Kitchen Essentials
Must-have tools for keen cooks and bakers.
Cooking trends come and go, but there are essential items no kitchen should be without. These are the staples everyone needs: a set of quality saucepans, good knives and a sturdy chopping board, for starters.
“Always missing the tool that would be ‘great to have’ doesn’t encourage a relaxed cooking experience, so make sure you’re well-equipped,” says Maggie Beer, restaurateur, providore and beloved TV cook. “That said, a kitchen should have a soul, not just be a functional space. It’s important to allow the practical aspect to be equal to the parts of your kitchen that are sentimental.”
Contrary to what some retailers would have you believe, you don’t need to fill your kitchen with every new gadget. The key is to own a handful of top-quality items that suit the way you cook.
“In my opinion, a 20cm chef’s knife and a 10cm paring knife are essential,” says Karina Kealy, product manager at Zwilling JA Henckels. While knife sets may appear to be good value, she says it’s preferable to purchase knives individually so they suit your specific cooking needs.
Japanese knives are a kitchen must-have among chefs and it’s easy to see why, says Roger Seamark, marketing manager at Sheldon and Hammond. “When they’re made in the Samurai tradition, using Cromova 18 stainless steel, the knives are hard enough to hold their cutting edge for some time, but soft enough that
they’re not difficult to sharpen. They’re also perfectly balanced.”
Upgrading to a good set of pots and pans also reaps rewards in the kitchen. “Quality cookware responds instantly to heat, helps you control your cooking environment, and gives you chef-like results,” says Tristan Lutze of cookware retailer The Essential Ingredient. “If your saucepans are usually used for boiling pasta or rice, you won’t need to invest in anything extravagant. If you’re regularly preparing sauces or poaching delicate fish dishes, it’s worth buying something better. Stainless steel is the most versatile and affordable option. A non-stick finish is useful in frypans when cooking eggs, fish and other delicate ingredients, but not required in a saucepan where plenty of liquid will be used. Chefs like copper because of its superior response to heat.”
A good saucepan, says Lutze, will have a solid handle, a thick – preferably impact-welded – base that offers superior heat conductivity, even heat distribution, and will be made of a high-quality metal. A basic cookware set that includes 16cm, 18cm and 20cm saucepans, a 26cm frypan, plus a cast-iron French oven and grill pan would cover most recipe requirements, says Seamark.
When it comes to selecting frypans, weight is a indicator of quality, says Greg Doyle, cutlery and cookware product manager at Stanley Rogers. “The thicker the frypan, the less likely it will warp or change shape over time. Aluminium frypans heat the fastest and most evenly, but won’t last as long as stainless steel.” If flexibility is important, opt for a frypan with a removable handle, or one that can withstand high temperatures so you can transfer it into the oven.
The right kitchen utensils make light work of food prep and will protect the surfaces of your pots and pans from damage. “A spatula is probably one of the most frequently used kitchen tools,” says Lutze. “A stainless-steel balloon whisk is a fundamental tool, while another is a mandoline, which can cut paper-thin slices of potato, julienne carrots and more.” Quality tongs, a box grater, vegetable peeler and serrated bread knife also make the list.
And the one kitchen essential people tend to overlook? “Digital scales,” says Lutze. “They’re particularly useful for baking when careful measurements are critical for success.”