Many times clients who want to equip a kitchen or want to update their utensils, but do not know where to start, call us or write to us. There really is so much variety and specialization of the necessary utensils for a kitchen , that sometimes it can be a difficult task to decide what is the priority and also what is essential.

For this reason we have decided to create a small guide if you want to renew your essential kitchen utensils or want to equip a kitchen with the most basic or essential, to later complete with other accessories depending on your kitchen style.

UTENSILS FOR COOKING

As for cooking utensils, it is essential to have a good frying pan. A very good option is to buy a non- stick frying pan for gentle cooking or delicate foods (fish, tortillas or sauces...), and an iron or stainless steel one for high-temperature cooking, such as frying or grilling.

If at any point you want to know more about each type of pan or what you will really need, I recommend reading the post "The perfect pan" (here) .

Bra non-stick pans (left), De Buyer stainless steel pan (middle) and De Buyer iron pan

In any case, if we choose to buy a non-stick pan, it is very important to give it good use to always have it in the best conditions: do not use it at high temperatures, always use wooden or silicone spatulas and wash it by hand with the soft part of the sponge.

Iron grills are perhaps not a basic kitchen, since many people grill in a pan and they are not the most suitable for all foods (such as white fish, which will easily crumble), but if we cook a lot iron or we are a lot of meat, my recommendation would be to buy one (and the day white fish is cooked, it can be done in a satin). Food is much better cooked in iron (it is charcoal-like, very well roasted on the outside and with much more flavor) and they are very comfortable to use as they have low sides. In addition, iron withstands high temperatures well, so we have a utensil for life (unlike non-stick grills, which do not usually last long).

Le Creuset iron grill and stainless steel pot Bra

Another essential for our kitchen is a stainless steel pot to boil rice, pasta, prepare soup or similar. They are cooking that we do often, and a stainless steel pot works perfectly. They are lightweight, require no special maintenance, and heat up reasonably quickly. The only precaution we must take with them is to always add the salt when the water is boiling: if the salt settles at the bottom, the typical white spots that are difficult to remove may appear.

Apart from the pot, a small saucepan may be suitable for cooking sauces, boiling hard-boiled eggs, heating milk... or any type of cooking that requires a smaller container. eye! If you think that it may be convenient for you to have several sizes of pots and saucepans, then I recommend you look at a kitchen battery that already includes several pieces, it will always be a better price than buying them loose, and for value for money those from WMF come out especially well.

I can't finish cooking basics without mentioning a Le Creuset cast iron cocotte . I know that it is not an essential tool, but I could not resist including it, because for me it certainly is, essential. It allows us to prepare spoon recipes (rice, legumes, soups) or prepare a delicious stew by browning the meat in the fire and finishing the slow cooking in the oven. At home we also use it very often to bake biscuits or bread, as it achieves a golden crust and a very soft interior.

WMF Profi Plus Cookware Set and Le Creuset Iron Coccote

If you have doubts as to what size of pan or pot you need, my recommendation is that you look at what you currently have and if it is too big or too small for you. You can measure the pans, always the top diameter, and see if you need the same measurements or if you could use another measurement. If you have any questions, write to us or call us and we will give you the portions that you can prepare with each measure.

SMALL UTENSILS

Knives are one of the most used items in the kitchen. There are many options and sizes, but clearly there are three that cannot be missing in our kitchen: a small 8-10cm blade to clean and chop vegetables, a chef's knife of about 20cm to cut and chop meat or vegetables and a knife narrow of about 16cm to make precise cuts of meat or cut sausage. You can find this Wusthof set that contains the basic knives at an exceptional price, or you can buy them individually, each one of the house that you like the most if you want ( here you see what we have in store).

For the choice of knives, I would recommend reading the two articles in which the subject was discussed: the first part, on the types of knives that exist , and the one that is more aimed at which one you can buy, which is the second part " What knife do I buy ?

Logically, if there is a knife, there must be a cutting board , so as not to damage the knife and cut safely. Those made of olive wood from Bérard have magnificent properties, but being somewhat small they are ideal for presenting and cutting at the table. To work comfortably, I recommend the bamboo or T&G ones, which I also find beautiful (you can see all of them here ).

Set of 3 Wüsthof knives and T&G cutting board

Another basic in our kitchen are wooden and silicone spatulas to handle food or scrape containers without damaging them. Both Berard or T&G wooden spoons and Le Creuset silicone spatulas are excellent alternatives. If we do a lot of grilling or frying, stainless steel tongs are also a great help to be able to pick up the pieces with comfort and precision (in this case, I would recommend the fine ones from Rösle without thinking about it, which apart from being so elegant that you will take them to the table even to serve!).

Other essential kitchen utensils that you will need to have in your cupboards and drawers: a large colander (the folding one is very practical), another small one, a bread knife , scissors (let me recommend a classic that will last forever, scissors ). 3 Carnations ), a peeling knife ( the Rösle oval is fantastic!), a spatula for grilling or for serving cannelloni and the like, a ladle and a potato masher .

On top: folding drainer, Rösle tongs and griddle spatula; At the bottom: Le Creuset ladle, 3 Claveles shears and Zester Microplane grater

Finally, a tool that we are going to use a lot in the kitchen is the Microplane Zester grater . It is used to grate the most common foods such as cheese, chocolate, nuts, citrus or vegetables. It is a very easy and comfortable utensil to use that will help us in many moments in our kitchen.

I think that everything I have named is the basics, the essentials. What do you think? Obviously it is a highly debatable subject and it depends to a large extent on the type of cooking we do at home, but we have tried to reflect those utensils that are found in almost all homes. I'd love to hear if you agree or if you would remove or add any, if you want to leave it in the comments!