Kitchen gear for a newbie cook

[damned_colonial]

This is a hypothetical question -- not for me, but for some theoretical newbie cook. Imagine said person asks you, "What kitchen equipment should I buy to learn to cook?" What would you suggest?

Comments

[azurelunatic]

If you will be having rice, get a rice cooker. I say that I had to have two things when I left my parents' house: a laptop and a rice cooker. (It was actually three; the third was a car.) If you have a rice cooker, get a non-metal/somewhat soft paddle to get the rice out, although a plastic or wooden spoon or spatula will serve perfectly well.

If you do tea, a kettle (electric or stovetop) is nicer than the microwave.

A big knife and a small knife.
Cutting board.
Nonstick frying pan. (Cast-iron can come later.) Ideally with lid.
a pot of reasonable size, with lid. It should only be 1/2 to 2/3 full when you're cooking in most cases, to allow room for stirring and bubbling.
a stirring spoon (if it's deep enough, it can double as a serving spoon; if not, get a separate serving spoon)
a flipper (non-metal, to not damage your poor frying pan)
a scraper (flexible, to get stuff out of jars and bowls and pots)
an oven-worthy pan with sides (can be used as baking sheet, but if you're going to do pizza or cookies, I recommend a pizza stone or insulated baking sheet respectively) (and yes, the non-insulated baking sheets are cheaper, but it makes a world of difference the first time you leave the cookies in a bit too long, omg)
POT HOLDERS.
Wet measuring cup (usually glass with the marks on the side), usually 2 cups.
Dry measuring cups (in sets from sometimes 1/8 cup, more often 1/4 cup, up to 1 cup)
Measuring spoons.
a can opener.
a kitchen timer. Your microwave (or stove, if it's fancy) may already have one.

If you're going to want nice sliced stuff, I highly recommend a finger-slicer. Most models come with a finger guard. Some of the good ones have alternate blades for fancier slices/grating. I prefer this over a food processor for slicing vegetables quickly. You can make do with a knife or a grater, but oh, how I love the finger-slicer.


...and how could I forget a crock pot? Technically, yes, you can slow-cook things in a pot on the stovetop. That takes regular consistent attention. A crock pot, not quite so much, as in you can leave the house with one on for a full workday (though I would not recommend over 10 hours unattended).


Something to store leftovers in. It's not necessary to buy these things separately, always, depending on what you're storing and what's already in the kitchen. If you get plastic tubs with a good seal, or glass jars, these work just fine.

I personally like the "disposable" plastic containers, since they're very durable and yet aren't expensive enough to cause alarm when one gets melted or shattered after falling out of the freezer.

[zarhooie]

Oh, I forgot about the crock pot. I also can't live without a convection oven because that's how we cook meat in our family.

[azurelunatic]

I think Dad could not live without a hibachi for meat-cooking.