There is essential kitchen equipment that is just as important as your ingredients. The wrong knife, pan, or even strainer could put you at a severe disadvantage and turn what could’ve been a masterpiece into cafeteria food. When you show up ill prepared, bad things will happen.

Now I’m not saying you need to run out and buy all of the most expensive equipment in all the sizes you can get your hands on. Quite the opposite. It’s all about figuring out what you actually need and buying quality items. The best equipment can be passed down through generations—if you take care of it.

So what do I actually need, you say? The following is what you’ll need to get the job done at the very least, but it’s all about realizing what you need and what’s just taking up space. That’s why it’s so important to constantly reevaluate your situation. If you haven’t used something in months, it’s time to ask yourself why and if it’s worth keeping around.

Chef’s knife:

The most important piece of equipment in your culinary arsenal! A sharp knife—that stays sharp—is worth its weight in gold. Do not underestimate this.
I’ve heard people say too many times that they don’t want their knife to be “too sharp” because they will cut themself. This is one of the biggest pieces of faulty logic in the kitchen. A dull knife will lead to more, and often worse, cuts than a sharp one. The fact that you’ll need to apply much more pressure to cut through an ingredient with a dull knife far increases the likelihood of injury. Also, proper technique will help, but that’s another post.

So it needs to be sharp, but what else to look for? How it fits in your hand is extremely important. This will be by far the one thing in your kitchen that you’re holding the most, so you should feel comfortable doing so. 

The size, shape, and weight should make it feel like an extension of your own body. Though it can be more difficult these days, go to a store and test out how different knives feel in your hand to make an informed decision. 

Global, Henckels, and Wusthof are all solid brands. Just out of college, I went for the utilitarian Victorinox, which out of the box is very sharp, but has some trouble maintaining that edge. 

Keeping that edge as sharp as possible for as long as possible is key and that’s why purchasing a sharpening stone or electric sharpener is so important. And no, the round pointy thing that came with your knife block is not a sharpener. That’s a honing steel–another extremely important sidekick to your knife. You should be honing your knife, at the very least, at the beginning of each cooking session.

A chef’s knife isn’t all you need, but it will suffice for about 90% of your recipes. The other knives you will use for the other 9.9% of the time are a paring, boning, and serrated knife.

Pots and pans:

Quality stainless steel pots and pans are the workhorse of the kitchen. They will also make or break how your food turns out. Thin cookware? That’s a recipe for scorched food. Only have nonstick? Well, it’ll do its job and let nothing stick to it, including flavor for your soon to be pan sauce. 

This is the foundation of whatever you’re cooking, and if you throw perfectly prepped quality ingredients into the wrong cookware, then you might as well be throwing it into the trash.

Just like knives, these don’t have to be the most expensive things you’ve ever bought. They just need to be heavy-bottomed and well made, so you won’t need to purchase more a year from now. 

A stock pot, a couple saucepans, and a sauté pan will get you off to a great start. Of course it’s always good to have a nonstick sauté pan as well. Mine is ceramic coated so I don’t have to worry about fumes or wonder if I’m going to scratch it at any second.

Cutting boards:

I can’t believe I even have to mention this, but to this day when I go to people’s homes, they’re using the wrong cutting board for the wrong application or don’t have the right board entirely. 

It’s not that difficult. At least, I didn’t think so. And if you own a glass or stone cutting board, throw it away right now. Nothing will dull your knife faster short of using it for fencing. Or at least just use it as a cheese board for all those parties you’ll be throwing soon.

90% of the time, you need a plastic cutting board. It won’t dull your knife, it’s easy to cut on, and, most importantly of all, it’s the best for food safety. Nothing ends a dinner party faster than food poisoning because you couldn’t wash all that raw chicken out of your wood cutting board. A wood cutting board, though, is good for bread, slicing/presenting a roast, and a few other applications.

Now for the size. Stop using a cutting board that can barely hold two limes to prep your entire dinner. Easy test? Put your knife on the cutting board diagonally. If it doesn’t have at least a couple inches to spare on both ends, you need to bump up a size.

Also, nothing makes your board feel smaller than large amounts of prepped veg just sitting there. Large metal and small glass bowls of varying sizes are extremely helpful at storing prepped ingredients until they’re ready to be used.

Storage:

You need a place to put all your cooking tools and they also need to be easily accessible. Nothing’s worse than rummaging through a drawer trying to find that one thing you need while your food burns. Or stabbing yourself with that paring knife that you still don’t have a proper place for. 

Organization in the kitchen is key, and that includes your equipment. And your most used equipment needs to be readily accessible. Keep it within arm’s reach of your stove or prep area. 

One last note: please just get that magnetic knife stripe you’ve been thinking about for years. They’re inexpensive, incredibly convenient, and much better than keeping your knives in a drawer or in that knife block that’s taking up half your precious counter space.

The Rest:

• Rubber spatula
• Wood spoon
• Wisk
• Measuring cup/spoons
• Plastic squeeze bottles
• Box grater
• Microplane
• Reamer
• Strainer
• Sheet pan
• Mortar & Pestle
• Fine mesh/conical sieve