Minimum equipment for a functioning kitchen?

[apicius9]

Hey, you know how it is - the pros have everything they need, the amateurs have everything.... That's only a small part of my kitchen stuff. But you are right about the lime squeezer and the salad spinner, they are luxury items. Need at least one pepper mill because I use a lot of white pepper and like my pepper fresehr than I find it in most places. And this is the coffee grinder for coffee - I also have two coffee grinders for spices I would have considered the rice cooker a luxury item also, but after 6 years in Hawaii you get used to eating rice.

Stefan

[SpikeC]

My wife has fallen in love with the idea of an Airstream trailer so this is a good base for stocking the kitchen in that. The amount of stuff is more limited, so I need to do some strategizing.

[Eamon Burke]

Yeah, for me, it was all about getting decent hand tools. Since I am not feeding an army anyways, it was often not just space saving, but more efficient. Good knives helped, of course.

-good cast iron skillet
-ss skillet
-versatile saucepan(mine has a thick copper plated bottom)
-one large stockpot
-with box grater(microplane one is good, but I had the cheapo--not great, but worked and took little space)
-large(4 oz) and small(3/4 oz) disher(super versatile--ice cream, butter, mashed potatoes, etc etc)
-a Gray Kunz Spoon
-one flat bottomed wooden spatula(mine was bamboo with a burned handle)
-a stick blender(didn't have one, but wanted one ALL THE TIME)
-2 cup measuring cup(the rest are just accessories, let's be honest)
-Bowl scraper(replaces most spatulae...and it's $0.49)
-Sturdy Whisk
-peeler
-colander
-ss bowls with snap on lids--doubles as storage containers
-can opener
-metal fish spat and/or heat resistant pancake turner, depending on what kind of stuff you do more.
-1/2 sheet pan(in a pinch can be used as a steam-lid for ss saute pan
-2" Quarter hotel pan, 4" Half hotel pan
-soup ladle

I'd say you can skip the citrus press, multiple measuring containers(it's not really the storage, it's the clutter they accumulate when dirty--the 4cp, 2cp 1cp thing gets old in the dish pit), mixing bowls(use the SS ones), multiple big spoons(just get a soup ladle, and gray kunz), and salad spinner(do you really eat that much salad greens??).

[Eamon Burke]

OH, also add some kind of system for storing spices. Either one of those rotating racks, cans on the cabinet doors ala Alton Brown, or just a basket system or wall rack. I also didn't mention the pepper mill, but to me, a pepper mill, salt pig, and olive oil cruet are no brainers.

FWIW, zesting citrus with a fork and sharing my coffee grinder with pepper is crazy talk.

I can cook damn near anything with the stuff I listed, and have a good time doing it. It all fit in 2 cabinets, one drawer and a counter that's the size of my current cutting board.

[Crothcipt]

Hey, you know how it is - the pros have everything they need, the amateurs have everything.... That's only a small part of my kitchen stuff. But you are right about the lime squeezer and the salad spinner, they are luxury items. Need at least one pepper mill because I use a lot of white pepper and like my pepper fresehr than I find it in most places. And this is the coffee grinder for coffee - I also have two coffee grinders for spices I would have considered the rice cooker a luxury item also, but after 6 years in Hawaii you get used to eating rice.

Stefan

I didn't say to stop eating rice. It cooks very east. Being a vegetarian (mostly) I eat rice 4-5x a week. Quick and easy.

[Crothcipt]

Yeah, for me, it was all about getting decent hand tools. Since I am not feeding an army anyways, it was often not just space saving, but more efficient. Good knives helped, of course.

-good cast iron skillet
-ss skillet
-versatile saucepan(mine has a thick copper plated bottom)
-one large stockpot
-with box grater(microplane one is good, but I had the cheapo--not great, but worked and took little space)
-large(4 oz) and small(3/4 oz) disher(super versatile--ice cream, butter, mashed potatoes, etc etc)
-a Gray Kunz Spoon
-one flat bottomed wooden spatula(mine was bamboo with a burned handle)
-a stick blender(didn't have one, but wanted one ALL THE TIME)
-2 cup measuring cup(the rest are just accessories, let's be honest)
-Bowl scraper(replaces most spatulae...and it's $0.49)
-Sturdy Whisk
-peeler
-colander
-ss bowls with snap on lids--doubles as storage containers
-can opener
-metal fish spat and/or heat resistant pancake turner, depending on what kind of stuff you do more.
-1/2 sheet pan(in a pinch can be used as a steam-lid for ss saute pan
-2" Quarter hotel pan, 4" Half hotel pan
-soup ladle

I'd say you can skip the citrus press, multiple measuring containers(it's not really the storage, it's the clutter they accumulate when dirty--the 4cp, 2cp 1cp thing gets old in the dish pit), mixing bowls(use the SS ones), multiple big spoons(just get a soup ladle, and gray kunz), and salad spinner(do you really eat that much salad greens??).

Great list. +100

[apicius9]

Good points, Eamon. A few of my kitchen gadgets - like the Immersion blender - run on 220V and I have a transformer, but I don't want to shlepp that monster with me. But the bowl scraper I need anyway for baking, and a soup ladle and silicone spatula sound useful. Not sure what I would use the hotel pans for, I have a few but hardly ever use them now either. I would love a decent set of metal bowls with lids, but now is not the time to buy...

Stefan

[Eamon Burke]

I understand about the bowls--I got mine when I got married.

I use hotel pans for baking, roasting, I've even stored leftover pasta and sauce in it, and then just added stock the next day right in the pan and put it on a burner and had soup. You can just abuse them is all.

[The Edge]

The only thing I might add to the list is a medium mesh strainer for the sauce maker in me.

[Eamon Burke]

OH yeah. Definitely. I even had a small hand one that I would just pour through carefully and shake bits into the trash bin as I went. I also use it to make coffee.