What should every chef have in their kitchen?

[Somewhatfoolish]

I want to get every sensible ingredient in my kitchen, ideally ones that will last (for example, with the best will in the world I'm going to have to have to get my dill dried...)

So, what should I put in it?

[anonymous-user]

loads of black pepper!!! obvious I guess

[Somewhatfoolish]

Yeah got lots of that

I've realised this thread is probably a bit stupid, or at least poorly described... perhaps a better way of phrasing it is:

"What should I buy for my kitchen that I don't need, but will come in useful more often than I could possibly expect?"

(Incidentally, for an illustration of my "expertise" the previous answer to that question was "deep fat fryer" which I have found rather excellent)

[juice]

Dishwasher

[grumbledoak]

Potato ricer. Really. You'll never go back.
Microplane grater, x2.

Don't overlook the dishwasher; washing up isn't hard, but knowing it is there can really be the difference between just cooking and really trying.

[RDMcG]

Food mill

[LittleMiss]

Zester.

[Papoo]

A good Chef's knife.

And maybe a dog to hoover up what you drop.

[Big Al.]

A diamond steel.

[Somewhatfoolish]

Preaching to the converted chaps; I learnt the dishwasher lesson well from previous place... the requirements I sent out to letting agents were "bath, dishwasher, and riverside balcony essential"

[n1ckt001]

Papoo said:

A good sharp Chef's knife.

Definitely this!
Makes life a whole world easier if you can cut something properly rather than flattening/hacking at it with a useless blunt/cheap knife!

[Somewhatfoolish]

Potato ricer looks fun, will get one... zester I can't really see myself using, any examples of when you've used it?

I won't need a diamond steel but cheers for suggestion

[Somewhatfoolish]

Papoo said:

A good Chef's knife.

And maybe a dog to hoover up what you drop.

Have a unlimited access to excellent knives so they shouldn't be a problem.

No dog permitted but I was thinking of buying a stick insect, reckon they'll like a thai red rabbit curry?

[LittleMiss]

Somewhatfoolish said:

. zester I can't really see myself using, any examples of when you've used it?

All the time, making stuffings, sauces, curry, deserts, seasoning chicken skin, it's perfect as the oil of the skin really adds a depth of flavour and grating tends to waste the oil.

[toasty]

In addition to the above...

Gas Hobs - electric just doesn't cut it.

...and a Y peeler.

...and a pizza cutter.


But you meant ingredients so...

Herbs and Spices - Far too many to mention
Garlic- I get a string of bulbs at a time.
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Goose Fat- Great for roast potatoes
Smoked Paprika - Add to the goose fat for different roasties.
Chicken Stock Jellies
Noilly Prat- Good for risottos and Martinis

Edited by toasty on Tuesday 22 September 19:56

[RizzoTheRat]

Steamers are fantastic. My veg intake probably doubled when someone bought me one as a house warming present. It now gets used at least 4-5 times a week.

Decent pans. Flimsy ones are a pain the arse, things keep sticking to them. I've got a heavy set of Stellar stainless steel saucepans and have far less issues with things sticking to them than I ever did with cheaper non-stick ones.

[juice]

Excuse the flippant response earlier...OK here goes - what I find invaluable and use pretty much every day


Firstly, I know this sounds stupid, but - a spoon stand. The amount of times you end up stirring, putting down, re-stirring etc - one of these really helps to keep mess down.
Proper serving spoons (Ladle, Spoon and slotted spoon as a min)
Silicon Spatulas.
Mesh Strainers in various sizes (Not a collander)
Set of measuring spoons (1/4, 1/2, 1, 2 tbsp sizes at a min)
Same for Cups (1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 1 cup sizes)
Storage in various sizes/iterations - handy for freezing 'extra'


Umm - will think of more as they come to me.

[driverrob]

How about a good carving board that won't blunt your lovely knives?
e.g.
And I think you might change your mind about not needing a steel to keep them sharp.

Speaking of which, a good set of knives will make all the difference. You can pay £20 for a set or ten times that. Different chefs/cooks recommend different knives so it's not a straight-forward decision.
After watching too many daytime cooks around the world type programs I bought one of these:
wonderful tool.

[North West Tom]

food.

[taldo]

good salt, like maldon or cerebos, you cant cook feck all without salt!