Setting Up Your First Kitchen

If you’re all grown up and leaving the nest this year, you may be facing the spooky prospect of cooking for yourself for the first time. There’s really no need to worry, though. Just remember to start small and to develop over time. Lesson number one is to make sure you have the most basic cooking utensils.

A good set of knives 

When it comes to knives, a basic kitchen only needs three kinds. The first of them is known as a chef’s knife. It’s the one you’ll use to do most of the kitchen work, like chopping, slicing and dicing.

Then comes the paring knife. You’ll use it for the tasks that are almost impossible to do using a chef’s knife. Think peeling fruit.

Lastly, there’s the bread knife, which will slice through any type of bread without ruining the loaf on its way through.

Chopping boards 

Chopping boards are very necessary investments. One benefit they promise is that you’ll protect your kitchen counter from the sharp edge of your knife. Another is that you’ll protect the edge of your knife from your kitchen counter – at least if you use a wooden board.

They also make it easy to move chopped food to a pot, keeping kitchen mess to a small, easy-to-clean area. And, chopping boards are quite easy to clean and disinfect in the kitchen sink.

FYI: you should have two of them. One for meat, one for veggies and fruit.

A non-stick pan

The thing about non-stick pans is the ease with which you can clean them. And as cooking is going to be fitting in around other elements in your life, like work or varsity, this is a big selling point.

A good set of wood or plastic utensils 

You’ll need to invest in these if you’re going non-stick for your pan. They’ll be kinder to your pan’s surface.

Mixing bowl 

You’ll need one of these for anything from doing salads to preparing marinades.

“Spekko-rise” your kitchen

It isn’t a utensil, but remember to include Spekko rice when setting up your basic kitchen. It’s super useful, very versatile and, for recent nest leavers, can be the foundation of some simple, nutritious and delicious meals – like this one.