Equipping a kitchen

[craigjm]

My nephew is just about to move into his first home of his own and enjoys cooking. I have said that I will pay to have a half decent kitchen fitted for him, nothing flash just a Howdens job, but what I would also like to do is fully kit it out with cutlery, pans and everything that you could possibly need if youre into cooking (OK maybe we can skip the sous vide haha)

So lets start a bullet pointed list of what equipment you would have liked in your kitchen when you started off. Not concerned about brands and the like at the moment just want to make sure I don't miss anything. If we could start a bullet list and keep it going that would be great!

[ZedLeg]

Decent stainless steel pans
Cast iron skillet and griddle

[Tickle]

A Knife magnet and a couple/three good knives. When his funds allow more knives can be bought (or presents).

[TIGA84]

https://www.amazon.com/everything-Stainless-dinner...

[kiethton]

When doing mine at first i went to both an Asda Home (Crayford in my case), TK Maxx and Ikea (plus Amazon for electrical's) and got:

Asda:

Pack of 3 saucepans (cheap non-stick - they will get scratched...)
Pack of 3 frying pans
Pack of utensils (spatula, serving spoons etc.) - go rubber/plastic tipped!
3x wooden spoons
collander
weighing scales
fridge jug
can opener
pizza cutter
knife block

Amazon:

Microwave
Toaster
Kettle

TK Maxx:

8 person Cutlery set (an extravagance, but at £40 was only a little more expensive and far higher quality)

Ikea:

365 crockery set
6x 1/2 pint glasses
6x pint glasses
6x wine glasses
draining rack
oven gloves
tea towels

[Kateg28]

Pyrex mixer bowl (can double up as serving bowl eg Salad)
Pyrex casserole dish

Couple of plastic freezer/microwave containers for reheating leftovers

[ZedLeg]

kiethton said:

Pack of 3 saucepans (cheap non-stick - they will get scratched...)

This is why I wouldn't bother with cheap non stick ones, they'll not last as long as stainless ones. They don't have to be expensive, we have a couple of nice Le Creuset ones but the bulk of ours are from a set of Morphy Richards ones we got in a sale at Morrisons for £25.

Also if it's a small kitchen space ask if they'll need a microwave and so on. We don't have a microwave or a toaster and we don't miss them.

[richatnort]

Plastic cooking utensils!

Everyone is going on about non-stick and scratching them. I bought some very good circulon non-stick pans and then changed all my cooking utentsils to plastic / rubber to cook with so they don't get scratched and 1.5 years down the line still going strong.

Also a good food blender for mixing things and making homemade soup, etc.

[craigjm]

OK so far we have -

Decent stainless steel pans
Cast iron skillet and griddle
A Knife magnet and a couple/three good knives / knife block
Pack of 3 saucepans
Pack of 3 frying pans
Pack of utensils (spatula, serving spoons etc.) - go rubber/plastic tipped!
3x wooden spoons
collander
weighing scales
fridge jug
can opener
pizza cutter
Microwave
Toaster
Kettle
8 person Cutlery set
crockery set
6x 1/2 pint glasses
6x pint glasses
6x wine glasses
draining rack
oven gloves
tea towels
Pyrex mixer bowl
Pyrex casserole dish
Couple of plastic freezer/microwave containers for reheating leftovers

(I will create a collaborative list every so often)

[sherman]

6 x coffee mugs
Pyrex mesuring jug
Sieve (decent size not a tea strainer)
Washing up bowl

Edited by sherman on Wednesday 12th October 13:50

[richatnort]

Whisk!
it's not essential but tea coffee and sugar tins / containers are always handy to keep things tidy.

[addz86]

Nice big chunky chopping board

[21TonyK]

If its just him then a relatively cheap Bamix (or similar) with bowl attachment will serve several functions and last.

If he's into cooking them he might like the idea of spirit pourers in beer bottles filled with oils, vinegars etc. My Mrs used to hate me having half a dozen plastic bottles on the top but a nice selection of decorative wine and beer bottles seems to meet with approval.

If its a kitchen from complete scratch (very generous Uncle!) don't think you need the biggest and best cooker and hob. You don't. For me, gas hob, electric fan oven.

Scales have been mentioned, a set of fine balance scales can be useful. I went for the Heston ones, two weigh scales, one in grams to 10 Kilo and the other to 200g in .1g

Bowls. Always stainless steel, 2 small, 2 medium, 1 large. They will all fit inside each other, be easier to clean and take less space than one glass bowl.

Sieve is pretty important.

For storage containers. Make sure they are square or rectangular and stack up. No-one makes round fridges.

Anyone suggested a pizza stone?

Cooling rack, great for grilling things on. Any a couple of baking sheets and roasting trays.

Last thing... 99p speed peeler. Best tool in the kitchen.

[Ransoman]

How about a wall/cupboard side mounted potato chipper? Saves a lot of time.

[craigjm]

Ransoman said:

How about a wall/cupboard side mounted potato chipper? Saves a lot of time.

A what?

[bobbo89]

A good pizza peel is very useful, for more than just pizza!

[craigjm]

bobbo89 said:

A good pizza peel is very useful, for more than just pizza!

I'm. It building him a pizza oven what other uses are there for a wannabe shovel?

[anonymous-user]

addz86 said:

Nice big chunky chopping board

If it's a small kitchen I'd recommend a large but thin chopping board - easy to store and carry around for pizza etc. I've got a thick board and can leave it out, but have ended up using the thinner one much more

[craigjm]

OK so far we have -

Decent stainless steel pans
Cast iron skillet and griddle
A Knife magnet and a couple/three good knives / knife block
Pack of 3 saucepans
Pack of 3 frying pans
Pack of utensils (spatula, serving spoons etc.) - go rubber/plastic tipped!
3x wooden spoons
collander
weighing scales
fridge jug
can opener
pizza cutter
Microwave
Toaster
Kettle
8 person Cutlery set
crockery set
6x 1/2 pint glasses
6x pint glasses
6x wine glasses
draining rack
oven gloves
tea towels
Pyrex mixer bowl
Pyrex casserole dish
Couple of plastic freezer/microwave containers for reheating leftovers
6 x coffee mugs
Pyrex mesuring jug
Sieve (decent size not a tea strainer)
Washing up bowl
Whisk
Tea coffee and sugar tins / containers are always handy to keep things tidy.
Chopping board
Bamix with bowl attachment
Bottle pourers
Stainless steel bowls 2 small 2 medium 1 large
Pizza stone
Cooling rack
Baking sheets
Roasting trays
Speed peeler

(I will create a collaborative list every so often)

[craigjm]

Thanks guys so far, keep them coming. Kitchen is about 15ft by 12ft. TonyK he has chosen a 5 burner gas hob and an electric fan over. Will also have a built in fridge freezer, dishwasher and a free standing washing machine.

Has anyone got one of those Zaptap boil taps? useful or not worth it unless in constant use?