Kitchen Essentials 101: What Do You Really Need In Your Kitchen?
by Laurent O.
April 29, 2021
6 MIN READ
Many of us love to stuff our kitchen with every tool and utensil, cookware, and bakeware that we see in the shops or online. But the truth is, even if we could buy them all, we’d probably never use everything, or they’re redundant items. Unless you’re a chef, you only truly need a basic set of kitchen tools for your kitchen. So, just what do you need in your kitchen collection? 🥣
We’ll help you shop for the most necessary utensils and kitchenware with this list from our friends over at Cranberry Island Kitchen. You’ll soon realise that you don’t need more than couple hundred pounds for the essential tools your kitchen needs. Keep reading to find out how you can save money and space in your kitchen ➡️
Some pieces are nice to have while others are must-haves. Knowing the difference between the two will help keep your kitchen highly functional without crowding it with non-essentials. Here are the benefits of owning only the indispensable tools in your kitchen:
Save Space
Say goodbye to a messy countertop! A lot of kitchens are crowded with unnecessary tools that limit the space you have to work on. Having only what you truly need to cook frees up the countertop, giving you more areas to organise your ingredients and cookware.
More Efficient Work
Without too much clutter, you can navigate more graciously around your kitchen to get the cooking done straight away.
Save You Money
People think they save money by buying nice kitchen tools on sale without realising two things. One, if you’re only buying it because it’s on sale, chances are you don’t need it. Two, you’re losing money by buying something that will just accumulate dust in your kitchen. So, just what do you need in the kitchen? Stick to kitchen must-haves.
Indispensable Kitchen Items
Kitchen Knife
There are tons of knives in the market, and if you’re still starting in your kitchen, you don’t need every piece from the chef’s set. What you need instead is a chef’s knife. It’s a multi-use knife for slicing, dicing, mincing, and chopping. With basic skills in handling a knife and a chef’s knife that’s sharp enough, you’ll be off to a good start in your kitchen endeavours.
Chopping Board
A chopping board almost always goes with the knife; after all, it receives all the blows coming from the blade. It also protects the kitchen surface and allows for efficient chopping. You’ll need about two to three chopping boards for each type of food to prevent cross-contamination. Be sure to cut raw meats on a separate chopping board to fresh produce to prevent the bacteria from the meat transferring to your fruit and vegetables.
Large Pots
If you need to prepare some bigger food portions, you can never go wrong with having a large pot on hand. You don’t want your food spilling out of the pot while cooking up a storm!
Measuring Tools
Great cooking rarely ever relies on guesswork; instead, it’s a product of accuracy and precision. To produce balanced-tasting food, be sure to equip your kitchen with the necessary measuring cups, spoons, jugs and weighing scales.
Cookware
After preparing the ingredients, it’s time to cook! So, what else do you need here but the essential cookware? And, what do you need in the kitchen to cover all types of cooking? A basic set that does most of the cooking tasks includes a skillet for frying, a saucepan, a sauté pan, and pots for soup. A grill pan is also a must-have if you don’t like starting a fire for traditional grilling.
Bakeware
Nothing beats home-made cookies as you can customise the ingredients to your heart’s desire. So when filling up your kitchen with tools, don’t forget about your baking tools, including a wooden spoon, spatula, pastry brush, whisk, rolling pin, fine-mesh sieve, paring knife, and baking pan. A mixer is also a handy device to ensure every ingredient is mixed well without straining your hands. These tools are all you need to get started.
Tableware
Whether you love hosting parties in your home or serving just for your family, tableware is always a key part of the kitchen. A decent set of tableware includes platters, deep bowls for your salads, shallow bowls for holding firm veggies and other food, small bowls for sauce, a pitcher, beverage pots, glasses, cups, saucers, and shakers.
Other Kitchen Must-Haves
There are other items for the kitchen that you cannot miss having. One of which is a thermometer. 🌡️ Some recipes cook at very delicate temperatures with a minimal margin of error. To ensure you get it right, use a kitchen thermometer.
Although underrated, oven gloves are also domestic in the kitchen. Imagine holding all of your hot pots and kitchenware without one; it’s just not possible!
Conclusion
For some, the kitchen is a haven where they can express their creativity, with food as their medium. Some love to cook while others need to. Whatever your reason is for being in the kitchen, one thing holds: a well-equipped kitchen makes cooking a lot easier and the food tastier. So, what do you need in the kitchen again? Remember, the basics are enough. There’s no need to splurge on non-essential kitchenware that’ll only add clutter to your space. Find out more about kitchen essentials here.
Header image by Cooker King on Unsplash