First apartment kitchen checklist
Start with a 10-inch skillet, a 2- to 3-quart saucepan, a big pot, a chef's knife and a cutting board. Add the rest as the meals you cook ask for it.
Start with these
Enough to cook most everyday meals from the first week.
Eggs, a quick sear, vegetables, grilled cheese. Which size?
Rice, oats, sauces and reheating soup. Which size?
A pound of pasta, soup or a pot of chili. Which size?
Roast vegetables and chicken, bake cookies.
Does nearly all the chopping and slicing.
One big board; a damp towel underneath stops it sliding.
Stirring, and scraping a pan without scratching it.
A flat spatula for eggs, pancakes and burgers.
Dry cups for flour and sugar; a spouted cup with lines on the side for milk, stock and water. More
Draining pasta and rinsing vegetables.
Two small tools you'll use nearly every week.
Mixing, tossing a salad, marinating.
Add in the first few months
Worth buying once you know what you cook most.
Braises and one-pan dinners with a sauce. Which size?
Casseroles, lasagna, baked chicken.
Turning meat and serving pasta.
Serving soup and chili, and lifting dumplings, eggs or vegetables out of their water.
Eggs, sauces and dressings.
Tells you meat is done without cutting into it.
Small jobs held in the hand.
Weighing flour and portions instead of using cups. More
Cheese, carrots and zest.
Nice to have
Only if the meals you make call for them.
Keeps eggs off your main skillet. Which size?
If you stir-fry often. Which size?
A whole chicken or a holiday turkey. Which size?
Vegetables and dumplings over simmering water. Which size?
Soups, smoothies and sauces.
Buy a set or single pans?
A set is good value only if you'll use most of what's in the box. Count the pots and pans rather than the pieces: lids are counted as pieces. If a set holds the skillet, saucepan and big pot above, it covers the first list; if it adds three skillets of nearly the same size, single pans may serve you better.