7 Must-Have Kitchen Items List
It’s not easy to be a good cook. To be one, however, you need to have the right kitchen items to start with. We would need tens of pages to list all the kitchen equipment you need for a complete kitchen.
A recent talk with a chief chef of a local hotel helped me learn of kitchen items that you couldn’t imagine exist. However, you don’t need all that to be a good cook. You can start small with only a few items and add as you gain additional experience.
Our concern here will be to list a few of the must-have kitchen items you will need to begin your journey to become an excellent cook. Having the items is one thing, using them is another thing altogether. That’s why we will include items along with their uses.
- Kitchen Knife
Imagine a kitchen without at least one knife. Almost every meal you prepare cooked or eaten raw, will require some form of cutting or chopping. So, if you intend to cook, make sure the first item in your list is a knife.
Different types of knives exist and each type has some specific use. For example, you will need a serrated knife to slice bread, a job that other types of knives may not do well. Similarly, a chef’s knife is always versatile and can be used in several ways.
A good quality kitchen knife has to fulfill a few criteria. It should be very sharp, safe to handle, and heavy. A knife with such qualities can easily cut through vegetables, fruits, meats, and fish and so on.
- A Chopping Board
You now have your knife and the food you want to chop into manageable pieces. How are you going to cut the food without cutting yourself? You will need a chopping or cutting board.
The board can be made of plastic or wood. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. It is upon you to decide the material you want to work with.
Size of the board also matters. Ask yourself about the kinds of foods you will be preparing in the kitchen. Use such information to guide you while choosing the right size to allow you to cut bigger food types such as fish, meat, vegetables, chicken and so on.
- Kitchen Pan
Regardless of the amount of food sources you have, you will still need to cook some to be edible. Cooking means you will have to pass the food through some form of heat.
Whether you will be cooking with gas, electricity or wood fuel, you will need a kitchen pan to hold what you will be cooking and to transmit the heat. Such pans are often made of metal because they must be good conductors of heat.
The common materials used are steel and aluminum. Steel is strong, sturdy and an excellent heat conductor. However, it is heavy and may be susceptible to corrosion and rusting. Stainless steel kitchen pans do not have these problems
Aluminum, on the other hand, is very strong and lightweight. It is also an excellent conductor of heat. Furthermore, aluminum does not rust or corrode when it comes into contact with food materials.
The bottom line here is that you go for an easy to clean kitchen pan. Thus the pan should be non-stick preferentially made from stainless steel or aluminum.
- Calibrated Spoons And Cups
Spoons and cups allow you to scoop ingredients, additives and spices to apply to food. You cannot just do that without caring about the measurements.
Therefore, among the must-have kitchen items are calibrated, also called measuring spoons and cups. You will need two sets of cups. The first set for measuring liquids such as water, milk, cooking oil and so on. The second set of cup should help you measure dry foods.
- Food Storage Containers
Poor storage is one of the most common causes of food contamination which leads to food poisoning. Leaving food exposed to the air for just a few minutes is enough to have it contaminated by germs in the air.
Storage is necessary before and after cooking. It is important to have at least two sets of storage containers. One set should be for raw foods, especially proteins. The other set should be for already prepared food before it can be served.
- Egg Skelter
It is true that eggs are common in our meals, especially breakfast. There is no better and cheaper way to maintain a constant supply of eggs than to have a backyard chicken farm.
Healthy chickens can lay so many eggs. In time, you will have many eggs that you cannot consume during a single meal. One way of storing excess eggs is to use an egg skelter.
Depending on the size, such an item allows you to organize eggs on the basis of age. It means you can use the older eggs first. Sample the best of these materials from Backyardpets.
- Serving Plates And Dishes
What is the whole idea behind cooking? It is to serve the ready food to nourish those who eat it. But how will you serve without plates and dishes?
Serving dishes and plates may feature many different materials such as glass, melamine, ceramic, plastic and metal. Glass, and ceramic plates and dishes look great but are too fragile. Plastic is a good material but must be poison-free.
Wrapping It Up
As we alluded to earlier, it is impossible to list all the items you will need in your kitchen. In our list are the ones we believe are invaluable if you are seeking to become an excellent cook. If you have all the seven in your kitchen, you will not struggle too much in cooking your favorite meals.
