The Right Tools For The Job

Since our main focus here is bringing it back to basics, that is where we will begin today. This post Builds on our series of kitchen essentials designed to help set up a productive, organized kitchen. It is intended as a guide. So, don’t panic if you don’t have everything here. You can accumulate equipment over time. No matter what you do for work, fun, entertainment, and/or relaxation, you need the proper tools. If you are an accountant you need computers, calculators, and ledgers. A soccer player needs shorts, pads, a net, and a ball. A carpenter needs a hammer, a screwdriver, and a wrench. If you listen to music you need speakers or headphones. I could go on all day. You get the idea. There are plenty of tools to be had. But you need the right tools for the job.

When you go on the internet, read a magazine, or watch TV, someone is always trying to sell you the latest gadget that you “can’t live without.” Chances are, you can. Some of these items are innovative, but many are just gimmicky. People have been cooking for millennia. 50 years ago, we didn’t have a George Foreman grille or an “air fryer” and we didn’t need one.

You don’t need all that junk. Stick to the Basics

Some advancements have definitely been game changers. Gas and electric stoves for one and the greatest invention in human history: refrigeration. The fact that we can store food without it going bad is a marvel we take for granted far too much. Less than 100 years ago people relied on ice to be “harvested” and shipped to their homes to keep their “icebox” cold (the icebox itself was an improvement over cellaring your food). It was neither efficient, controllable, nor convenient. If you keep a gratitude journal, you should express your thanks for modern refrigeration.

With the constant barrage of people telling you that you need this and that, it’s hard to truly focus in on what you really need. If you keep playing the “I need that” game you’ll end up building an addition onto your house just to store all the gadgets. To simplify, you need 3 things: Food Storage, cooking equipment, and food manipulating equipment. Storage is refrigeration and dry storage. Cooking equipment is any heat source that you can control, and manipulation equipment covers everything from knives and utensils, to pots and pans, to serving-ware and storage receptacles. Today, we present you with a list of essential equipment to outfit your kitchen. Utilize it as a shopping list or reference. We will follow up with articles on individual groups of equipment in future articles instead of overwhelming you with a book here.

Here is your list of the right tools for the Job by category:

Storage, cooking, and appliances:

1. Refrigeration: Cold and freezer spaces
2. Dry storage areas. Clean and safe from pests and contamination. AKA cabinets.
3. Cooking equipment: an accurate oven, stove tops, microwave, toaster oven
4. Coffee machine: K cups are fine. If you have large groups, a full sized coffee machine and/or percolator is nice to have around as well.
5. A mixer, preferably larger. We use Kitchenaids in professional kitchens. You will want multiple attachments: whisk, paddle, and dough hook.
6. A solid blender. We use Vita mix in professional kitchens. Get a solid machine with simple controls
7. A food processor with multiple attachments
8. A good dishwasher with sanitizing cycle if possible

There are more gadgets and equipment to be had. Some are handy. You can get rice cookers, crock pots, bread machines, pasta machines, Table top fryolators, and more. But, you don’t “need” them. Many people swear by crockpots. They can come in handy, but they do what your stove or oven does anyway. The difference is that they are self contained and have timers. If you put a heavy gauge pot on a stove or in an oven at low heat and set a timer on your smartphone you can achieve the same results. Not to say they aren’t nice to have, they just aren’t “necessary”. With the equipment above you can cook like a master chef.

Storage and cleaning:

1. plastic wrap, foil, parchment paper (wax paper)
2. Seal-able containers: plastic, metal, and/or glass in various sizes for storage and food prep
3. Seal-able plastic bags in multiple sizes
4. A covered Trash container, recycling bin, and compost bin and bags to line each
5. Clean and sealed curbside trash, recycling, and compost bins (where available)
6. Dish detergent
7. Handwashing soap
8. Nonabrasive scrubbing pads and sponges
9. degreaser/oven cleaner
10. Multi purpose cleaner for food contact surfaces and non food contact surfaces
11. Granite cleaner if you have granite counter tops.
12. Window cleaner
13. Mop, bucket, and floor cleaner
14. Paper towels and napkins

Food preparation equipment:

1. A good set of knives including 4 basics: French, paring, slicing, and bread (stay tuned for an article on knives)
2. Sanitary cutting boards (look for NSF seal)
3. Mixing bowls and ingredient bowls in various sizes
4. Measuring equipment: An accurate scale that measures ounces and/or grams and Kilos, Measuring cups, and measuring spoons
5. Spoons with and without holes: wooden for stirring, rubber/plastic for use in non stick pans, and metal for mixing heavier ingredients
6. Spider style utensil for removing food from boiling or frying
7. Spatulas: large and small metal and large and small rubber
8. Ladles 1, 2, 4, and 8 ounce
9. Peelers
10. Graters, and micro-planes.
11. Mandolin food slicer
12. Scoopers
13. Whisks, small, medium, and large
14. Rolling pin and a marble or metal board for working dough at colder temperatures
15. Pastry cutter/scraper
16. accurate meat thermometer
17. Fine mesh strainers Large and small and a collander
18. Salad spinner

Cooking equipment:

1. Several pots, at least: 2 small, 2 medium, 2 large with lids for each
2. Saute/fry pans, stainless steel and non stick surfaces preferably. Several sizes: 8, 10, and 12 inch plus a large sauteuse pan (high sides)
3. Roasting pan with rack
4. Sheet pans 1/4 and 1/2 size and cooling racks of same size
5. Sizzle platters
6. Hotel pans 1/2 size
7. silicone non stick pan liners for sheet pans
8. Spring form cake pan
9. Muffin tins
10. Straight edge cake pans
11. Pie tins
12. Tart pan with removable bottom
13. Steamer pan (Pot with strainer and lid)

Serving:

1. Casserole dishes in several sizes
2. Several medium and large serving bowls
3. Several Medium and large serving platters
4. Cheese boards and platters and cheese knives
5. Pedestal platters
6. Chafing dishes and back up insert pans
7. Serving utensils
8. Toothpicks or skewers for Hors d’oeuvres
9. Bamboo skewers for kebobs
10. Brad baskets
11. Linen napkins for bread baskets, fancy dining, etc
12. dip bowls of various sizes
13. Dinner, salad, and bread plates
14. Coffee cups and saucers
15. Knives: bread and steak, forks: salad and entree, spoons: tea, soup, and demitasse

We will discuss each class of equipment in future articles. These lists are unwieldy as is. It is a lot to take in. Let this serve as a generalized equipment list. For now, remember to always buy quality, and don’t be taken in by the latest gimmicks and gadgets. Durability is the most important factor. If it looks chintzy it probably is. For instance: cookie sheets. The ones in most department and grocery stores are flimsy pieces of sheet-metal that chip, rust, and warp easily. Do yourself a favor and get thick gauge aluminum sheetpans like they use in professional kitchens. They last longer, cook more evenly, and clean up easily. I have had mine for decades. Other than getting discolored and a few nicks here and there they are as solid and useful as the day I got them. It’s all about the right tools for the job.