What cooking utensils should I get...?

[krnxguhj33]

I'm a noob cook and my kitchen has, let's say, less than adequate cooking utensils/anything related to cooking. Right now all i have are 3 cutting boards, some lame knives, 1 10 inch frying pan, and 3 pots. What should I get if I want to be serious about cooking?

 

[CaroleC]

Sounds like you need to start small and build up as you build on your experience. It depends on what kind of cooking you're planning on doing and what sort of skill level you're at.

 

[krnxguhj33]

well I can cook meat? and fish as well. Haven't gotten to being able to gut and de-bone fish...

 

[CaroleC]

Do you really want to gut and de-bone fish? Ugh! How much money are you looking to invest? How gadgety do you want to get? How quickly do you want to build up your supplies?

The first thing I would suggest doing is probably invest in a good knife or two. I love my Global knife but there is an Australian company called Furi that I've heard good things about too. There's nothing more frustrating than poor quality knives.

 

[GotGarlic]

Hi. Here are some suggestions: measuring cups (different ones for dry and liquids) and spoons, 3 or 4 different sizes of mixing bowls, a whisk, a couple of spatulas, a box grater (for cheese, citrus zest, etc.), vegetable peeler, set of utensils such as slotted spoon, solid spoon, ladle, pancake turner; a food processor is a great help, but not essential. Good knives are essential. My DH bought me a set of Cutco knives, along with a meat fork and a spreader, because his parents received a set as a wedding present in 1959 and were (probably still are) using the same knives.

Hope this is helpful.

 

[GotGarlic]

well I can cook meat? and fish as well. Haven't gotten to being able to gut and de-bone fish...

I consider myself a pretty experienced cook and would never think of gutting fish I do need a boning knife for chicken, though ...

 

[GB]

Gutting and de-boning a fish is not a novice activity. Start slower than that. CaroleC's advice about investing in a quality knife is excellent advice. That is one of the most important tools you will have.

A 10 inch fry pan is a good all around general pan so unless that one is junk then I would not spend money to replace it if you could be spending that money on some other things.

Locking tongs are a very important and inexpensive tool that I would not want to be without. Another great tool, especially for a novice, but for experts as well, is a probe thermometer. Too many times people want to know how long to cook something. Cooking by time does not work all that well because there are too many factors that come into play that could alter how long something needs to cook. If you cook by temp instead (using the probe thermometer) then you will be much more successful.

There are a million other things you could get too of course. You should really figure out what types of things you will be cooking and go from there. For instance, if you like deep fried food and want to do a lot of that then you will need some things for that. Those things will be different from the things you will need if you want to do a lot of roasting or stir frys or something else.

 

[Uncle Bob]

A 10 inch cast iron fry pan will prove invalueable for going straight from the stove top to the oven. In fact consider two or three pieces of cast iron. The price is right, and it will last you a life time...


Have Fun!!!

 

[kitchenelf]

I'll just state my essentials though some have been mentioned already. These are the things that I use every week and/or each time I cook.

• A good chef's knife or a santoku
• A boning knife (good for cutting a chicken into pieces and for fileting your fish
• A knife sharpener
• A steel
• Tongs (mine don't lock but some sort of tongs are a must)
• Silicone oven mitts (they can also be used to pick up whole chickens or larger cuts of meat up off of a grill
• A couple whisks and they should be the kind with the bigger handle. Don't get one with one of those skinny handles. If you have a lot of whisking to do the skinny handle is hard to hold for very long.
• Funnels come in handy when making salad dressings, among other things
• Nesting bowls for mixing and whisking
• A set of small (roughly 1-cup bowls for mise en place) with lids would be nice but not necessary
• An olive oil bottle (opague, not see-through)
• A salt cellar for kosher salt
• Kitchen scissors - cutting is much faster than trying to rip open.

And one of the handiest things is not a "thing" but a method - mise en place. It's where you measure, chop, cut, slice, dice, everything in the recipe and have it in order ready to go. That way you know if you are out of something and the onions (or whatever) aren't cooking to death while you are chopping the next ingredient. This is what the bowls are for. If certain things get "thrown in" at the same time you can add those to the same bowl i.e., chopped celery/onions/garlic, salt/pepper/oregano, etc.

 

[keltin]

Nobody has mentioned a colander?

I can’t live without mine, so definitely add that to the list!

Also, if you’re going to be boning a lot of meat, especially cutting up your own chickens, consider a good filet knife. It doesn’t have to be expensive, just flexible and sharp. I’ve got a good boning knife in my set, but I prefer the filet knife for cutting up chickens. It just feels better to me.

And if you ever do get around to prepping and boning your own fish, you’ll need that filet knife anyway! It’s a handy skill if you catch your own fish (or buy them whole from the market), and it's not that hard to do. Heading, gutting, and scaling the fish is super easy. The trickiest part (and it's not that hard) is filleting the fish, but practice and patience teaches you that.

Skinning a catfish is something different altogether!

 

[Katie H]

I'd add several rubber and heat-resistant spatulas, several wooden spoons, a good vegetable peeler, a microplane grater, a meat mallet for tenderizing and flattening meats/poultry, a couple of mesh teaballs (use one for herbs and spices in broths, etc., the other for tea), a 2-quart batter/mixing cup (well, it's really a bowl, but it looks like a cup), cutting boards...

I could go on, but these are things I, literally, use almost daily.

 

[Fisher's Mom]

I'm a noob cook and my kitchen has, let's say, less than adequate cooking utensils/anything related to cooking. Right now all i have are 3 cutting boards, some lame knives, 1 10 inch frying pan, and 3 pots. What should I get if I want to be serious about cooking?

I'm new to cooking, too, so I'll tell you the stuff I use almost daily.
measuring cups and spoons
oven thermometer (this has made a huge difference)
tongs
large stainless steel serving spoons for stirring - regular & slotted
collander
salt & pepper grinders/mills
half-sheet size baking pan (bun pan) from Sam's or restaurant supply
silicone baking mat (silpat or the like)
mixing bowls
potato peeler
silicone balloon whisk
kitchen scissors
chef's knife
small paring knife
thin, flexible slotted spatula (for turning things)
silicone or rubber spatula (for use when mixing stuff in bowls)

Also nice to have:
roasting pan w/ rack if possible
9 x 13 baking pan
griddle
hand mixer

If you have a restaurant supply place near you, it's a great place to pick up sturdy kitchen necessities. Also Sam's or Costco has a limited selection. WalMart or Target are pretty good for some items. I've had a lot of luck at estate sales and thrift stores in "richer" areas of town. I'm not sure what your budget is but you can outfit a kitchen relatively inexpensively if you have the time to look around and don't need everything to "match". HTH
Terry

 

[AllenOK]

One thing I would do, is get a large stock pot. I make my own stocks, as well as large quantities of soups, and we use the stock pot to cook pasta for spaghetti, stroganoff, corn on the cob, etc.

If you aren't going to be making large quantities of soup, get a 16 qt, thin, enamelled stock pot. They're dirt cheap. Because they're so thin, I wouldn't recommend sauteing anything in it. I have two, a 16 qt and a 22 qt (the big one is SS), and I only use them to boil/simmer liquids.

If you do decide to make some soups, you want a heavy-bottomed pan, either a cast iron dutch oven, or a nice tri-ply Caphalon / All-Clad soup pot, about 4 qt.

 

[Andy M.]

You've received lots of ideas from what others have.

I recommend you play it by ear. If you want to cook something and don't have what you need to cook it, or prepare for cooking it, get that. If you find you keep wishing you had something because it would really come in handy, get that.

A lot of what you need depends on what you cook, how you cook and for how many you cook.

For that same reason, don't ask others to tell you what you need in your pantry.

 

[Dave Hutchins]

First off. Don't go hog wild buying from retail stores, restaurant supply houses.. Go to the Salvation army, thrift store, good will, ETC.. you can get a lot of starter equipment at these places dirt cheap. Then if you like what they do, go out and buy the good stuff. in a recent survey the most important piece of equipment in the kitchen was "" a Micro wave oven""
My fav piece is my 7 inch Japanese chefs knife Ive had for 40 years

 

[krnxguhj33]

Well, I was already considering buying a cast iron pan and some high quality knives but I can't seem to distinguish good companies from bad. Help anyone?

 

[Uncle Bob]

Lodge Manufacturing

These folks are well respected in the cast iron business.

Depending on your location it should be easy to find. Sporting goods, hardware, and discount stores would good locations to look.

Have Fun and Enjoy!!

 

[Andy M.]

There are many good knives out there and many of our members have their favorites. Check out our knives forum. There is plenty of discussion on how to choose a knife and which are the better ones to consider.

 

[Katie H]

Our area Wal-Mart stores have Lodge cast-iron cookware. So do the two restaurant supply stores here.

 

[krnxguhj33]

oh also..what's the difference between a high quality nonstick pan and a cast iron pan..?