It all comes down to what are the essentials, right? Unless your Auntie Gertrude dropped a big pile of money on your for walking little Trixie around the block every day.
For most of us, that doesn’t happen, so we approach the task of outfitting our first kitchen in a slap-dash fashion. Well, I know I need some pots and pans, and a knife or two. Maybe Mom has a few extras I can skive… Then I go to the kitchen gadget store, and start drooling over the matching Calphalon cookware, the melon ballers, and the extra large mortar and pestle.
How do I know what is essential? Jill Carle (age 23) has some of the best advice I’ve read anywhere: “you figure out what is the bare minimum you need in order to make what you want to make.” What a great idea! Start with the end results that you want, and work your way backwards.
Here’s a fine list to get you started in making your own: Janet Rausa Fuller, food editor at the Chicago Sun-Times wrote a handy guide to get you going. She covers knives, pots and pans, other cookware and gadgets, and pantry staples too! One size doesn’t fit all though, so you’ll probably want to use this list to create your own. I’m still working on mine!
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