MUST have kitchen supplies

[mommariffic]

So, what do you consider kitchen must haves?

[Magelet]

Do you mean pantry type supplies (food) or pots and pans etc type supplies?

[mamadelbosque]

If your talking pots/pans/accessories... for me, its cast iron. I have no idea how I'd cook w/o it. I have a rather huge selection of CI stuff (6,8,10,12" skillets, 10 & 12" dutch ovens, 10" round griddle, 20x14" griddle, 14" pizza pan, 14" wok, 2 11-hole muffin pans, 2 6-hole muffin pans, and one little tiny mini pot thing), and I seriously don't know how I'd cook w/o it. Otherwise my kitchen stuff is pretty basic - though I do have a nice kitchenaid mixer & vitamix blender that I love, I could easily live w/o them (and for me at least, the vitamix is more important than the ka, though I love both!!)

[MissMaegie'sMama]

Originally Posted by mommariffic

So, what do you consider kitchen must haves?

A good, sharp, well-honed knife for cutting and chopping. They make preparing food a joy!

[Magelet]

definitely a good sharp chef's knife, and a good sharp paring knife. A nice wooden cutting board that doesn't smell like garlic. A cast iron skillet, a good stock pot, and my copper saucepan. And a dutch oven, and a mixing bowl. those are definitely my most used items. Oh, and a couple quality wooden spoons (some garlic, some no garlic no onion).

[katiesk]

good cast iron, high quality knives that are kept sharp, a le creuset dutch oven, nice wooden spoons...

[cristeen]

Definitely CI and a good knife. My most reached for cooking utensils are Chef'n silicone spatulas, my Pampered Chef bamboo spoons, and my stainless spatulas (pancake turners), in 2 sizes.

Some good heavy duty baking sheets - I have commercial quality half-sheet pans, with silpats for each.

Custard cups - it seems kinda silly, but I don't know how I got along without them. I have 6 oz glass (with lids) and 2 oz stainless. They're the perfect size for anything from scrambling an egg to mixing up a small amount of spice mix, storing that last little bit of leftovers, etc.

Glass measuring cups - in various sizes. I have from the shot-glass size which measures in tsp and Tbsp to a 4 c size. I use them CONSTANTLY. There's always at least 2 of them in the dishwasher in any load. Even if I don't need to measure something, they're good for mixing since they have pour spouts.

Stainless mixing bowls. I have some commercial/restaurant quality in the large sizes, and I picked up a couple at Ikea for cheap, and I have a set with lids that came with my pans. For everything from mixing to transporting to using as a double boiler or even putting directly over the burner, they're great. And much easier to clean than plastic.

And then glass or ceramic casserole dishes/cake pans. I have 9x13, 8x8, a couple pie, a round covered and a loaf all in glass. I do most of my oven cooking in these. I'd love more covered dishes, but they're just not in the budget right now.

For appliances - a good coffee maker (we have an espresso machine) and grinder if you do coffee. My FP, blender and (Viking) stand mixer all get used at least weekly... although technically I could do without the FP and blender and just have the stand mixer to do all 3 (but I got the stand mixer last).

Oh, and I'd marry my dishwasher if my DH didn't object.

[staceychev]

Originally Posted by Magelet

A nice wooden cutting board that doesn't smell like garlic.

I was so impressed when I went over my friend's house and saw her cutting board. She had written "onion" on the edge with permanent marker, with arrows pointing to one side. She always knows which side to chop aromatics on! Brilliant...

[leaveit2beeker]

Wooden spoons and silicone spatulas.

[Kismet_fw]

Something I love is my unglazed pizza pan from Pampered Chef. I bake rolls and biscuits on it, fluffy round loaves of bread, pizzas, and anything else I can think of that won't droop over the side.

I also recommend a good wok.

[2cutiekitties]

I am not a cook, but I still love need these things for the little things I do do.

larger size cutting board
sharp knife
spider skimmer (asian strainer)
thermometers
measuring magnets
fine mesh strainers
several of the pot size you like best. One never cuts it.

I also love my air popper. Nothing beats popcorn with nutritional yeast

[Shantimama]

I suppose that the real must haves would be a sink, fridge, stove, a pot, cutting board and a knife - but it takes much more than that to keep me happy

I love my baking stone for making crispy crusted breads, my mixer and blender, lemon juicer, whisk, and having a selection of good knives. I also like having extra measuring cups and spoons. Cast iron frying pans and good pots are the other essentials!