Essential Kitchen Gear

First thing's first. The chef's knife. It should be the most used knife in your kitchen. Most people own one. Many people rarely use them, however. My mother is a perfect example. She uses steak knives to prepare 100% of her meals. She even uses a steak knife to chop vegetables! For crying out loud, use a chef's knife! Don't be intimidated by its size. Just use it often. You'll find it makes quick work of almost all kitchen cutting jobs. I use it to chop vegetables, prepare raw meat, slice cooked meat, and carve roasted chicken, turkey, duck etc. I even lay it flat and crush cloves of garlic. The chef's knife is essentially a food processor that doesn't require electricity, is easier to clean, and doesn't take up much space. Chef's knives tend to be on the pricey side. But, that doesn't have to be the case. The two below are knives that I own. They are all very high quality and high in value. The Forschner is exceptionally high in value, while the Wusthof is for those who prefer a classic forged European style chef's knife.

I would like to stress that you really only need one good chef's knife. For some reason I happen to have two.

Paring knives are typically used for fine, delicate work. They are perfect for mincing shallots and garlic, trimming herbs, and peeling fruit and vegetables. Coring apples is also something they excel at. For me peeling is the big one. I peel A LOT of potatoes and apples and carrots. The paring knife is my go to knife of choice for this kind of work. I have both knives below. As was the case with the chef's knife, one good paring knife is enough.

Boning knives are generally used for boning chickens and other cuts of meat, such as pork shoulder and beef ribs. Basically, whenever you're cutting meat around bone, a boning knife should be your kitchen gear of choice. I use mine to fillet fish as well. But, don't just think of a boning knife as something you use to prepare food, though. Think of it as a money saver. What do I mean by that? Well, just check the price of boneless, skinless chicken vs. whole chicken. The boneless, skinless is more expensive isn't it? That's because you're paying someone else to prepare it. You could easily do it yourself with a proper boning knife and save a ton of money. That goes for all types of meat. I use mine after every trip to the grocery store.

Boning knives come in a couple different shapes. Some have a straight blade, while some have a curved blade. Also, some have stiff blades, while others are flexible. The knife I use is curved and flexible. It also has an excellent non-slip handle that's perfectly suited to its primary task. I personally use a Forschner 6" curved knife with a semi-stiff (flexible) blade. It cost me less than $20. I recommend checking out the Forschner boning knives below for an example of their variety.

The steel is an essential piece of kitchen gear for maintaining your knives. It's mainly used to hone the edge. Although a ceramic steel will remove small amounts of metal, its primary function is not to sharpen your knife. It's used to straighten out the edge and keep it sharper over a longer period of time. A traditional steel should be used each time you use a knife. A ceramic steel can be used less frequently. When your knives finally do become dull take them to a professional knife sharpener. It's cheap and really only needs to be done once or twice a year. Unlike knives, I've found that the manufacturer doesn't really matter. I got the cheapest ceramic steel I could find. One piece of advice, though, get one at least 8" in length.

My sauce pan is a 3 quart stainless steel model. I use it for any smaller job that requires boiling water. I use it to make many kinds of sauces and gravies, too. Most sauce pans come with lids, which is pretty important. Some also have a slightly rounded bottom that's great for getting a whisk into. All-Clad seems to be the benchmark here. I, however, use Calphalon because of price. Regardless of brand, make sure you get one that's good quality with a thick bottom for even heat distribution. I use the one below.

Stock pots are really useful around the kitchen. Every family meal that involves pasta or mashed potatoes is probably made in a stock pot. They're perfect for soup, also. I use mine almost daily. In my opinion it's a bigger version of the sauce pan. The perfect size when you're cooking for a family. I use the version below.

If you're cooking for a crowd you NEED a giant stock pot. When I say giant I'm talking 6 or 7 gallons. That's quite a bit of volume. You can boil pretty much anything you can think of in one of these: corn on the cob, lobsters, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, corned beef, ANYTHING. A giant stock pot is also important if you're a homebrewer. Boiling wort is an essential part of homebrewing. You'll need a giant pot to do it.

I cannot stress enough how much I love this thing. It weighs a ton. It's virtually indestructible. When human beings no longer inhabit the Earth, my cast iron skillet will still be here looking good as new. If I was on a deserted island with one thing from my kitchen, this would be it. Cast iron skillets are probably the most versatile pan you could own. It's as close as I get to cooking with a non-stick pan. They're pretty slippery with just a small amount of oil or butter. Their sheer mass means they retain heat like no other pan in your kitchen. This makes them great for frying, braising, and especially searing. Cast iron does fall short when you're trying to precisely control temperature because of its great heat retaining properties, but that's pretty much it. They do require a little more care than stainless steel or aluminum, but the payoff is more than worth it. Don't let its weight deter you. Like I said before, that mass is essential. I have the skillet below. It's the least inexpensive pan I own, and also the best. That is some serious value for money.

The 10" stainless steel skillet is another essential tool in my kitchen. While not quite as versatile as my cast iron skillet, it comes close. It's pricier, but it's also much easier to clean and handle. I use mine for sauteing. It's my pan of choice for chicken marsala. Its light weight means it's easy to precisely control the cooking temperature. Please note, I do not use non-stick or teflon. Not only does food not brown as well in a teflon pan, there will be no fond to make a good pan sauce. The pan I use is below. It's actually an aluminum core that's been encased in stainless steel.

Obviously, if you don't do a lot of roasting the roasting pan is not really essential kitchen gear for you. It is for me, however. I do a ton of roasting. Chickens mostly. And of course, turkey on holidays. If you do need a roasting pan make sure it's got a removable rack with handles. Also, you'll want one that is not non-stick if you plan on making gravy with the pan drippings... which you should of course. After all, the gravy is the best part. I really don't see a need to spend hundreds of dollars on one of these. I prefer a simple stainless steel roasting pan similar to the one below.

Yes, cutting boards are essential. I've actually seen people cut directly on their counter tops. This is seriously bad. If you've got laminate counters, you've just ruined them. I've you've got granite counters, you've just ruined your knives. I also see far too many people using glass or stone cutting boards. There is no faster way to damage your knife than by cutting on something harder than the knife itself. Glass and stone are SEVERAL TIMES harder than any knife. Please use either wood or plastic. Get the largest one you can fit into your sink or dishwasher. I use plastic simply because it's dishwasher safe. The manufacturer doesn't matter much. It's really personal preference.

Mixing bowls will make your life easier. At some point you'll probably be baking something. You'll need a good size mixing bowl to get the job done. How about making pizza dough? Or tuna salad? Maybe just tossed salad? These will come in very handy. I go with stainless steel mixing bowls. They're very durable and dishwasher safe. I'd also recommend going with a style that's fairly deep with high sides for less spillage. I have a set of three, but you could probably get away with just one. Mine also have a non skid bottom like the set below. This, of course, is personal preference. And again, there's no need to get something really expensive.

For when you absolutely must measure out specific ingredients, measuring cups are an invaluable piece of essential kitchen gear. There is a large variety of measuring cups on the market today. A cheap set will work just fine. In fact, you may not even need a set. Depending on how much measuring you do, one cup will probably get the job done. I have a set of three. The largest one is a quart, which is particularly useful when I make beer.

Spatulas are essential for flipping food while cooking. I suppose you could just use a couple of forks, but a spatula makes it so much easier. They're also pretty much required for getting your food from the pan to the plate. I have both a stainless steel spatula and a plastic one. As with most everything else it really comes down to personal preference. The stainless is good for scraping the bottom of a pan when deglazing. The plastic is good when you're cooking eggs in a non-stick skillet. You wouldn't want to scratch that teflon coating would you?

I have one pair of tongs. I use them every single day. They make life in the kitchen so easy, I can't imagine what people did before they were invented. A decent pair of tongs can be utilized in almost every aspect of cooking. They're practically required for frying and sauteing. I'd advise you to get a pair with a spring. A lock is optional. Again, my choice would be stainless steel. But, there seem to be some good plastic pairs as well. I cannot stress enough how important these are to me.