Did you have every kitchen instrument at your disposal the last time you attempted to make a meal or bake a dessert? If you’re shaking your head no, then there’s a high probability that your recipe fell flat. Maybe you didn’t have the vegetable peeler you needed and you were forced to make crude shavings with a dull paring knife. Having no serving tray, maybe you served your house guests roasted chicken from a rusted pan, complete with tattered pot warmers. Whatever the reason for the failed feast, you’ll never have to go through it again – that is, if you stock your kitchen with the proper accoutrements.
Setting Up “Shop”
Julia Child rightfully pointed out that “in department stores, so much kitchen equipment is bought indiscriminately by people who just come in for men’s underwear.” Cooking is an art form, and we have to be willing to invest in our passions if we want to be any good at them. Going into the store and just buying the first thing we’re able to grab off the shelves isn’t going to cut it. If your recipes continue to come out burnt, raw or distorted, your frustration could easily turn you off to cooking altogether. Ask yourself: how motivated are you going to be to cook when every recipe you’ve attempted has burned to a crisp or drowned in juice?
Cast-Iron Skillet
If you’ve been out of school awhile now and are still using your Teflon non-stick pots and pans, it’s time to make an upgrade. The cast-iron skillet (or frying pan) has been a chef and home user favorite for centuries. The pan’s generous size makes cooking easy, and you can buy most already seasoned. What do I mean by “seasoned?” Cast-iron skillets absorb the oils and fats of the food you have made, making for a non-stick surface. Already seasoned cast-iron skillets are set with vegetable oil and baked at a high temperature before they hit store shelves. But if you really want your food to be melt in your mouth, you should season the skillet before use. Not sure which cast-iron skillet to go with? Cook’s Illustrated suggests going with the traditional skillet if you’re not afraid of being hard on your cookware; cast-iron skillets can take the heat.
Potato Peeler
Nothing is more annoying than finding out that the recipe your trying out calls for the veggies to be peeled. Grabbing a knife from the drawer and trying to expertly peel each slice into even, uniform pieces is maddening, especially when a potato peeler can get the job done in no time. The Alessi Sfrido Peeler is a compact kitchen tool that’ll fit perfectly into the palm of your hand and won’t take up too much space in your drawer. Made of polished stainless steel with an ergonomic curved handle, you won’t have to worry about your hands cramping when you prepare your veggies ever again.
Enameled Cast-Iron Cookware
If you just volunteered to host Thanksgiving dinner and you don’t have the cookware to prepare, cook and serve the meal with, you can bet that your family will never let you forget it. Enameled cast-iron cookware isn’t only incredibly durable, it offers non-stick surfaces and can withstand extreme heat, it also looks rustically elegant set up on the family dinner table. Can you just see how Instagram-worthy your first prepared Thanksgiving meal will be?!
Carving Knives
As a serious home-style chef, you handle your meal prep with extreme consideration. But all of that care goes to pot when you don’t have the tools to do a good job. Knives play a large part in meal preparation. Epicurious says that there are four knives that every foodie needs: a chef’s knife, paring knife, serrated knife and boning knife. No, there is not a “one-size-fits-all” knife out there, no matter what late-night TV commercials tell you. Each knife serves a particular food prep function. However, investing in top-quality hand-forged Damascus kitchen knives offers a blend of exceptional sharpness and enduring durability that can elevate any culinary experience. If you don’t have the budget for hand-forged damascus kitchen knives, there are plenty of high-quality and affordable options to choose from as well.
End-Grain Cutting Board
What pairs well with knives and protects your kitchen counter? A cutting board. An end-grain cutting board (unlike plastic and rubber cutting boards) has been specially designed to not dull your knives. Not only that, but an end-grain cutting board doesn’t show it’s 101 cuts, so you can leave it out in the kitchen without making it look messy or untaken care of.
What are you waiting for? Go and get your tools, every great master needs them!
