Essentials for Your Kitchen

There are certain things that should be found in the kitchen of every foody, or anyone interested in cooking. Here are my absolute essentials:

Chopping board

These come in various forms, from flimsy plastic to solid wooden lumps, what is best?

Well first things first, millimeter thick bits of plastic do not constitute chopping boards. It pains me to say that i have some in my kitchen, but hey they aren't mine and rarely get used by anyone.

There are more substantial plastic chopping board sets that are becoming increasingly popular, with individual boards for meat, fish and veg (above). These are good, however i think they're unnecessarily pricey.

At the moment i'm using a very bog standard chopping block, its sturdy doesn't scratch like plastic and is very simple to cut on so i can't imagine why i would ever swap that for a set of boards. 

Of course, when you do cut meat on a chopping block make sure to wash it thoroughly before using it again to avoid cross contamination.

Knives

There wouldn't be much point in having a good chopping board without having something decent to chop with...

It is important to have at least one good shark knife, and for you to maintain its sharpness.

At home my mum has a set of Robert Welch knives which are out of this world. Needless to say they are expensive and were given to her as a present, so not something i'd expect anyone to rush out and buy right now.

Whatever knife you do use i would recommend that you also buy yourself a knife sharpener, as chopping causes things to go blunt very quickly.

Video tutorial on how to sharpen your knives by Gordon Ramsay http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syvvxx3eGpI

Frying Pan

So far i've said you don't need to splash out on expensive chopping boards or knives, but one area where spending money is justified is with frying pans. Last year in student halls i used everyone's frying pans at least once and so got a good sense of what made for a good pan. A non-stick pan is essential! 

After using a wide variety of cheap and frankly poor frying pans last year i knew i needed a more expensive one for myself. And i knew i could afford to because now that i'm no longer in halls it won't be stolen. I now have a Tefal non-stick frying pan and i wouldn't contemplate using anything else. Costing between £25-35 depending upon the size they won't break the bank and the words non-stick have never been more true!

Ceramic Casserole Pot

Tomorrow i will post another recipe for you, one of my mothers, and to make use of it and enjoy the beautiful taste of her 'chicken and chorizo casserole' you will need a Ceramic casserole pot.

These pots allow you to create amazingly tasty dishes with minimal effort. Bung all the ingredients in and cook on a low heat for a long time. this produces tender meat and rich flavourful gravy, as the flavours are allowed to develop for a long time. It is an absolute must have item!

Now ideally you want one of a good size, obviously the bigger the more expensive, BUT a ceramic pot is a ceramic pot, so don't splash out on any expensive brands (Le Creuset pictured). Mine is from Sainsbury's.

So there we have it, 4 of the most important things to have in your kitchen and things that will really make you cooking either as easy or as tasty as possible.