Knives and a board
Three knives do all the work in a home kitchen: a chef's knife with an eight-inch blade, a small paring knife, and a serrated bread knife. The chef's knife is the one to spend money on, and forty to sixty dollars buys a very good one. A block set of twelve mostly adds knives you will never pull out. Add a large cutting board of wood or plastic, at least twelve by eighteen inches. Glass and stone boards ruin an edge in a week.
Pots and pans
Buy pans singly, since the boxed cookware set is padded with sizes nobody uses.
- A twelve-inch skillet in stainless steel or cast iron handles searing, sauteing and pan sauces, and it can go into the oven.
- A ten-inch nonstick skillet is for eggs, pancakes and delicate fish.
- A three-quart saucepan with a lid cooks rice, grains, vegetables and sauces.
- A pot or Dutch oven of six to eight quarts is for pasta, soup, stock and braises.
- Two rimmed half-sheet pans, eighteen by thirteen inches, roast vegetables and chicken and bake cookies.
Treat the nonstick pan as a consumable. Keep it off high heat, use wooden or silicone tools in it, buy an inexpensive one, and replace it when the coating scratches or food begins to stick.
The small tools
An instant-read digital thermometer costs about fifteen dollars and is the only reliable way to know that chicken has reached 165 degrees. Beyond that, the list is short: a wooden spoon, a silicone spatula, a thin metal turner, locking tongs, a whisk, a vegetable peeler, a box grater, a can opener, a colander, dry and liquid measuring cups, measuring spoons, a digital scale, and a nest of mixing bowls.
What to skip and where to shop
Skip the gadgets that do one job, such as the garlic press, the avocado slicer and the egg separator. If you find yourself wanting a tool three times in a month, buy it then. Restaurant supply stores, most of which are open to the public, sell sheet pans, tongs, bowls and whisks that are cheap and nearly indestructible. Thrift shops and estate sales are good sources of cast iron, baking dishes and glass measuring cups. Bought this way, the whole list costs roughly two to three hundred dollars.
Tip Before buying any large pan or sheet pan, measure the inside of your oven and your largest burner. Apartment ranges are often narrower than standard.
