Do you need it or do you want it?

I don’t know about you but I have enough gadgets and recipe books in my kitchen to start a restaurant!

What do we really need?

Now, if you are kosher, just double up! Obviously, you will need plates to eat off and your usual cutlery and crockery.

In the kitchen though, the first thing to have are good knives. A really good chef’s knife and utility knife are the most essential to me.  With these two knives you can do just about anything. You also need a knife sharpener. Personally, I feel that you can never have enough knives!

The next thing that is on my list is the cutting boards.  You need one for raw meat, one for raw fish and one for fruit and vegetables (see my post)http://kasheringyourlife.co.za/index.php/2015/08/06/is-your-kitchen-actually-clean/

You will definitely need two mixing bowls; one large and one small, or medium. You don’t want to beat up 2 eggs in a bowl meant for 5 litres.

A measuring cup, or jug, and measuring spoons are vital in adjusting textures, flavours, or even the consistency of a meal and is a big component of getting your family to eat what you make. If your batter is too spicy or too bland, if the consistency is runny instead of firm, who is going to want to eat it?

Your cooking pots should be of good quality, heat evenly, lie flat and don’t have coating that flakes off during cooking. Here, I would suggest that you get one large and one medium pot and, if you can, a small pot.  If money is a problem, replace the small pot with a frying pan.

You need a kettle, because tea and coffee make life manageable. You also need a mixer which can be a hand beater or an electric mixer as well as some kind of food processor.  As you can see, I have an assortment.

As for utensils, you definitely need a slotted spoon, a spatula (egg lifter) a solid spoon and a soup ladle is a bonus. One of my most important spoons is my wooden spoon; you can’t make pap without it. You can get this as a complete set in a holder but my heart almost stopped during my researching at the unbeatable price of R999.00. It came with steak knives too.

A strainer or colander is also important, especially if you like pasta!

To start, I would say, buy one of those bulk pack storage container sets that you find in the supermarkets, or buy a couple of single containers.  Also, save the plastic containers, such as the margarine tub, in which to store left-over food.

Something that is nearly a ‘must have’ is your vegetable peeler because while you can peel vegetables with a good knife, you also may remove too much skin and in doing so remove a lot of nutrients found just under the skin.

It’s nice to have that apple corer, the tomato slicer, the julienne tool, but these are thing you can live and cook without until you are able to buy what you need.