What is your essential cookware?
A friend and I had a conversation at work on what our top 10 essential pieces of cookware would be if we could only have 10 and nothing else. We both ended up bumping it up to 12 because we couldn't part with a few things, but these were my choices, most important of which would be the Chef's Knife and the Wok.
A lot of my picks were because of their versatility, e.g. the wok which can deep fry, saute, boil, and even bake if you're brave enough, or because of their necessity.
Here is my reasoning for each of my picks:
Can Opener: knives can open cans, but I don't want to have to ruin my chef's knife by doing so
Wok: Carbon steel is easy to clean, durable, and non-stick and can still get good color and fond when sauteeing meats. The form factor is more versatile to boil or deep fry, and big enough for soup or stew while still being able to saute. I almost went with a cast iron pan for this pick, but it isn't big enough for soup or stew and doesn't do well with acid.
Chef's Knife: probably the most important tool of all, and the most versatile knife of all the blade choices. You could probably substitute a cleaver here but I am more used to the chef's knife personally.
Chopsticks: I feel like chopsticks are more precise and versatile than tongs or a spatula. This one is more personal preference. (especially because they're so easy to clean).
Corner Spoon: can't use chopsticks for liquids so I picked a corner spoon which can double as a spoon and a spatula.
Cutting Board: probably one of the weaker picks, but I think it's necessary to keep your countertops safe and also to keep your blade from dulling too much with use.
Food Scale: Another important one, you can't recreate recipes accurately without measuring ingredients. Some scales have a liquid and solid option so you will be able to measure both volume and weight close enough to be accurate.
Immersion Blender: probably my weakest entry, but I feel like it's necessary enough to include. You can't make certain things without a blender and the immersion blender is more versatile than a countertop one.
Mixing Bowls: Essential for mise en place and separation of ingredients, for recipe and/or safety.
Mortar and Pestle Necesary for spices and ground ingredients that a chef's knife would be too tedious to use (e.g. ground cumin). More versatile than just a spice grinder.
Thermometer: Essential for accurate cooking temps and food safety. You could technically do it all by feel, but to me especially in the context of baking and meats, accurate temperature is important.
Whisk: Another weaker entry, but you couldn't make things like hollandaise or whipped cream without one. You could probably remove this one if you had a whisk attatchment on the immersion blender.
I did not include heat or cleaning stuff in this list which is technically also necessary. You need some form of heat (like a stovetop or campfire) and refridgeration to cook too, and some cleaning agents.
I'm curious what you all would add, remove, or swap to the list. What's essential to you?
60 replies
Cast iron. Second most essential piece?
Second cast iron.
My cast iron spurdle really comes in handy. It only weighs 4 pounds, can hardly tell it's cast iron. So I gotta tell everyone. Dropped it on my tile floor once, turns out it's really handy at getting up broken tile. I use it for everything!
We've got two which have been with us for years and are so fully seasoned even god couldn't stick to them. And not gross, just, basically invisible.
I dont think I've ever seen a can opener that looks like your photo, and can't really imagine how that is supposed to work.
It's called a P-38 and was issued to American troops to open rations in WWII. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-38_can_opener
It's funny that my top 10 (or 12) list would have stuff on it that I don't actually use all that often, because when I'm not limited I use more specialized tools. For example, I'd pick an enameled cast iron dutch oven, but I more often use a Crock Pot or Instant Pot.
Anyway, my list:
If I could have the extra two items, they'd be:
My list doesn't include a can opener. Rather than abusing my knife, I just wouldn't use any canned ingredients, and I'm okay with that. (If this were a disaster scenario where ingredients were limited that answer would change, though.)
The mortar and pestle or blender didn't make the list because if I really need to crush something, I can whack it with a heavy pan.
Essential? Chefs knife, cutting board, tongs, spoon, pot, pan, bowls. Stuff like a can opener or mortar and pestle are convenient but not essential, and stuff like scales and thermometers can be substituted with experience.
I feel like the choice of can opener is rage bait lol
Here is mine:
If I could have another it would be a peeler. I hate using a knife to peel.
I guess my line of thinking was that a can opener isn't the most important investment out of all the tools. I tried to pick the cheapest possible things without sacrificing cooking quality; P38s are like 50¢ and they work well enough and last forever so that's where my mind went
I thought about a peeler too, but I only really use them for carrots and potatoes. I'm one of the weirdos that likes the skin on potatoes and I can peel a carrot easily enough with a knife.
I didn't think about kitchen towels for heat though, that's definitely an essential
I am just teasing! I've got one in my backpacking mess kit. Not sure why because cans are too heavy lol. It migrated from my car camping kit, I think.
I'm surprised multiple people have immersion blender in their top 10. I wonder if I'm missing something. I don't deny it's a very nice tool to have but I feel like it's not essential for most meals. For some things, the dish might taste worse though. I've definitely made pasta sauce and indian curry without one and you will end up with a chunkier pasta sauce or curry but it's still totally edible and tasty.
No, I don't think there is anything profound. Maybe I wouldn't have had it if op didn't include it in theirs, tbh. I do use it a lot but I also make a lot of soup/smooth sauces. It's also handy for emulsions.
A pair of solid flat tongs. A decent pair has outlived half my kitchens.
click click
Yes Yeas That's the exact noise! Mine have a triangle loop at the end, not round. I have to be careful as my kids have their eyes on them
Don't overlook the humble bowl/bench scraper. It's not just for baking. They have a duty in everything from prep work to washing up. I even recently found small plastic scrapers that are so hard, they can sheer carbon fused to a stainless steel pan.
Definitely agree, it didn't make my top ten but I use my scraper all the time. It's so easy to just scoop things up after you cut them, or even for cleaning too
How would you prepare a lasagne or anything pizza-like with those utensils? I think i'd need a spatula and a casserole, just because half the things i cook require them. Also I truly need a dedicated spatula, i have chickens and flipping eggs with chopsticks sounds painful.
Casserole-dishes could be done by swapping out the wok for a deep pot but that is not as versatile.
Also i think i'd drop the thermometer since i rarely prepare meat and instead of the immersion blender i'd pick a thermomix, just because it's so much easier to prepare sauces with it. Bechamel in 6min is just something i can't do by hand. This can also be used for shredded cheeses, which otherwise would have to be done with the chefs knife. Additionally this frees up the mortar and pestle spot, it's not exactly the same texture for some asian recipes but most western uses for the mortar and pestle can be substituted by this.
I guess the 80/20 rule would apply. I could probably make 80% of most dishes with these tools, but I wouldn't be able to make anything that needs special equipment (like madeline pans, pizza peels, etc.). Calzone would probably be on the table since you can move it by hand, but pizza would be a hard one without a way to get it in the oven. Maybe you could par-cook the crust so it's stable enough to handle and top?
Eggs are a good point too. Scrambled and sunnyside would be easy in the wok, but over easy, etc. would definitely be harder. It would definitely take some finesse to flip it in a wok.
Edit: TIL about a Thermomix. Definitely more versatile than an immersion blender
I think i'd be able to cook most of my staples with this (except for some traditional german/french meats that require special prep) but as you said 80/20 applies
Essential, as in cannot cook the majority of things without:
Lets me prep and cook 99% of the solid and liquid things that I make.
enamelled cast iron dutch oven 💯
Can Opener
Cast Iron Skillet with Vented Lid
Kershaw Pocket Knife
Flat Short Spatula (Metal)
Rice Cooker
Single Burner -> Wall Outlet
I was homeless for a few years, found a roach motel that would take me, thats the list of what fed me for about 1.5 years at said roach motel while I recovered from all the injuries incurred from homelessness.
The Wok is nice, but a flat skillet has more flat surface area, you can fry up a larger cut of meat, an omellete, a pancake, or a grilled sandwich, etc.
Rice Cooker will boil rice or pasta or heat up a sauce or soup... and of course will just boil water, which ia better than nothing if your water quality sucks and you ain't got filters.
I found that goddamned pocket knife in a parking lot, around 2 years ago now, cleaned it up, and I still havent needed to get an actual chef knife yet, I just cleaned the knife after any and every food prep, its still pretty sharp.
Luxury post-homeless living:
Throw on a Teapot with an infuser and you can make loose leaf tea or instant coffee in it.
If you want better coffee, French Press + Grinder.
Here's what I use...
Stainless steel pan and pot. One single plate, bowl, mug, spoon, fork, butter knife, chop sticks, and a mini cleaver. (I have more plates and utensils in storage from buying as a set but I only get them out for guests)
A mini fridge, chest freezer, a portable induction hob, a microwave, a toaster oven, and an air fryer. I also have a food scale and spoon/cup measurement.
You'd be surprised with what you can do with so little.
... The microwave and toaster oven are kind of optional, to be honest. An airfryer is just a strong convection oven and works fine to reheat/toast things if you know how. Fork can be used to wisk but I wouldn't mind losing it and keeping the chopsticks. The pot could double as a bowl, and often does...
Anyways, you've certainly beaten me.
That's how I cooked in a dorm. But my hotplate was actually ass. Induction hotplates were way out of my budget then. I feel like the toaster oven and air fryer fill the same niche. There are also combination microwaves and air fryers.
Missing a set of tongs and a big grilling spatula, big skillet (cast iron ideally), big lidded saucepan (stainless steel), steamer, baking sheet
Knife
Cutting board
Bowls
Chop sticks (they can whisk too)
Wok/Cast Iron
They rest is not needed if you know how to cook and use the above tools.
Blender/mixer grinder as they call it in India is super essential for me. It literally is my "third hand" while cooking.
I would remove the mortar in favor of having two cooking pans: a frying pan and 5ish liter pot. But I would be willing to replace the fruiting pan with the wok. I still need two cooking means most days.
Tongs ta-tong tong Tooooonnnggggssss
I can't remember using much else for cooking in a while.
I might count chopsticks as a 'free' item, unless you're also counting other basic utensils. Also if a set of bowls can be one item, a set of utensils should be.
Just the basics for me is a decent knife, cutting board, frying pan, spatula, bowls, and a fork and spoon.
Could pare the list down as needed, but the assignment was 12 items! Fun exercise to think through :)
My must haves:
Nice to haves:
Explanation: A wok/pan (which ever is more comfortable to you) is most important tool because you can make plenty of things without a knife (eg. Instant meals) so it's probably a no brainer. You don't even need anything to toss things in the wok.
Next you really want cooking chopsticks to use with it or a spatula. I think the chopsticks is just a hair more versatile so I put it ahead.
I think 1 to 5 should be obvious.
Next you need a bowl to either hold the finished food or for intermediate ingredients or even marinading so it's pretty important.
Lids are actually something I forgot about. These things are pretty critical to a good portion of dishes. The most important things they let you do is to simmer and steam foods. A lot of recipes are basically impossible or much much harder if you cannot steam things. The most obvious recipe they enable is rice.
8, 9 and 10 are actually kind of "very nice to have" cooking items. None of them are needed if you have a lot of experience and can just eye ball everything but they do make everything so much easier and makes your meals a lot more reproducible.
I put measuring cup first because those quantities are probably the hardest to eyeball. I can probably eye ball a tablespoon but I doubt I can eye ball a cup.
Measuring spoons are just plain useful. Not just as measuring tools but to get stuff out of containers.
The scale is probably the least used for me of the three.
I think with 1 to 10 you can probably make most things, although some things might be annoying to make.
The next thing you probably want is some way to sharpen your knife. Unless you are just going to buy a new knife every year I find a knife sharpener pretty crucial, probably more than the average person.
Sauce pan and pot are interchangeable. I put pot first because I like soups. Woks are also not great at replacing a pot.
Beyond 12. These are the "nice to have" items. You basically don't even need these at all.
Can opener is first of the nice to haves. I put it this low because I thought about what I even use them for and these days almost everything that comes in a can can be found in other form factors or the can has an opener integrated which is why this tool is so low. However, having one does unlock certain foods, the most obvious to me are canned mexican foods and campbell things.
Next, peeler, scraper and tongs are all very interchangeable for me. Of the three I definitely use the scraper the most, even more than a lot of things higher in the list. The reason why it's so low on the list is because no one needs a scraper. It just makes transporting things like minced garlic so much easier.
Peeler and tongs are very useful but I wouldnt consider either of them necessary. You can peel with a knife and you can use chop sticks instead of tongs although tongs are a lot safer if the thing is big.
Next is the rice cooker. So if we were to go by price to utility ratio, the rice cooker would probably shoot up to a spot in the top 10. However I'm ranking based on necessity of the item and no one really needs a rice cooker. You just need a container (eg. A wok or sauce pan) to hold rice and water and a lid to steam it. Realistically though, it would be one of the first things I buy because rice cookers are ridiculously cheap and they save so much time.
Pan. Instapot. Microwave. Bowl. Plate. Spatula. Spoon. Fork. Measuring cup. Mason jars.
I think that's what Ive used to cook about everything from eggs, soups, noodles, salads, steaks, etc.
A baking sheet and oven unlocks a lot too, but not essential.
I'd swap out a large saucepan for the wok, I think. I rarely fry, but make loads of soups, stews, and things that need distributed heat.
Air fryer goes in there, too. Absolutely essential to modern cooking, re-crisping, etc.
Potato masher may sound odd, but it's super-useful for helping to mix and cook down ingredients in soups & stews. For example when cooking beans, you crush maybe half and leave half intact, creating a nice texture.
The immersion mixer sounds super-handy!
I had an air fryer for a while, I'd have a hard time calling it essential. Though at one point it came in handy when my oven's thermometer went out half way through a pan of brownies. I got rid of it and haven't ever missed it.
One man's trash is another man's treasure, and vice-versa.
For me the countertop AF is so much more handy and quick than dealing with the oven. Then again, I'm not someone who's doing long bakes of one kind or another. Crisping up stale snacks was an incredible, unexpected bonus.
But the basic idea of being able to 'fry' without sauteing or deep-frying was the basic AF breakthrough IMO. Brush on a little oil and you can get a delicious outcome on all kinds of stuff without all the health concerns.
I used to be on the air fryer hate train too until I got one on clearance. Now I use it more than my oven; it's the same thing basically but so much more energy and time efficient. The last thing I used my actual oven for was making a cake, only because the pan wouldn't fit in the air fryer. I've even baked cookies and cupcakes in it, they're so cool
For sure. And stooping down and putting in and pulling out stuff from the oven is something I prefer skipping as a middle-aged bloke with a bad back.
Oh, but the AF does differ in a key material way-- it's a mini-convection oven, using a fan to distribute the heat. That's a key difference right there.
I can see the appeal. If I had a massive kitchen with space to spare I'd probably have one. But I don't, and a convection oven gets close enough without needing counter space.
Also if you're ever reheating pizza, throw it in a pan on the stove. Indistinguishable from fresh
With a bit of water, yes. You can also lightly spritz it with a water mister depending on how dry it got in the fridge.
Anyway, if you have a convection oven, then you more or less already have a larger-scale AF.
They're a bit different in my experience. Air fryers are smaller, so food sits closer to the element and moves air much faster than typical convection ovens. Some come with an "air fry" mode that I'm curious about, but I'm pretty sure it's just convection baking.
Truth. And it also heavily depends on the specific convection oven. For example, I understand that the fan situations can vary a lot, including air being distributed from the sides or top.
AF's themselves can vary a lot in their build and functionality IME.
My lucky pot, a 9-year old pan, and grandma's marital aid
I can ditch the whisk bc I'm fine with forks/wooden spoons (and I hate cleaning them). I actually don't have a instant read thermometer but I don't cook much in the way of large roasts/steaks so it's fine.
I'd probably replace the wok with a large stovetop pressure cooker/canner. Doesn't work as well for stir fry stuff but for basically most other things it's a lot better.
Disturbing lack of meat thermometers. I cant cook meat without one.
I need absolutely everything in the kitchen and totally need even more random devices!
I'm probably forgetting some things, but those get the most use (not necessarily in that order). Since I can't do gluten anymore, the stand mixer is mostly for making things for others. I love in Japan so the rice cooker is used daily, especially after my gluten issues.
I could of course drop several of those and do more by hand if I had to, but I wouldn't do so voluntarily
Alcohol.
It's funny I think because many are not "bowls" but "mixing bowls" 😁 not a spoon but a Corner spoon? Space Wook and Chef Chopsticks 😂 Left handed grill fork and a Kelvin Oven 🤣 Where is my Link branded cutting board?!
Sorry, I went a bit overboard there ☺️
My controversial hot take is that if you don't own a rice cooker or instant pot I just assume your cooking is not that good
Those things are used to automate(or not cook yourself), in fact I'd have the opposite opinion of someone that needs them.
an instant pot is just a fancy pressure cooker. Pressure cookers are great though. I prefer stove top stuff because I don't have enough spare counter space.
That is indeed controversial. I have a stove top pressure cooker. I only have so many outlets.
First real hot take I've seen in a while. Normally it's just objectively correct takes.
We have both, one because a friend recommended it and the other because an ex did, but I actually like the consistency of rice cooked in a pot on the stovetop better, and it cooks in less than half the time.
Rice cooker is very much set and forget. I find stovetop rice to be very wet
Rice cooker rice definitely turns out softer and fluffier. I just prefer the more defined quality it has from the stovetop. And I think rice comes out better for me when I can adjust the water and heat while it's cooking.