my essential items for a beginner

In article <[email hidden]>,

Paul M. Cook©® said:

"elaine" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:40804ba0$1_1@aeinews....

Quoted message said:

My 10 top essentials for a beginner cook (in no
particular order)

Good garlic press Wooden spoon non-stick teflon frying
pan jug - for sauces, etc. blender casserole dishes
roasting pan salad spinner potato masher spatula

My daughter having just bought a house is moving out -
I'm in charge of buying kitchen stuff because I like
buying kitchen stuff - . She's

already

Quoted message said:

been given pots/pans (probably cheap) so I cannot
duplicate that. Other than that she has nothing. Just
thought it would be interesting to list what I bought.

Might want to add some knives to the list. Makes cutting
food a whole lot easier, trust me on this.

Paul

A good wire whisk, some mixing bowls, cutting board, Cast
iron skillet, and of course, an egg slicer. <G>

I also like those little collapsible steamers. I don't boil
veggies, I always steam them so those are handy, easy to
clean, and don't take up much space.

If she used the microwave much, a set of corningware pans
would be nice for that.

K.

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I would add a vegetable peeler and a whisk to the items
already mentioned.

(PENMART01) said:

Quoted message said:

Shirley Hicks writes:

Quoted message said:

I think you also need a calculator... that's a bit more
than 10. And you neglected to include the most important
item, a can opener.

The first section had ten. That's a tough restriction. 🙂
_Then_ I added the "in no particular order items".

Shirley Hicks Toronto, Ontario

Scott said:

Quoted message said:

My 10 top essentials for a beginner cook (in no
particular order)

Good garlic press

Not necessary. Whacking it with a cleaver does just as
well, and it multitasks.

I wouldn't say just as well...depends on what you intend to
use the garlic for. Additionally, a garlic press doesn't
splash garlic juice all over the place.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

non-stick teflon frying pan

I prefer cast iron. Except for making omelettes I don't
use any Teflon items. I might if I bought an electric
griddle.

as do I...but why not for omelets?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

casserole dishes

For what? Aside from casseroles.

Fruit crisps, stuffed cabbage leaves and peppers, baked
fruit puddings, etc. etc.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

salad spinner

Handy (especially when frying), but not an essential.

well...when you get right down to it, you just need a
knife a spoon and a pot. But I'd say a spinner is on the
short list.

Quoted message said:

For me, I'd say:
1) measuring cups (w/o rolled edges)--for dry measure
2) measuring spoons
3) measuring beaker--for liquid measure
3) vegetable peeler
4) water kettle (after getting my grandmother one of
those electric ones, I think I'd prefer that over the
stovetop sort)
5) good, heavy pot
6) oven mitts
7) cast iron frying pan. Great for baking, too (I won't
make cornbread or apple skillet cake without it)
8) cleaver
9) baking sheets
10) paring knife

However, using your rationale of essential, you can do away
with the measuring cups if you have #3, the peeler if you
have #10... <wink>

But apple skillet cake? Sounds good. wanna share?

leebee said:

kilikini said:

That in addition to two toaster ovens, a rice cooker, two
fondue pots, a crock pot, a steamer, a pasta maker and an
electric fying pan.

I hate electric stuff that needs to be plugged in at the
bench. Hate cleaning it too 😉

I'm with ya for much of it...I have no use for an electric
frying pan/steamer/pasta maker or dual toaster ovens. But I
do think the rice steamer is a great thing, and the crock
pot saves a lot of elctricity. What do I know...I like my
manual hand mixers! It is rare my electric mixer comes out
of the box!

"Puester" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

elaine said:

My 10 top essentials for a beginner cook (in no
particular order)

Good garlic press Wooden spoon non-stick teflon frying
pan jug - for sauces, etc. blender casserole dishes
roasting pan salad spinner potato masher spatula

My daughter having just bought a house is moving out -
I'm in charge

of

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

buying kitchen stuff because I like buying kitchen stuff
- . She's

already

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

been given pots/pans (probably cheap) so I cannot
duplicate that. Other than that she has nothing. Just
thought it would be interesting to list what I bought.

Elaine

You forgot measuring spoons and measuring cups.

And <gasp> knives!!

--
Peter Aitken

Remove the [censored] from my email address before using.

In article <[email hidden]>,

mangodance said:

I wouldn't say just as well...depends on what you intend
to use the garlic for. Additionally, a garlic press
doesn't splash garlic juice all over the place.

I've found that a cleaver is more flexible for garlic preparation--
I can get it as fine as a press can, or larger pieces, if
needed. And I've never had a problem splashing garlic juice
all over the place. And the cleaver is much easier to clean
than is a press.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

For me, I'd say:
1) measuring cups (w/o rolled edges)--for dry measure
2) measuring spoons
3) measuring beaker--for liquid measure
3) vegetable peeler
4) water kettle (after getting my grandmother one of
those electric ones, I think I'd prefer that over
the stovetop sort)
5) good, heavy pot
6) oven mitts
7) cast iron frying pan. Great for baking, too (I won't
make cornbread or apple skillet cake without it)
8) cleaver
9) baking sheets
10) paring knife

However, using your rationale of essential, you can do
away with the measuring cups if you have #3, the peeler if
you have #10... <wink>

No, you don't use a liquid measure device for dry--it's
inaccurate
(e.g., you can't sweep/level). And you don't use a dry
measure device for liquids--also inaccurate. Just
noticed that I put in #3 twice, so this is 11 items. I
might, therefore, do away with the peeler, but it's
still much better for peeling than is a paring knife--
not to mention making potato chips (or taro chips,
cassava chips, etc.) My chief need for the paring knife
is small trimming jobs, where the cleaver is too bulky.

Quoted message said:

But skillet apple cake? Sounds good. wanna share?

As below. I keep intending to try it substituting at least
half of the oil with applesauce (unsweetened), but I keep
forgetting. As is, people rave about it.

Skillet Apple Cake 1 1/2 cup white flour 1 teaspoon
baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1 cup sugar
5/4 cup vegetable oil 1 large egg, beaten
6/2 cup pecans (optional) 2 large apples, peeled and chopped

Preheat oven to 375 F. Sift flour, baking powder, salt,
nutmeg, cloves and sugar into a large bowl. In a separate
bowl, combine salad oil and egg, add nuts and apples. Stir
wet ingredients into dry ingredients and bake for 35 minutes

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Scott said:

Quoted message said:

But skillet apple cake? Sounds good. wanna share?

As below. I keep intending to try it substituting at least
half of the oil with applesauce (unsweetened), but I keep
forgetting. As is, people rave about it.

Skillet Apple Cake 1 1/2 cup white flour 1 teaspoon
baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1 cup sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil 1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup pecans (optional) 2 large apples, peeled and
chopped

Preheat oven to 375 F. Sift flour, baking powder, salt,
nutmeg, cloves and sugar into a large bowl. In a
separate bowl, combine salad oil and egg, add nuts and
apples. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients and
bake for 35 minutes

What size skillet are you using and approx height of
finished product?

Scott said:

No, you don't use a liquid measure device for dry--it's
inaccurate
(e.g., you can't sweep/level). And you don't use a dry
measure device for liquids--also inaccurate.

How inaccurate? Liquids and dry ingredients measured in cups
are measured by volume. Truthfully, if we're talking about
the difference between a sweep level and smacking a dry
level into a larger measure, I'm not sure it will be that
important. Hell, the rounding that normall occurs for metric
transfer would be more inaccurate. I have a hard time
sticking to recipe anyway! <grin

elaine said:

My 10 top essentials for a beginner cook (in no
particular order)

Good garlic press Wooden spoon non-stick teflon frying
pan jug - for sauces, etc. blender casserole dishes
roasting pan salad spinner potato masher spatula

My daughter having just bought a house is moving out -
I'm in charge of buying kitchen stuff because I like
buying kitchen stuff - . She's already been given
pots/pans (probably cheap) so I cannot duplicate that.
Other than that she has nothing. Just thought it would
be interesting to list what I bought.

Salad spinner? I have been cooking for more than 30 years
and never saw a need a need for one of those things. I have
a potato masher. Actually, I have two different types. They
take up space in my kitchen. I find my hand mixer does a
great job with a lot less work. Casserole dishes I can live
without. I never make casseroles, though they can be used
for serving dishes. My blender is another one of those
essentials that has spent most of its life at the back of
the cupboard. Once or twice a year we go searching for it to
make Margaritas.

What seems to be lacking from your list of essentials are
some decent knives and .... a cork screw.

In article <[email hidden]>,

mangodance said:

How inaccurate? Liquids and dry ingredients measured in
cups are measured by volume. Truthfully, if we're talking
about the difference between a sweep level and smacking a
dry level into a larger measure, I'm not sure it will be
that important. Hell, the rounding that normall occurs for
metric transfer would be more inaccurate. I have a hard
time sticking to recipe anyway! <grin>

With dry cup measures, you fill it up to the lip and sweep
off--pretty much perfect. The only real issue is flour, and
that's largely resolved if you figure out whether the recipe
calls for scoop/sweep or spoon/sweep (actually, I always try
to weigh flour).

With a liquid measuring cup, you'll always have inaccuracies
since dry ingredients don't self level, and you're filling
the cup to one of the divided levels, not the lip. Measuring
1/3 cup of sugar in a 1 or 2 cup container is a PITA.
Theoretically do-able? Sure.. repeated tampings on the
counter might level things off somewhat, but not well, so
you end up averaging the high and low points. And
inaccuracies can compound; if you need to measure 2-1/3 cups
of sugar, your 2 cup measure will be off, and so will your
1/3 cup measure.

Using the wrong measuring cups can make a *big* difference
in baking; a couple of extra or missing tablespoons of
something can screw up your recipe.

Note here: <http://www.baking911.com/baking_tips.htm>

"No matter what the recipe, make sure you always:

Measure dry ingredients in a dry ingredients measuring
cup or spoon.

Measure liquid ingredients in see-through measuring cups at
eye level."

and here <baking911.comhowto measure.htmOpen ↗
TO%20MEASURE%20INGREDIE NTS:>

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"Dave Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

elaine said:

My 10 top essentials for a beginner cook (in no
particular order)

Good garlic press Wooden spoon non-stick teflon
frying pan jug - for sauces, etc. blender casserole
dishes roasting pan salad spinner potato masher
spatula

(snip)

Quoted message said:

Salad spinner? I have been cooking for more than 30
years and never saw

a need

Quoted message said:

a need for one of those things.

I couldn't live without my salad spinner - spent years
drying off lettuce with swinging baskets/tea towels etc.

Quoted message said:

Casserole dishes I can live without. I never make
casseroles, though

they can be used for serving dishes.

Exactly - that's why I bought them.

Quoted message said:

What seems to be lacking from your list of essentials
are some decent

knives

Quoted message said:

and .... a cork screw.

Definitely a cork screw. My daughter doesn't drink much
but that will be on another list - my "for when I visit
list". Decent knives are also a must - but had to save
something for her to buy! Although, I did go out today and
buy oven mitts and a pot holder. It's hard not to stop,
but stop I must.
E.

mangodance said:

leebee said:

kilikini said:

That in addition to two toaster ovens, a rice cooker,
two fondue pots, a crock pot, a steamer, a pasta maker
and an electric fying pan.

I hate electric stuff that needs to be plugged in at the
bench. Hate cleaning it too 😉

I'm with ya for much of it...I have no use for an electric
frying pan/steamer/pasta maker or dual toaster ovens. But
I do think the rice steamer is a great thing, and the
crock pot saves a lot of elctricity. What do I know...I
like my manual hand mixers! It is rare my electric mixer
comes out of the box!

ditto ! I used to have a crockpot and loved it. It was a bit
of an old hand-me-down though, and made me nervous, so I
chucked it rather than lugg it one housemove. Never replaced
it ( although I kept the eartherware inner pot, which I use
in the oven )

[email hidden] :

|| mangodance wrote:
|| > leebee wrote:
|| >> kilikini wrote:
|| >>
|| >>> That in addition to two toaster ovens, a rice
|| >>> cooker, two fondue pots, a crock pot, a steamer, a
|| >>> pasta maker and an electric fying pan.
|| >>
|| >>
|| >> I hate electric stuff that needs to be plugged in at
|| >> the bench. Hate cleaning it too 😉
|| >
|| > I'm with ya for much of it...I have no use for an
|| > electric frying pan/steamer/pasta maker or dual
|| > toaster ovens. But I do think the rice steamer is a
|| > great thing, and the crock pot saves a lot of
|| > elctricity. What do I know...I like my manual hand
|| > mixers! It is rare my electric mixer comes out of the
|| > box!
||
|| ditto ! I used to have a crockpot and loved it. It was a
|| bit of an old hand-me-down though, and made me nervous,
|| so I chucked it rather than lugg it one housemove. Never
|| replaced it ( although I kept the eartherware inner pot,
|| which I use in the oven )

I love my old crock pot. Lamb shanks done in a crock
pot - yum.

--

Who bothers to read sig lines?

"elaine" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:40804ba0$1_1@aeinews....

Quoted message said:

My 10 top essentials for a beginner cook (in no
particular order)

OK - just for Yet Another Take on this, here's my mods to
your list:

Quoted message said:

Good garlic press

I'll join with the growing number of folks who would axe the
press in favor of a good cleaver; I have a good press, but
it's gathering dust in the drawer. I've never had any
problems handling garlic with the cleaver, and the press is
one of those essentially single-use gadgets that is a bit of
a chore to clean anyway. And a good cleaver is just too
massively useful a knife NOT to have, anyway.

Quoted message said:

Wooden spoon non-stick teflon frying pan jug - for
sauces, etc. blender casserole dishes roasting pan salad
spinner potato masher spatula

No knives on the list at all, huh? In addition to the
cleaver, I would certainly consider a good chef's knife plus
at least one smaller blade (a paring knife, say) to be among
the basic essentials. A non-stick frying pan, sure, but then
you also need at least one good saucepan (and I hate non-
sticks for THAT one); even if she's already got the cheap
set, treat her to one GOOD pan.

I'm trying to approach this from the standpoint of what I
use most in the kitchen and what I simply couldn't be
without, and I think I would add to the above:

- a good cutting board
- a digital probe thermometer, preferably combined with a
timer; essential for meat.
- You've already listed a wooden spoon, but what about at
least one good-sized mixing bowl?

Other things that come to mind would depend on just what
sort of cooking we're talking about here. For basic "put
some meals together once in a while," you're off to a pretty
good start at this point. But if there's going to be any
baking going on here, where are the cookie sheets, cake
pans, pie pans - not to mention a good rolling pin?

Getting to what might be considered somewhat more than just
"beginner's essentials," the following helpful gadgets also
come to mind (some already mentioned) -

- rice cooker/vegetable steamer
- stick blender
- a GOOD hand mixer
- pizza stone
- grater
- colander

Oh, and I almost forgot the one that immediately came to
mind when I first saw your post - how about a medium-
sized whisk?

Bob M.

Scott said:

With dry cup measures, you fill it up to the lip and sweep
off--pretty much perfect. The only real issue is flour,
and that's largely resolved if you figure out whether the
recipe calls for scoop/sweep or spoon/sweep (actually, I
always try to weigh flour).

understood, but I rarely see too many recipes saying how to
level. Weighing is preferable though I don't see many like
that either.

Quoted message said:

With a liquid measuring cup, you'll always have
inaccuracies since dry ingredients don't self level, and
you're filling the cup to one of the divided levels, not
the lip.

However, one should be measuring liquids consistently to the
meniscus. Having spent WAY too many lab hours measuring to
levels, it isn't difficult to be accurate with liquids.

Quoted message said:

Measuring 1/3 cup of sugar in a 1 or 2 cup container is a
PITA. Theoretically do-able? Sure.. repeated tampings on
the counter might level things off somewhat, but not well,
so you end up averaging the high and low points. And
inaccuracies can compound; if you need to measure 2-1/3
cups of sugar, your 2 cup measure will be off, and so will
your 1/3 cup measure.

Obviously, if the measuring cup doesn't have the markings
for whatever fraction you require, it will be an issue. But
in general, I don't feel it that difficult with measuring
cups and solids. Additionally, the amount of innacuracy, I
just don't see as a problem. If I felt for a moment that
cooking was to end up as the labor involved in extracting
compounds it would cease to be fun. Since my family (and
MANY southern families) have been tooling along rarely even
using measuring cups (and many times recipes) for
generations, I don't feel the need to account for .5 gm of
flour, or 1 gm of sugar. Additionally, the type of whetat a
flour comes from, the season, and several other
environmental factors will add in more need for adjusting
than the loss of a gram or two with a couple of ingredients.
I would agree that people can be sloppy with their measuring
though. Any measuring tool is only as good as the person
using it. And again, the "rules of thumb" used by many for
metric conversions introduce far more variation in the way
of rounding error.

elaine said:

My 10 top essentials for a beginner cook (in no
particular order)

Good garlic press

Yes but I don't use it for garlic. For garlic you need a
cutting board and a good knife.

Quoted message said:

Wooden spoon

The more the merrier.

Quoted message said:

non-stick teflon frying pan

Absolutely. A small and a medium.

Quoted message said:

jug - for sauces, etc.

Nope. No jugs at my house.

Quoted message said:

blender

Nope. I occasionally think it would be nice to have but not
essential.

Quoted message said:

casserole dishes roasting pan salad spinner potato
masher

Or maybe a ricer.

Quoted message said:

spatula

Just one? I think I have four.

Quoted message said:

My daughter having just bought a house is moving out -
I'm in charge of buying kitchen stuff because I like
buying kitchen stuff - . She's already been given
pots/pans (probably cheap) so I cannot duplicate that.
Other than that she has nothing. Just thought it would
be interesting to list what I bought.

Everyone should have oven mitts, tea towels, a good knife
set, scissors, strainer, stock pot, chopsticks, toothpicks,
steel bowls, ramakins, colander and squeeze bottles for
drizzling liquids.

--
Send e-mail to: darrell at cs dot toronto dot edu Don't send
e-mail to [email hidden]

Scott said:

In article <40804ba0$1_1@aeinews.>, "elaine"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

[snip]

Quoted message said:

For me, I'd say:
1) measuring cups (w/o rolled edges)--for dry measure
2) measuring spoons
3) measuring beaker--for liquid measure

For cooking? I'd use these things for baking but my wife
does no baking and she had none of these things. The only
beaker her mother had was a soft plastic one that was warped
from being in the dishwasher. Obviously no good for
measuring.

Quoted message said:

3) vegetable peeler

Nice to have but I could get by with a knife (I just
wouldn't want to).

Quoted message said:

4) water kettle (after getting my grandmother one of
those electric ones, I think I'd prefer that over the
stovetop sort)

We have one. I make tea with it. Not much else.

Quoted message said:

5) good, heavy pot
6) oven mitts
7) cast iron frying pan. Great for baking, too (I won't
make cornbread or apple skillet cake without it)

My mother had one. I've never had a need for it. Actually,
I've never seen my mother use it other than to threaten my
dad when ticked her off.

Quoted message said:

8) cleaver
9) baking sheets
10) paring knife

If I absolutely had to limit myself to 10 things, that'd
probably be it, though there'd be things I'd miss.

I don't think you can really narrow it down to 10 things.
Mind you, ever time I get a bigger kitchen I get more
gadgets. 8^)

Quoted message said:

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hahabogus said:

"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Pot holders/oven mitts.

Jill

A set of tongs...to flip stuff in the pan and toss
salads etc....

18 messages later and this is the first one to mention
tongs. They get daily use at my place. I cannot believe I
didn't rmember them.

Quoted message said:

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My 10 top essentials for a beginner cook (in no
particular order)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Good garlic press Wooden spoon non-stick teflon
frying pan jug - for sauces, etc. blender
casserole dishes roasting pan salad spinner potato
masher spatula

Well, I absolutely knew there was no way to try and limit
this to ten.
And as I look on the table (birthday today too), I see
several additions:

oven mitts/glove whisk measuring cups/spoons baking trays
4 ramekins ........tongs too.

I'm thinking I might buy a cleaver for me.........I've
always been of the assumption that one has to practice
using it. Maybe it's not too late to learn! Thanks to
everyone for the great suggestions. I'd like to think I'm
finished buying - but that's doubtful.
E.