So you’d like to learn how to prepare your own food. To create delicious, highly nutritious food for family, friends, and kindred spirits.
Isn’t that true?
What are the main things you need to make that happen?
High-quality ingredients
A well-stocked herb & spice cabinet
Imagination and experimentation
Yes, it’s certainly true that there are other things you’ll need.
In addition to all of the items you use for eating the food (which I’m assuming most people already have on hand), you’ll need at least a basic assortment of kitchen utensils and implements—the kind used for preparing, cooking, and serving the food.
This is by no means a complete list, but it’s a decent start:
An assortment of pots and saucepans in a variety of sizes, including a stockpot
Highly recommended: a pot with a steamer basket that fits it nicely
At least one frying pan, and possibly a cast iron skillet and/or a wok
An assortment of knives, some of them multi-purpose, and others that are used for special purposes
One or more sheet pans, such as those used for baking
One or more glass baking dishes
A set of measuring spoons, and at least one measuring cup
Very nice to have: a kitchen scale, one that will measure in a variety of units as small as grams
At least one wooden spoon
A variety of larger serving spoons, ladles, forks, and so forth
A cheese grater (and possibly its very handy cousin the box grater)
A whisk
One or more strainers (and/or colanders) with differing mesh sizes
A variety of spatulas for turning food or for scraping bowls or plates
Tongs
Can opener
A variety of food prep bowls in different sizes
Peeler
Cutting board
Teakettle (you have to have your tea or coffee!)
Oven thermometer (very useful for gauging the temperature settings on various ovens)
By way of full disclosure, I don’t by any means have the full list above, and I’ve gotten by for quite a while with a relatively small subset.
While I was refreshing my memory with regard to this topic, I found this very useful link:
https://www.cooksmarts.com/cooking-guides/create-a-functional-kitchen/20-must-have-kitchen-tools/
You will also need a variety of kitchen appliances, many of which are fairly standard in most kitchens. In addition to a stove and oven (and/or hotplate and toaster oven), there’s the nearly ubiquitous microwave, and many people seem to have a dishwasher.
It’s also handy to have a blender (take note of the immersion/stick blender mentioned in the above link), some kind of food processor or food chopper (I use Top Chop by Oster), one or more grinders (such as a coffee grinder), a crockpot or slow cooker, and possibly even a juicer. You might also consider an air fryer; if you’d like one that’s part of a multi-use appliance, you can get yourself a toaster oven with four different settings (bake, toast, air fry, and broil), such as the Hamilton Beach, which I highly recommend.
There are also a variety of other appliances such as pressure cookers and even some really fancy units that will do just about anything.
But you’re not necessarily looking to set up your kitchen with all the essentials required by the high-end restaurants; if you’re reading this, chances are that you’re just getting your feet wet in this cooking thing.
There are also a number of miscellaneous supplies that you’ll probably need. These include tin foil, plastic wrap, a variety of sizes of Ziploc bags, food storage containers, and, if you’re into baking or roasting (of nuts or seeds, such as sunflower, pumpkin, and others), parchment paper.
In DIY Food Basics, Part 2, you’ll read in much more detail about what kinds of ingredients to consider, as well as suggestions about the best places to buy them.