you plan to bake. \u00a0For general cooking you can get away with estimating quantities but baking is more of a science. \u00a0I have tried to\u00a0give the weight and cup measurements for\u00a0all recipe ingredients on the site.<\/p>\n

There are many many different types of kitchen scales. \u00a0I prefer a small electronic set that measures grams, ounces, mls, and fluid ounces.<\/p>\n

Other Items<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"KitchenEquipment10\"<\/p>\n

Rolling pin<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oven gloves<\/strong><\/p>\n

Colander<\/strong> for draining vegetables<\/p>\n

Sieve<\/strong> – A large one is essential if you plan to bake. \u00a0A small one is not essential but is useful if you need to sift some icing sugar or cocoa over a dessert or cake for decoration.<\/p>\n

Tins, Trays and Oven Dishes<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"KitchenEssentials6\"\u00a0 \u00a0\"kitchenEquipment11\"<\/p>\n

Large roasting dish<\/strong><\/p>\n

Baking trays<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oven dishes\u00a0<\/strong> – for lasagnes and puddings, amongst other things.<\/p>\n

Muffin tray and cake tin<\/strong> – if you plan on baking these things. \u00a0Cake tins come in all shapes and sizes but if you only buy one, then a 20cm (8″) round non-stick tin with a loose\/removable bottom is the best choice.<\/p>\n

Wire rack <\/strong>–\u00a0<\/strong>useful for cooling baking<\/p>\n

Chopping Boards<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"KitchenEssentials5\"<\/p>\n

Ideally you should have separate chopping boards<\/strong> for raw meat, raw fish, vegetables and cooked products. \u00a0This reduces the risk of cross contamination of bacteria from\u00a0raw meat (e.g. salmonella) to\u00a0other products. If you can’t manage this, then you need to make sure you wash the boards thoroughly after each use with good detergent.<\/p>\n

\u00a0It is useful to also have a bread board if space and budget allow and small boards are useful for chopping small amounts and herbs.<\/p>\n

Pots and Pans<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"KitchenEssentials2\"<\/p>\n

Small, medium and large, frying pan and a casserole dish –<\/strong>\u00a0All with lids. \u00a0In my view, you should buy the best quality you can afford. \u00a0Like a lot of things, if you buy great quality it will save you money in the long run. \u00a0A good pot should last a lifetime. \u00a0Whether you go for cast iron,\u00a0aluminium or another material is a matter of personal preference. \u00a0Cast iron holds and conducts heat very well so is great – it is however very expensive and very heavy. \u00a0Aluminium is the opposite – cheaper and lighter weight but not as great at holding and distributing heat. \u00a0I have gone for cast iron for casserole dishes and the odd pot and the rest of the pots I have are aluminium. \u00a0As for the frying pan, a large based non stick frying pan is useful.<\/p>\n

Electric Appliances<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"KitchenEssentials8\"<\/p>\n

\"KitchenEssentials5\"<\/p>\n

Electric beaters\u00a0<\/strong>– these are not particularly expensive and are a godsend in the kitchen. \u00a0You can make do without them but they will save a lot of time and very sore arms!<\/p>\n

The next labour saving devices are a\u00a0food processor<\/strong> and\u00a0standing mixer<\/strong>. \u00a0If you can afford them and have space, I recommend making the investment. \u00a0My mother and mother-in-law are still using mixers that \u00a0they were give as wedding presents many decades ago (and I am continuing the tradition with my mixer!). \u00a0While they are costly, a good one will be built to last and will give tireless service. \u00a0They are fabulous for mixing batters, and\u00a0cake and cookie mixtures, whipping egg whites and kneading bread dough.<\/p>\n

Food processors tend to be cheaper than mixers and though they do different things are just as useful in the kitchen. \u00a0They save a lot of manual labour in terms of chopping and blending. \u00a0Most come with several different blades so you can chop food into different sizes and shapes. \u00a0My one came with all sorts of attachments (many of which I have never used) so you can make coleslaw, grate cheese, slice vegetables etc.<\/p>\n

If you can only afford one, unless you do a lot of baking, choose the food processor.<\/p>\n

kettle<\/strong> – Not just useful for tea and coffee.<\/p>\n

Cleaning Products<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

After cooking up a storm, you will need tea towels, a dish brush and cloths for the clean up operation. \u00a0If you don’t have a dishwasher you will also need a dish rack for draining dishes.<\/p>\n

Non Essential and Specialist Items<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

If budget and space permit, some additional useful items are:<\/p>\n

Stick blender<\/p>\n

Mini food processor for herbs and spices and small quantities<\/p>\n

Wok<\/p>\n

Steamer<\/p>\n

Pasta machine<\/p>\n

Sushi mat<\/p>\n

Paella dish<\/p>\n

Tagine<\/p>\n

Cake stand<\/p>\n

Quiche pan<\/p>\n

Ice Cream maker<\/p>\n

Juicer<\/p>\n

Cookie cutters<\/p>\n

Piping bag and nozzles<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first apartment I moved into (about a hundred years ago!) was a tiny unfurnished place with a very small kitchen. \u00a0Not only was it completely empty – not even a teaspoon to be found – but there was hardly any space to store any kitchen equipment. I was on a tight budget and had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":116,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1204","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/PeyIgc-jq","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abasiccook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abasiccook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abasiccook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abasiccook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abasiccook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1204"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.abasiccook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1204\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1308,"href":"https:\/\/www.abasiccook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1204\/revisions\/1308"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abasiccook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abasiccook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}