You can outfit a kitchen for as little as $79.57! Does this sound too incredible to be true? It’s not. The secret is buying the most critical food preparation tools and knowing the versatile uses of each tool. Only 15 tools are key to cooking, and you can cook almost anything if you have them.
Are you about to stock your first kitchen or one for your child? Feeling a bit overwhelmed after pricing cookware sets? don’t be I’ll show you how to properly furnish a beginner’s kitchen with good quality tools for a song.
I have been cooking for 40 years and have all kinds of nifty kitchen gadgets and beautiful equipment. But I prepared some of the most delicious and interesting meals of my life in a 10′ X 7′ galley kitchen with a small white 1950’s refrigerator and matching gas oven and stove. The white tub sink hung over its exposed drain, and gray linoleum covered the floor. Cabinet space and countertops were limited, but I happily discovered a 2 foot deep, 3 foot wide built-in maple cutting board sticking out of a 1/2″ slot between the countertop and drawers. How helpful! !
The walls of my third-floor walk-up efficiency apartment had been painted institutional green some 20 years before I moved in. But the hardwood floors were barely worn, and the small living room was well lit by a cozy bay window. For the first time in my life I had a space for myself. I loved!
My entry-level professional position paid accordingly, so kitchen furniture and utensils tended to be of the legacy variety. A second-hand sofa had a blanket to cover a cushion that had been torn to shreds by pet claws. A small black and white television, complete with a broken antenna, perched on top of a wobbly coffee table. I lived shabby chic 2 decades before its heyday.
I didn’t need a lot of kitchen cabinet space as I only owned some chipped stoneware cutlery (courtesy of my late grandmother’s kitchen), some old stainless steel cutlery, and an impressive array of beer mugs plucked from the local bars. university. And, of course, my kitchen utensils: a covered pot, a wire mesh strainer with one of its 3 legs missing, an old black frying pan, a decent chef’s knife, and some assorted tools like spatulas, a potato peeler, potatoes and potholders. I splurged on one thing: a new, hardcover, glossy-paged, fully illustrated copy of a gourmet cookbook called simply “The Cookbook” by Terence and Caroline Conran. Long before Julie cooked Julia, I made almost every recipe in that book in my small, ill-equipped kitchen. And the meals were delicious! We are talking about Filet de Boeuf en Croute, Veal with Apples and Cream, Gnocchi Romana, Paella and Hare in Sour Cream. I confess I skipped the sweetbreads and tripe, but made a mediocre Pâté de Campagne.
When a recipe called for a rolling pin, I would use a glass as I had seen my grandmother do to roll out the cookie dough. My chef’s knife became my best friend, saving me the expense of a food processor, grater, grater, and mandolin. Forks were a close second to beaters, reamers, pasta rakes, and tongs. Although I coveted the beautiful equipment I saw in kitchen stores, I spent my money on cooking classes. And I noticed a funny thing. Many instructors also used a fork as a whisk when cooking in a hurry. Today I love and enjoy all my kitchen stuff. But I know from experience that it’s “nice to have” and not necessary to make a fabulous meal.
Learning to cook is like learning to play golf. You don’t need all the fancy clubs to play a decent game, especially early on. I had an urge to learn golf after seeing a set of Lynx Tigress woods. They were a beautiful royal blue and came with a matching bag. My heart sank a few minutes into my first lesson when the pro told me that the only club he would use for weeks would be a 5-iron. I thought I had clearly picked a poor pro. What would I do with the adorable skirt and shoes I bought to go with my outfit? But as we went through our lessons, I came to grasp the wisdom of him. Mastering the most versatile club taught me the basics without overwhelming me with too many options.
What do you need for a beginner kitchen? Surprisingly little. This is what I call my
“List of the 5 Irons”:
chef’s knife ($14.99)
cutting board ($1.49)
10″ Covered Skillet ($14.99)
2-quart covered casserole ($10.99)
dutch oven ($14.99)
mixing bowl set ($4.99)
liquid measuring cup ($4.99)
dry measuring cups ($3.99)
dry measuring spoons ($2.99)
13×9″ Baking sheet ($8.39)
Turning spatula, kitchen spoon ($0.79)
mesh strainer ($3.99)
vegetable peeler ($4.99)
Can opener ($1.99)
I found the prices listed above at IKEA and Target.
The cookware is stainless steel. I think on aluminum and non-stick surfaces for two reasons. Stainless steel is known to be a stable metal, while there are some concerns about the potential harm to health from aluminum cookware. There are also some questions about the health risks caused by nonstick surfaces, and once they are scratched, they should not be used. Plain, old-fashioned stainless steel is the safest way to go.
Why IKEA and Target? Because both have physical stores and e-commerce sites, and both maintain a constant stock over time. I often pick up great deals on cookware and kitchen supplies at stores like Home Goods and Tuesday Morning and I recommend stopping by to see if there’s a store near you. But their models are such that the merchandise available can vary from day to day. Your local supermarket or membership warehouse store may also have some affordable options. And, if you’re willing to browse online, you can find plenty of great deals. However, be aware of shipping costs and try to buy from a seller to keep them low.
In the meantime, try your hand at greens and protein with your new affordable kitchen supplies. Keep an eye out for part 2 of this article dealing with tool substitutions.
