Talking about equipment in the kitchen for people just starting out or wishing to pare down, we could all disagree about what is necessary, but since I am the one blogging, I'll share what is in my drawers and cupboards :) The basic food list will follow in another post. I have other posts that shared specific equipment that are shining stars, but this is a 'staples' list.
Fist I'll start with 'Can't live without.' **disclaimer: I am NOT talking about a survival/emergency situation for those who might be ready to jump on me about being frivolous ;) ... we could all work with aluminum foil, a sharp knife, and a sanitized stick for most things in that situation. Also, remember I have a large family to feed, so my list may require more things than yours. I am sure I missed some things, so this list may morph a little over time...
Baking-
Measuring cups/spoons (Nothing fancy- dollar store plastic does the same job as stainless)
Fork for whipping or as a simple pastry blender
Bread pans can be used for baking bread, vegetables, meatloaf, small roasts (stainless or glass last longer, aluminum is cheaper, but hazardous to your health)
9X13 can be used for casseroles, large roasts, poultry (I have one ceramic and one glass- both work great and release stuck on food well in cleanup)
Large bowl (My favorites are a very large stainless one I use for mixing everything including food and natural detergent- see other posts... the other is a large plastic Rubbermaid type with a lid for serving/storing salad or bread dough)
Large spoon for mixing/serving/measuring
Sharp knife for prep/serving/measuring/peeling
Strong hands and arms for kneading/blending (since a Kitchen Aide blender is NOT on the necessary list. Don't worry, if you don't have them yet, you will)
Potholder or dishtowel for hot pans
Cookie sheet for toast, bread loaves/cookies/breadcrumbs/dehydrating
Rolling pin or something with round sides like a can of vegetables
Cooking-
Pasta pot with cover (stainless steel chef-ware type pots last forever and through many 'burnt on' projects... I know this from experience)
Saucepan with cover (I've had the same one for my whole marriage of almost 22 years, and it was second hand- makes coffee/hot cocoa as well as sauce, etc)
Frying pan (cast iron is my favorite, my other favorite was a chef-type that finally broke a handle after 20 years-makes skillet bread/desserts as well as frying foods)
Sharp knife (from above) prep and serving
Large fork for lifting roasts or stirring/separating pasta
Large spoon from above for stirring sauces
Baking pans/mixing bowls as listed above
Potholder or dishtowel from above
Meat thermometer
Can opener
Serving-
Large mixing bowls from above
Pans from above
Large fork, spoon, and knife from above
Potholders from above for the table if food is coming from the oven
Cleanup-
Soap (grated pure soap works is multiuse for body and sink)
Dishrags made from anything- cut down old towels or facecloths are fine (reusable saves money)
Onion bags or aluminum foil (use as pot scrubbers (do not use foil on fine surfaces)
Baking soda for soaking/scrubbing
Vinegar for degreaser to add to sink or for soaking
Not so basic, but nice to add...
Pastry blender (pastry blender is faster and works for meatloaf as well as pie crust if the blades are 1/4" or more thick vertically)
Hand mixer
Manual chopper or blender
Toaster for smaller servings
Sponges with scrubber side
Bottle brush
Candy thermometer
Microwave
Colander
Muffin pan
Rolling pin
Cooling rack
Peeler
Showing posts with label kitchen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kitchen. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Kitchen esentials...tools
While making brown sugar blueberry muffins this morning, it occurred to me I have not yet touted the great aspects of some things that are necessities in my kitchen and how I use some of them as time savers. (Real bakers, beware, you may gasp at my process)
One tool I have never regretting paying a lot of money for and it has paid for itself 10 times over. It is my favorite workhorse, the Vitamix. At the time, I had a cheap food processor, a hand mixer, dough maker, and a blender when I stumbled across the infomercial...yeah, I'm a bit of a sucker sometimes. After some research and reading the reviews, I decided to Ebay all my other pieces and an upright toaster to have some to put toward this. Well, that was 13 years ago! Granted, the wet canister has since kicked the bucket in the last 3 years and I have not replaced it, because I have used the dry one for everything since. It no longer purrs, it growls, but believe me when I say that it does everything.... it makes smoothies, chops veggies, crushes ice, makes ice cream, mayonnaise, grinds spices/coffee, and makes bread dough among a million other things. Here's the real baker's shocker... when I bake anything, I put all the wet ingredients, sugar included, in the vitamix at once, blend, and add this to all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Do I make souffle's often? No. Ever? No again. But, for everything else that is not finicky, it works. Ie, muffins, cakes, breads, doughnuts, you get the picture. It also makes fantastic gravy with no lumps. If anything in my kitchen has helped goad my trip down natural lane, this is it. It has made making food from scratch much more attainable.
The second was a more recent gift from my mom, a Kitchenaid Mixer. This was on my dream board for a couple years and something I was working toward. Not sure why because I was making all my doughs by hand. Actually, maybe that was why. Anywho, when I received it, I was well aware of its worth and broke it out immediately. I use it exclusively now for bread making. Can't tell you how great it is to proof yeast in the bowl, add the flour, and let it knead for 10 minutes while I do other things. I also use this occasionally when we make meringue because the vitamix is a bit harder to see when they are done before they are overdone.
Third, my little dynamo, is a Pampered Chef small spatula. It is the only tool we use to get out brownies, strata, cookies, pizza, and scrape burnt stuff off cookies sheets. This is another one that has been in my drawer for years. Add to this another of their items, the dual liquid/dry measuring cup, and my needs are met ;) I melted my first one and my second has threatened to be melted after putting it on a stove top too soon. Yes, another one of my fire hazard stories. I may have to use it on my brown sugar blueberry muffins as I just realized they have been in there 20 minutes too long....OK, not so bad... and glaze covers a multitude of computer evils!
A recent acquisition from cleaning my mom's kitchen, is a small rice cooker. I've had the microwave types before and used them, but the way they looked after a while made me wonder exactly what was getting into my rice. That and I am not too sure of the safety of microwaved foods either. This little wonder is a cinch to use and I don't burn the rice- yes, that has happened too. Add the rice, cover with water or broth, put the cover on and press the button. It turns itself off at just the right time and keeps it warm after. LOVE it!
Lastly, but not a complete list, is my canner. I use this thing all year, because I can all year. Almost wish I had two because when I get going, I really make it worth it. Sure, you hear the horror stories about pressure canning, but it is a breeze if you do a quick check before starting to ensure the parts are working and again, worth the money.
Most of these items I put on the Amazon links below. Some are not exactly what I have since my things are somewhat ancient, but I found similar ones...
One tool I have never regretting paying a lot of money for and it has paid for itself 10 times over. It is my favorite workhorse, the Vitamix. At the time, I had a cheap food processor, a hand mixer, dough maker, and a blender when I stumbled across the infomercial...yeah, I'm a bit of a sucker sometimes. After some research and reading the reviews, I decided to Ebay all my other pieces and an upright toaster to have some to put toward this. Well, that was 13 years ago! Granted, the wet canister has since kicked the bucket in the last 3 years and I have not replaced it, because I have used the dry one for everything since. It no longer purrs, it growls, but believe me when I say that it does everything.... it makes smoothies, chops veggies, crushes ice, makes ice cream, mayonnaise, grinds spices/coffee, and makes bread dough among a million other things. Here's the real baker's shocker... when I bake anything, I put all the wet ingredients, sugar included, in the vitamix at once, blend, and add this to all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Do I make souffle's often? No. Ever? No again. But, for everything else that is not finicky, it works. Ie, muffins, cakes, breads, doughnuts, you get the picture. It also makes fantastic gravy with no lumps. If anything in my kitchen has helped goad my trip down natural lane, this is it. It has made making food from scratch much more attainable.
The second was a more recent gift from my mom, a Kitchenaid Mixer. This was on my dream board for a couple years and something I was working toward. Not sure why because I was making all my doughs by hand. Actually, maybe that was why. Anywho, when I received it, I was well aware of its worth and broke it out immediately. I use it exclusively now for bread making. Can't tell you how great it is to proof yeast in the bowl, add the flour, and let it knead for 10 minutes while I do other things. I also use this occasionally when we make meringue because the vitamix is a bit harder to see when they are done before they are overdone.
Third, my little dynamo, is a Pampered Chef small spatula. It is the only tool we use to get out brownies, strata, cookies, pizza, and scrape burnt stuff off cookies sheets. This is another one that has been in my drawer for years. Add to this another of their items, the dual liquid/dry measuring cup, and my needs are met ;) I melted my first one and my second has threatened to be melted after putting it on a stove top too soon. Yes, another one of my fire hazard stories. I may have to use it on my brown sugar blueberry muffins as I just realized they have been in there 20 minutes too long....OK, not so bad... and glaze covers a multitude of computer evils!
A recent acquisition from cleaning my mom's kitchen, is a small rice cooker. I've had the microwave types before and used them, but the way they looked after a while made me wonder exactly what was getting into my rice. That and I am not too sure of the safety of microwaved foods either. This little wonder is a cinch to use and I don't burn the rice- yes, that has happened too. Add the rice, cover with water or broth, put the cover on and press the button. It turns itself off at just the right time and keeps it warm after. LOVE it!
Lastly, but not a complete list, is my canner. I use this thing all year, because I can all year. Almost wish I had two because when I get going, I really make it worth it. Sure, you hear the horror stories about pressure canning, but it is a breeze if you do a quick check before starting to ensure the parts are working and again, worth the money.
Most of these items I put on the Amazon links below. Some are not exactly what I have since my things are somewhat ancient, but I found similar ones...
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