To us, a chef's knife is one of the biggest game changers when it comes to cooking. If you've ever tried to cut a raw vegetable like a sweet potato with a dull knife, then you understand the struggle. While it's not impossible to use a dull knife, it does make preparing your meals a bit more time-consuming (and dangerous). Instead, we recommend investing in a quality chef's knife. Doing so will help you prep and cut your foods at record speed!
While there is a wide array of knives to choose from, If you're a novice cook, then a standard chef's knife is the best choice. A standard chef's knife works well when cutting just about anything, plus it will keep your kitchen minimalist and manageable until you've decided which other knives you need.
A cast iron skillet is an ideal tool for cooking a variety of meals like bacon, eggs, fries, pork chops and veggies. It is a kitchen tool that can honestly do it all. Aside from your knife, your skillet is likely to be the most used piece of kitchenware. Their heavy-duty nature makes them an excellent investment and a kitchen tool that will last for many years!
The size of the skillet depends on how many people you cook for regularly. For most families, a 10-inch skillet is a preferred size.
While a meat thermometer might not be the first tool you think of when stocking your kitchen with essentials, it will surely be one of the best investments you make. When first learning how to cook, determining when meat is done is often a trying task. While consuming undercooked meat can be dangerous, overcooked meat will end up dry and tasteless. To ensure that your meals remain stress-free even when they're packed with protein, purchase a meat thermometer. Doing so will help you know the exact temperature of what you're cooking so that you have one less thing to worry about.
