gastronomer.com - Kitchen Setup

Random Tip

If you are making hash browns or home fries with uncooked potatoes, cover them with a lid in the beginning of the cooking process. This will cause the potatoes to steam, and the steam will do the bulk of the cooking of the potatoes. For flavor and texture, be sure to remove the lid for at least the last five minutes of cooking, or the potatoes will be soggy instead of crispy. For hash browns, you are actually better off using potatoes that have been precooked.

And remember, the substance that makes the potatoes so nice and brown is the hot fat (butter, vegetable shortening, vegetable oil, bacon grease) that you use in your pan.

Main Menu

Home

Home

Kitchen Setup

Setting Up Your Kitchen

Let's suppose that you're on the precipice of starting to cook, but you don't have any kitchen equipment. Odds are that you're not in the mood to go out this weekend and blow a couple hundred dollars on outfitting your kitchen with everything you can think of. This is good, because if everything you can think of doesn't cost well over a thousand dollars, you're not very well acquainted with what's out there.

The point here isn't that you need to spend a lot of money. The point is that the kitchenware marketplace is big, and if you don't know what's out there, you probably won't end up buying those items that are best for you.

There are a few basic kitchenware items that you will definitely need if you are to prepare anything but the most basic of foods. In the realm of kitchenware, the law of diminishing returns is very much in effect. Your first few purchases (a pot and a pan) will enhance the number of dishes you can prepare a hundred-fold. But as you buy more and more items, you will begin to find that each new purchase expands your cooking abilities by only a couple of dishes.

Therefore, you really don't need to spend a huge amount of money to be able to cook a large variety of dishes. What one needs to be aware of are the potentially hidden costs. These hidden costs can be surmounted if one adheres to a few simple guidelines. First, don't buy a lot of useless junk. For example, I once had a housemate who didn't own a decent knife, but he did own a duck press. Second, buy the best items that you can comfortably afford. When buying pots and pans, the words "anodized" and "tri-metal molecular bonding" sound enticing, and do make for excellent cookware, but what good are they if the purchase prohibits you from affording the food to put in them. Also, you should note that while the words "3 for 5 dollars" can also be enticing, when you're feeding off the bottom...

These recommendations are by no means comprehensive, rather, the intention is to touch upon those items that you definitely need to buy, might want to considering buying, and might be fool enough to buy if you weren't forewarned. Anyone looking for a comprehensive list of kitchenware might want to pick up a copy of "The Kitchenware Book" by Irena Chalmers and Steve Ettlinger.

[ Back ]