basic kitchen essentials
In a recent attempt at spring cleaning (aka, “Why the f&%k can’t I close this drawer?! That’s it – half of this stuff goes…”), I came across the following in our “kitchen gadgets” drawer: an apple corer, 2 melon ballers, 3 ice cream scoops, 2 pizza knives, a pastry cutter, a balloon whisk, 3 cooking chopsticks, 3 tiny cheese spreaders, 3 steak knives, a wire cheese slicer, 2 hard cheese slicers, a can opener, a dough scraper, a few measuring cups and a few pieces of unidentifiable metal. As tempted as I was to just upend the whole drawer into the trash and go on a shopping spree at Bed, Bath & Beyond (”oops, how did the kitchen drawer end up in the trash can? silly me..”), I went through the mess one-by-one to see what the bare essentials were.
The corer was rusty, so out it went, and steak knives for vegetarians? Eh. I kept one for cutting angel food cake and tossed the rest. The cheese slicers and dough scraper are the spouse-unit’s, so they were saved and I had to keep the can opener even though we use it less than once a month. The melon ballers and ice cream scoops stayed since I use those for shaping anything soft into balls, from fruit to scones & cookie dough.
Here’s a list of what I consider to be kitchen essentials:
- cast-iron skillet
- small sauce pan (sauces, custard, etc.)
- large stockpot (for pasta, soups, etc.)
- wooden spoons & spatula (bamboo is great here & a renewable resource)
- thin plastic/silicone spatula (eggs, fish, delicate things)
- pot holders or oven mitts
- wooden chopping boards* (again, bamboo is good)
- a butcher knife
- a really nice vegetable knife (I really like Global’s veg. knife)
- a paring knife
- kitchen shears
- immersion hand blender w/ chopper attachments**
Here’s some things I consider “nice to have”:
- garlic press
- tiny grater (for ginger, zesting, nutmeg, etc.)
- mandoline (it’s just so fast to use)
* A note about the wooden chopping boards: I know many people go with plastic or other surfaces since the less-porous materials are said to be better for not breeding bacteria, etc. I’ve always used wood and have never had a problem. We have some cheap Ikea boards that are light and quick to pull out and easily replaceable, but my favorite is a 3-inch-thick solid round I brought back from Malaysia. I’d suggest checking out Asian grocery stores or a local Chinatown for something similar. For care of wooden chopping boards, it always helps to oil them with a food-safe oil for that purpose, and every once in a while sand it down with fine grit sandpaper and re-oil.
** If you don’t have or want a food processor, I highly recommend getting a hand blender with chopper attachments. We have a Braun one and it rocks! I use the balloon whisk attachment for anything that needs to be whisked, the immersion blender for soups and purees, the mini-chopper for baby food, quick chopped onions, etc., and the big chopper for anything you would do in a food processor. In fact, my old food processor was made obsolete by getting an all-in-one hand blender.
