Cookery is a skill that just about anyone can benefit from. When you know how to cook, you’ll have the freedom to enjoy healthier, tastier meals. You’ll be able to decide what goes into your mouth, and you’ll have a greater say in the nutrition of those closest to you, too. Cookery is also a great form of self-expression. If you do it right, then you’ll stand a better chance of winning friends.
So, what do you need to get started? Let’s take a look at a few essential items.
Basic Cookware
There are a few items that stand out as essential. You’ll need a means of chopping your food prior to cooking it. That means a good quality chef’s knife and a chopping board (more on those shortly). You’ll also need a few choice pans. For beginners, a non-stick pan and a saucepan makes a lot of sense. Make sure that your pan is compatible with your hob. An induction hob will rule out some non-magnetic metals, unless the pan has been specially crafted for the job. If you’re in doubt, check the packaging.
A stand mixer
If you’re going to be doing a lot of baking, then you might find that it provides you with a decent workout. This can get tiresome pretty quickly, however; it’s usually a better idea to invest in a stand mixer early in your baking career. You can expect to pay several hundred pounds for a decent one, so make sure that you do your research, and that this is really an investment that will pay off.
Chef’s knives
Knives come in several different sorts. There are thin ones you might use for de-scaling fish, long ones that you might use for carving meat, and thick cleaver-like ones that are mostly used for chopping vegetables.
Without doubt the most versatile knife of all, however, is the humble chef’s knife. You’ll want one with a decent balance and weight, that you can sharpen regularly. Chopping with a quality knife should be a pleasure – so don’t skimp.
Chopping boards
Chopping boards come in many forms, too. The cheapest ones are made of plastic. You can often find plastic boards that you can bend, which makes it easier to deposit chopped-up ingredients into a blender or a frying pan.
If you want to keep things sustainable, you might go for a bamboo butcher’s block. These are thick enough to take years of punishment, but they’re made from renewable timber that isn’t going to be a strain on the environment.