Kitchen guide
Kitchen essentials checklist
You don't need a wall of gadgets to cook well. This is the short list I'd buy again: the tools that earn their drawer space, the pans that cover almost every recipe, and the staples that turn whatever is in the fridge into dinner.
Tools worth owning
- A chef's knife, 20cm. One good knife beats a block of mediocre ones.
- A small paring knife for peeling, trimming and garlic.
- A large wooden or plastic chopping board, plus a second one for raw meat.
- Digital scales. Baking stops being a gamble once you weigh things.
- Measuring spoons and a heatproof jug.
- A box grater and a microplane for citrus, garlic and hard cheese.
- Tongs, a fish slice, a ladle and a silicone spatula.
- A colander, a mixing bowl or three, and a can opener.
- An instant-read thermometer if you cook meat often.
Pans and vessels
- A 24cm to 28cm frying pan you trust not to stick.
- A heavy oven-safe pan or casserole for braises, stews and bread.
- A large saucepan for pasta, stock and soup, plus a small one for sauces.
- Two baking sheets. Roasting vegetables on one tray is half of weeknight cooking.
- A loaf tin and a 20cm cake tin if you bake at all.
Pantry staples
- Olive oil for finishing, a neutral oil for heat.
- Flaky salt, fine salt and black peppercorns.
- Tinned tomatoes, tinned beans and chickpeas.
- Dried pasta, rice and one more grain you actually like.
- Stock cubes or paste, soy sauce, vinegar and mustard.
- Onions, garlic, lemons: the base of most things.
- Cumin, smoked paprika, chilli flakes, dried oregano, cinnamon.
- Freezer: peas, spinach, bread, and portions of anything you cooked too much of.
How to keep track of it
The hard part isn't buying the staples, it's remembering what you already have. RecipeHive keeps a pantry list per shelf, fridge and freezer, flags what's about to expire, and matches it against your saved recipes so you can see what's actually cookable tonight.
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