THE ABSOLUTE ESSENTIALS
This list is assuming that you’re not planning on baking OR entertaining. Just cooking for you and your family.
1. sharp knife
Cooking without a sharp knife is no fun for anyone. I just picked up a cheap cooks knife which was fine for the month. For longer term I’d make sure I had a good sharpening system as well.
2. chopping board
Nothing fancy, but big enough to be able to chop a whole bunch of cavalo nero is perfect. For carnivores, having another plastic chopping board to use for raw meat is beneficial but not critical.
3. medium frying pan with lid
Rather than trying to figure out how to work the oven, I chose to focus on super quick things that could be cooked in one pan. Choose a frying pan with a lid for braising things like greens in the recipe below. Make sure the sides are high enough so you could make a small batch of soup if you felt the urge. No other pot required! Best to get one with ovenproof handles so you can start cooking on the stove top and then finish them off in the oven.
4. a bowl per person
A shallow bowl is most versatile for eating pretty much everything. No plates required!
5. cutlery for each person
You could get by with a set of chopsticks and a spoon or a knife, fork and spoon. Whatever works best for you.
6. salad bowl
This is a personal one because I love a large salad as a quick meal so need a bowl large enough to toss the leaves properly. I ate about half my meals in the shallow bowl and the other half from the salad bowl. I guess if you really wanted to be extreme you could just choose one or the other.
7. a glass per person
Normally I would have invested in a couple of decent wine glasses even if only in a place for a few weeks. This time we made do with glass tumblers for all beverages. Not exactly ideal from a wine appreciation perspective, but at least we weren’t swigging straight from the bottle.
8. bottle opener
With a wonderful little wine shop around the corner, it was great fun exploring the US wine scene. While the quality was wonderful, I was surprised that most wine was still bottled under cork. In Australia you could probably get away with passing on the corkscrew and buying wine with screw caps but not in NYC.
9. can opener
Another one that you might be able to get away with. Although I was happy that I had a can opener on hand when I hadn’t even thought to check if I needed to make sure I only purchased self-opening cans.
THE ESSENTIALS FOR BAKERS / ENTERTAINERS
1. big appliances
A dishwasher (unless you are some zen master dishwashing fan), an oven (preferably electric fan-forced), a stove top (preferably conduction or gas) and fridge with a freezer.
2. pots
If I was being super minimalist I could limit my pots to just one – my 26cm cherry red enamel coated cast iron le creuset. It’s perfect for everything from boiling pasta to slow cooking a batch of lamb shanks. I can’t tell you how much I love it. But only having one saucepan can be very limiting if you want to boil some spuds for mash to go with your lamb shanks so I think it’s reasonable to have another pot. I have a mini stock pot that it about the same size as the le creuset that is fine for pretty much anything.
3. roasting pan
I have an old metal roasting tin that I need to ditch now I’m the proud owner of a cast iron le creuset roasting dish. You can also use your roasting pan to bake scones or cookies – saving you buying a separate cookie sheet. It can also be used for dishes like lasagne or moussaka saving the need to invest in a separate dish.
4. whisk
for egg whites or whipping cream. Although serious bakers should consider investing in a stand mixer such as a Kitchen Aid to make life much easier.
5. spatula
For getting food out of the frying pan (more versatile than tongs I find).
6. microplane grater
for anything from chocolate to cheese or for vegan for finely grating nuts.
7. strainer
For draining pasta that can also be used for sieving flour or removing lumps from sauces or custard.
8. loaf pan
A loaf pan is the bare minimum I could get by with. It can be used for loaves of bread, any type of cake or even making terrines. I did toy with including a tart tin but you could just make a rustic crostata without one.
9. digital kitchen scales
Anyone who even thinks about baking once and a while should invest in a set of digital kitchen scales. The are fairley inexpensive these days and are so much more accurate and not to mention quicker than messing around with cups and spoons. Non bakers could probably do without.
THE NICE-TO-HAVES
1. knife sharpener
While you could outsource your knife sharpening, I highly recommend investing in a set of Furi sharpening fingers – the easiest and most effective sharpening system I’ve ever used.
2. an electric kettle
I was tempted to put this in the essentials but you can always boil water in a saucepan so I resisted. Brilliant for cups of tea and boiling water for pasta etc when you’re in a hurry. For non-tea drinkers with lots of time to spare it’s not worth it.
3. a food processor
You can live without one but they can make life a lot easier – and make purees possible. Also excellent for slicing or grating large amounts of vegetables.
4. a stock pot
I love homemade stock and really enjoy having a big pot on the simmer while I do other things on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It also comes in handy when cooking for a crowd. If you’re not a stock maker, you can easily live with a normal large saucepan.
5. utensils
If I don’t have tongs I use a normal fork or a spatula (egg flip) to turn things but tongs can be useful especially for the BBQ when you don’t want to puncture your meat. A vegetable peeler can make things a heap quicker but I tend to leave the skins on which is why I’ve left it in the nice-to-have sections. A good veg peeler can also take the place of a mandoline for cutting fine ribbons for vegetables. I’m a big fan of lemon zest. While you can use a microplane to do the job, I prefer the clean little strips you get from a lemon zester. Serving spoons are a more civilized option for when you have guests, although not critical as you could always get people to use their own cutlery or even better their fingers.
6. serving platters
I’m a fan of serving things in the middle of the table so everyone can help themselves but this isn’t essential as you could always serve straight from the frying pan or pot.
7. water filter
Unless you are lucky enough to have your own rain water tank, a water filter is an economical and environmentally friendly alternative to buying bottled water.
8. salad spinner
Years ago I would have included a salad spinner in the essentials, but these days there are so many prewashed leaves available you could easily get by without one. This does limit the types of leaves you can use so for anyone who is serious about their salad, I’d recommend investing in a spinner.
9. storage canisters
For years I just stored everything in its original packaging with a rubber band or a peg to seal but there was always the odd moth infestation that kinda grossed me out so I invested in glass canisters. Not only do they make my pantry look more stylish, they keep ingredients fresher and protect from pesky moths.
10. containers for leftovers
You could pop foil over your plate or leave leftovers in the saucepan but this could be a pain when you want to cook something the next day. I have a few Pyrex dishes with plastic lids which I love for many reasons. They look good, they seal properly so you can be sure your lunch will make it to work, they are glass so you don’t have to worry about plastic leeching into your food AND they are oven proof so you can pop them straight into the oven to reheat things. Brilliant.
11. cake tins etc
I included the loaf pan in the critical list, but when it comes to nice-to-haves, I could cull my tin collection down to a 24cm (9in) round cake tin with a removable base and a 28cm (11in) tart tin with removable base. Muffin lovers are allowed a muffin pan.
12. a BBQ
As a Australian, I’m really tempted to include a barbie in the essentials but I have managed to live without one from time to time.
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