GUEST BLOGGER COLUMN, “SHOESTRING SOUP”: KITCHEN BASICS

Whether you’re starting university, moving out of your parents’ home or just want to start cooking for yourself, you’ll probably need to learn the basics. There’s nothing to worry about – everyone has to start at the very beginning! Before you know it, you’ll be running a sleek kitchen operation on a tight budget.

This article will cover your basic kitchen set up. These are the things you ideally need if you’re going to have some variety in your food. I’ll try and indicate what I think are the most important items, but use your own judgement. Ask yourself what sort of food you want to be cooking and will this item help you cook it? Will this utensil save you time and energy, and is that efficiency worth the money? Hopefully, you have access to an oven. This is your base unit. But, in order to use that, you’ll need some equipment.

Pans

Pans are fairly ubiquitous items in the kitchen. If you’re just starting out with cooking, I would suggest two pans: a wok and a large saucepan. This will cover you for most basic meals. As you get more confident, or get better with budgeting, you can always think about buying more pans, such as a skillet/frying pan or a milk pan if you get particularly adventurous! The wok you will use for frying and for preparing things such as pasta sauce. The large saucepan can be used to boil water for rice and pasta or for preparing soups and stews.

Ovenware

If you’re thinking of making meals using the oven, you’re going to need a few things. Firstly, oven gloves/mitts! I cannot stress how important this is – please look after your fingers. Make sure they gloves are thick enough. Be sure to try them on and see if you can still move your hand. I prefer cloth ones as I find the silicone ones make it hard for me to move my wrists. You’re also going to need a baking sheet. Be sure to check the size so that it fits inside your oven. I would recommend getting one of the round ones as you’ll also be able to use it for cooking pizza (and everyone loves pizza). You may need two depending on how much stuff you want to make (e.g. pizza and oven fries). Lastly, get yourself a casserole dish. This is especially good if you are looking to cook low spoon meals. A casserole can be as easy as opening a few cans and then just popping it all in the oven!

Utensils

Knives. There’s nothing more important in food preparation than a good knife. What you should do is go down to your store and pick a few up. Think of it like visiting Ollivander’s… You want a knife with a good balance and that is a good weight for you. There is no point having a huge knife if it’s going to wear you out after a few chops. If you’re looking to save time and energy, taking a few minutes to learn a good cutting technique with a quality, sharp knife will pay off massively in the long run. On that note, try and buy a knife sharpener. A dull blade is going to make it so difficult and you increase the risk of hurting yourself. You also want a serrated knife, for cutting things such as tomatoes (the serrated edge will cut much more easily through the skin). If you’re on a budget, though, a decent chef’s knife will do most jobs adequately. You will also need a minimum of one wooden spoon and a plastic spatula. I specify these materials because you don’t want to damage the coating of your pans. Once you get better at cooking, you can think about purchasing metal utensils, as you’ll be less likely to scrape the sides. A cheese grater can also be very handy, as would a whisk and a ladle. Lastly, a pair of chef’s scissors. These little things are very handy to have around, doing everything from cutting up chicken to slicing up pizza. 

Utensils is probably the area with the most room to wild in if you can afford it: pizza cutters, nutmeg grater, tongs – the list goes on. If you really want to treat yourself, I would suggest a hand blender with several different attachments. It is incredibly useful for when you want to get certain jobs done quicker.

With all the things I’ve mentioned, don’t be afraid of looking for used items. Provided that they are clean (and in the case of electronics, have a valid safety check), there’s nothing wrong with going second-hand. I got a waffle iron for $5 from a charity store. That was 3 years ago and I’m still enjoying tasty waffles today!

I hope you enjoyed this and hopefully learned something new. Look out for my next article where I will discuss shopping on a budget.

Cameron, 22, just finished his BA in English Language and Literature at King’s College London. He is a poet, part of the Barbican Young Poets and Burn After Reading collective, as well as an academic mentor. You can read all of Cameron’s posts here