Cooking at home can be a lot of fun and a great way to explore your creativity at the same time as improving your health. However, it can also be quite daunting, particularly if you’re new to cooking. This article will look at some kitchen essentials that will help you in the long run.
What Kitchen Essentials Do You Need?
When it comes to cooking from home, the right equipment is key to creating tasty, nutritious dishes that you can be proud of. Owning the right kitchen gadgets and utensils will save you time, make life easier and can also save you wasted money on recipes that don’t turn out right!
If you’re starting to cook meals from scratch at home, here are a few of the must-haves you’ll need in your kitchen.
Sharp Knives
Contrary to popular belief, a blunt knife is actually far more dangerous than a sharp one. To cover all the bases, you should have at least three knives – a chef’s knife, a serrated bread knife and a paring knife.
Chopping boards
To protect your surfaces from your knives and to keep your kitchen worktops clean and safe, you need a set of chopping boards. Whether you choose plastic or wooden boards is a matter of preference but you should be sure to use separate boards for chopping meat, vegetables and bread and replace well-used boards every couple of years as bacteria can build up in the grooves.
Pans
You’ll need a set of good-quality saucepans in various sizes. You might also want to invest in a wok and a non-stick frying pan, which will allow you to make stir fries and utilise your new skills such as shallow frying, sautéing and searing.
A Blender
A blender is ideal for creating perfectly smooth soups and sauces. Whether you choose a hand blender or food processor depends on your preference and how much storage space you have in your kitchen.
Utensils
At a bare minimum, you’ll need a wooden spoon, a spatula and a slotted spoon. You might also want to invest in a ladle, whisk and tongs to make life easier.
Weighing and Measuring
Many recipes will require specific measurements of ingredients, so you’ll need a way to measure these out, whether that’s a measuring jug, a set of measuring cups or a set of kitchen scales.
The Benefits of a Home-Cooked Meal
There are lots of fantastic benefits to cooking from scratch at home. Not only has it been shown to be a healthier alternative to dining out or ordering takeaways but it’s also a great stress reliever after a long day and can help us stay mindful and live in the moment. Home cooking also encourages us to slow down and spend quality time with the people we love, whether that’s our partner or family and friends. Cooking at home can also boost confidence and creativity too.
How to Get Better at Cooking
Practice makes perfect and that’s as true for home cooking as it is for lots of other things in life. The more time you spend rustling up dishes and trying new recipes in your kitchen, the easier it will become and the more confident you’ll feel in your cooking abilities. If you want to improve your cooking skills, it’s a good idea to start simple and master the basics before moving on to trickier dishes. Preparing your cooking area and ingredients ahead of time is also a huge help as it means you’re less likely to get flustered or realise that you’ve forgotten an essential ingredient part-way through cooking.