Top 5 Old-School Kitchen Essentials

People spend thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars, equipping their kitchens with the latest and greatest kitchen gadgets and gear. From everyday items like the microwave, to specialty equipment favored by five-star chefs like a sous-vide cooker, there’s plenty of stuff to spend your money on in the kitchen.

While many of these tools have their place in the kitchen, people often overlook the basics, resulting in a kitchen chock-full of everything except the thing you really need.

So whether you’re a college student looking to equip your first kitchen, or even a veteran home cook looking to cut the kitchen clutter and get back to the basics, here are the top five pieces of equipment every kitchen should have.

1. Knife

The single most important tool in your kitchen arsenal, the humble knife is a tool that you will use every day.

Forget expensive sets that come with ten or more knives that you will never use. Invest in one good quality chef’s knife – an 8-inch knife is the most standard size, or a 7-inch santoku knife, if you prefer something a little shorter.

There are many factors to consider when buying a knife, but the most important is whether it feels good in your hand. This is the kitchen tool you’ll spend the most time with, so you don’t want something that will give you hand cramps.

2. Cutting Board

Often overlooked but nearly as important as the knife, the cutting board protects your countertops and ensures that you have a clean space to prepare your food on.

While you can get thick, heavy boards made of solid maple that will last for years, a lightweight cutting board is often preferable since you can easily pick it up and transport chopped meat and vegetables from the counter to the frying pan.

Wooden boards tend to last longer, but they can’t stand up to the high heat of the dishwasher. So unless you want to hand-wash your cutting board, go with plastic.

3. Skillet or Sauté Pan

Once you have prepared your dinner with your knife and cutting board, it is time to do some actual cooking, and that’s where the skillet or sauté pan comes in.

At $12 to $14, a cast iron pan is about the cheapest option out there, and in many ways, it’s also the best. Sure it’s heavy, but that added heft means it handles heat well. Thin aluminum frying pans go from cold to scorching in no time, meaning there’s no margin of error when it comes to burning tonight’s dinner. A cast iron pan conducts heat evenly and gradually, and because it has metal handles, a cast iron pan or skillet can do double duty on the stove top and as a roasting pan inside the oven.

Cast Iron Skillet Cleaning - News


Dish up history with dessert

Hearth cooks at Historic Bethlehem's Burnside Plantation have created a tasty blueberry variation of a Colonial dessert that can be baked in covered, cast-iron skillets in the hearth or simply baked in your home oven. Originally the dish was made with



Top 5 Old-School Kitchen Essentials
Top 5 Old-School Kitchen Essentials

Once you have prepared your dinner with your knife and cutting board, it is time to do some actual cooking, and that's where the skillet or sauté pan comes in. At $12 to $14, a cast iron pan is about the cheapest option out there, and in many ways,



Ask Chef Mary: Seasoning a cast iron pan
Ask Chef Mary: Seasoning a cast iron pan

Seasoning prevents foods from sticking to your cast iron pan. The first thing to do is clean it with a damp towel to remove any dust particles. Next, place the pan onto a medium low heat. This will open the pores of the cast iron skillet.



Fresh beans and other delights

Put half the butter into a cast iron skillet set over medium heat, add the zucchini and cook until tender and taking on a bit of color, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, break the eggs into a mixing bowl, add the sour cream or creme fraiche and mix with a



Sauce spices up Chicken With Tomatillos and Cilantro: Take Five
Sauce spices up Chicken With Tomatillos and Cilantro: Take Five

Prepare tomatillos: Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Discard husks from tomatillos; rinse the fruit to remove any stickiness. Place tomatillos in skillet. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes, until lightly charred and softened,




Recipes To Run On: Saturday Swap ~ How to Clean Your Cast Iron

Hi Kim, I am always amazed by the different ways people care for their cast iron! I never ever have any stuck on stuff because after using, i add water, turn it up and boil it and then scrape down the sides, rinse, heat and add some lard. I would never use crisco--but thats personal choice just as some people wouldn't use lard. I guess it comes down to finding what works best for you!


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Cast Iron Skillet Cleaning - Bookshelf

Cast Iron Cooking For Dummies

Cast Iron Cooking For Dummies

Super-Cleaning for Old — or Abused — Cast Iron Many people get their cast iron from ... Several techniques exist for removing rust from a cast-iron pan. ...

How to Back Up a Trailer, And 101 Other Things Every Real Guy Should Know

How to Back Up a Trailer, And 101 Other Things Every Real Guy Should Know

Seasoning and Cleaning a Cast-iron Skillet 99 Over the years I've eaten many memorable shore lunches, little impromptu meals cooked over an open fire near ...

Clean it! fix it! eat it!, easy ways to solve everyday problems with brand-name products you've already got around the house

Clean it! fix it! eat it!, easy ways to solve everyday problems with brand-name products you've already got around the house

Cast-Iron Clean a cast-iron skillet with... ■ CANADA DRY CLUB SODA. “Pour Canada Dry Club Soda over your skillet while it is hot. ...

The Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook, Recipes for the Best Pan in Your Kitchen

The Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook, Recipes for the Best Pan in Your Kitchen

Caring for Cast Iron Never wash a skillet in a dishwasher! ... Never use metal to scrape the pan. To clean and care for skillet after each use: 1. ...

The Naturally Clean Home, 150 Super-Easy Herbal Formulas for Green Cleaning

The Naturally Clean Home, 150 Super-Easy Herbal Formulas for Green Cleaning

My family had such a skillet, and one day, I decided to give the pan a good ... When you acquire a new piece of cast iron, you need to clean it with a mild ...

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Cast Iron Skillet Cleaning | LoveToKnow
Cast iron skillet cleaning is an important part of keeping the surface of your skillet properly seasoned so the food you prepare doesn't stick. ...

Cleaning Cast Iron Pans
Cleaning Cast Iron Pans is available. cleaning cast iron pans, cleaning cast iron pan, cleaningcastironpan, cleaning cast iron, cast iron pans, cleaning ...

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How to Clean a Cast Iron Skillet: 8 steps (with video) - wikiHow
How to Clean a Cast Iron Skillet. Cleaning a seasoned cast iron pan is as easy as any other pan, or easier. However, you should take precautions to preserve the seasoning.

How to clean a rusty cast iron skillet - by Sheila Watson Kraklow
A how-to-guide giving hints and tips for cleaning a rusty cast iron skillet.