Don't worry. This is a short list, much shorter than you will find in a cookbook.
The following items you can safely buy at a thrift store:
A round glass deep dish pie pan
A square glass 9" baking pan
A rectangular glass 9x13" baking pan
A large metal bowl and a glass or heat proof ceramic bowl - about 10 cup capacity
1 large (4 qt) stainless steel/aluminum core pot with a lid that fits and a flat bottom so it cooks evenly. Don't get a thin pan - they scorch food. You may not be able to find one at a thrift store; you may have to get one new.
1 1 qt pan like the steel/aluminum one above. This should be easier to find.
A 9-12" cast iron skillet - just not too rusty and fairly smooth inside. Take it home and rub it with oil and put in the oven on 200 degrees to dry out and cure 20 minutes. (Measure your stove, before you go shopping; some won't take a pan bigger than 10 or 11")A very large pot with a lid - large enough for a big chicken. Make sure it is heavy and has a flat bottom. The best are stainless steel and aluminum or enameled cast iron. Make sure the lid fits.
A colander
A soft plastic spatula for non-stick pans
Short metal tongs that can be used for salad or turning a steak over (without poking it and losing its juices) and that also can go in the dishwasher.
A slotted metal spoon
A metal spatula with a thin, sharper edge
A hand powered can opener - get the kind with plastic coating the handles and make sure the blades are not rusty.
A soup ladle
Two 2-cup measuring cups, made of glass and with clearly visible markings. Note that it is easier to use measuring cups in individual sizes, especially for baking, which can require very precise measurements. But when you are just starting out, you can promise yourself that you will use one for dry ingredients and one for wet ingredients and that you will get down to the counter level (rather than lifting the cup up or looking down at it) to look directly at it and see if your measurement is what you intend it to be.
Note the large number of glass items. Glass does not flake off. It heats evenly. It is relatively inexpensive and safe to buy used. You can cook all kinds of things in it - cakes, desserts, entrees. Occasionally something will get burned on it and you will want those blue Brillo pads to get all of it off.
These you need to buy new:
A 10" teflon pan (Essential for eggs. Do not buy these used, since the coating is fragile and these pans tend to show up after someone has unthinkingly scrubbed the finish about off. When you buy one new, use it only for things that really do stick and clean it gently, with a sponge, not a scouring pad. Also, do not stack it in the sink with other things that may scratch it on top of it.)
A 12" fry pan with stainless steel inside and aluminum in the middle layer - or an enameled fry pan
A Santoku knife, which has some rounding for rocking, is usually very sharpenable and which is large enough to function as a chef's knife
A serrated bread knife
A paring knife
A parer/peeler
A whisk (not the kind with a turning wheel). I put this in the new column because the used ones tend to rust or to have the handles come apart.
A cutting board - listed in the new section because the older and more scratched up they are, the more likely they are to harbor bacteria or to get bits of the board itself in your food. Get a plastic one so you can put it in the dishwasher or pour boiling water over it in the sink to sterilize it. Preferably get 2 that don't look alike so you can use one for meats and one for produce.
Nice to have:
An electric Wok (you can cook all kinds of things in it!)
A rice cooker (preferably with a stainless steel interior rather than an aluminum one; these are usually found in high end cooking or Asian stores)
A pizza stone (also for baking bread and cookies with a good crust)
An electric mixer on a stand - the reason is because you can do some serious beating you cannot do with a hand mixer, like no-knead bread doughs. Also, it is easier to get the egg whites and whipped cream just right.
A roasting pan
A broiler pan
A thermometer with a probe that measures up to 400 degrees
A funnel with a very thin neck for pouring bulk spices from bags into recycled spice jars
A Cuisinart - get a fairly large one if you get one at all.
A Blendtec or Vitamix. You won't believe how often you use one if you have it.
A zester
A rolling pin
A chef's knife
A cleaver
Individual measuring cups and spoons
Hi Larisa - Thanks for recommending a Teflon® non-stick pan as a Kitchen Essential. I represent DuPont and it's always a pleasure to see people recommending our products.
ReplyDeleteIf you are interested in some recipes to look at for your Teflon® non-stick pan, visit http://www.scribd.com/TeflonBrand! Thanks. Cheers, Sara
I appreciate the link. However, my personal feeling is that things with coatings that may potentially come off should be used only for foods that at high risk for sticking. I consider scrambled eggs as essential as a mug of coffee on most mornings and I do not like endlessly scrubbing them out of other pans. However, I cook virtually everything else in glass, stainless steel or cast iron.
ReplyDeleteI know that many cooks recommend non-stick for diet purposes, because you can use less fat. I will let them recommend this - and also the low calorie spray oils, which I also use very sparingly.
I don't knock trying to shave a few calories here and there - and recognize that if an attempt is made to cut calories all day long, every day of the week, one might lose significant weight.
However, with the exception of my eggs and a few persnickity baked goods, I prefer good old fashioned pans, oils and butters.