Essential cooking tools

Cooking made easy – Equipment

There are dozens, if not hundreds, or possibly even thousands of gadgets for sale to use in the kitchen. My personal opinion is that most of them are going to spend much of their lives at the bottom of a drawer, or the back of a cupboard, with a few exceptions.

There was a time when I would buy all the latest gadgets based on the sales techniques. They will make your life “easier” “improve the quality of your cooking” or “make you a better person.”

As you may have noticed, if you have read any of my other cooking articles, I now use very few pieces of equipment. I have few basic utensils that are indispensable, but the rest of the gadgets and gizmos are just not worth the money. These are my indispensable tools:

• A cast iron skillet with a lid
• A sharp knife
• A chopping board
• A basic food processor
• A large aluminum pot with a lid
• A grater
• A measuring cup
• A bowl and a whisk
• A salt and pepper grinder
• A large bottle of wine

The skillet.Never ever wash a cast iron skillet in soap and water. I scour the skillet with salt, and occasionally rinse it out with hot water only. NO SOAP. If you use soap to clean it, you will take the seasoning off and everything will stick to it. I cook almost everything in this skillet. I have roasted chickens, baked cakes, made pancakes and crepes, and a hundred other dishes, all with one skillet. A lid is great for doing things like curries and potato pancakes that need slow cooking.

Knives.I sharpen my knives regularly at home, and once a year have them professionally sharpened. I am lucky enough to have a local butcher with a knife grinder and he is happy to do it for free. I am sure there are knife sharpeners around where you live and it’s worth spending the money once a year. You are much more likely to cut yourself with a blunt knife than a sharp one. I do have several knives because I like to use a different knife for meat than vegetables. If you can only afford one knife, it has got to be a Shun Classic 8-inch chefs knife. mine no longer looks as sexy as the one in the photo, but I've had it a long time.

Chopping board. Some people like to have a different board for different foods, but I use one side for meat and the other for vegetables. If you wash the board thoroughly between uses it should not be a problem. I like to use a wooden board. And the best on the market are John Boos butcher blocks.

Aluminum pot.Wash with hot soapy water. These need very little maintenance and should last a lifetime.

The Food Processor: I use a simple food processor, a Phillips Cucina. Nothing fancy, one speed only, but very sharp blades. I am not pushing this particular processor, all I am saying is that you do not need to spend hundreds of dollars on an all-singing, all-dancing one. Something simple will suffice. Cuisinart also make some nice simple ones.

Just needs washing thoroughly and the blades should be kept covered, they are VERY sharp.Salt and pepper grinders need very little work and everything else just needs cleaning with soap and water.

Obviously there are a few pieces of equipment that could be added to this list, but I think I can cook just about anything with these tools. I am up for a challenge, so if anyone has something they think I can’t cook with these, let me know, and I will try.

Bon Apetit !