A friend and I had a conversation at work on what our top 10 essential pieces of cookware would be if we could only have 10 and nothing else. We both ended up bumping it up to 12 because we couldn’t part with a few things, but these were my choices, most important of which would be the Chef’s Knife and the Wok.
A lot of my picks were because of their versatility, e.g. the wok which can deep fry, saute, boil, and even bake if you’re brave enough, or because of their necessity.
Here is my reasoning for each of my picks:
Can Opener: knives can open cans, but I don’t want to have to ruin my chef’s knife by doing so
Wok: Carbon steel is easy to clean, durable, and non-stick and can still get good color and fond when sauteeing meats. The form factor is more versatile to boil or deep fry, and big enough for soup or stew while still being able to saute. I almost went with a cast iron pan for this pick, but it isn’t big enough for soup or stew and doesn’t do well with acid.
Chef’s Knife: probably the most important tool of all, and the most versatile knife of all the blade choices. You could probably substitute a cleaver here but I am more used to the chef’s knife personally.
Chopsticks: I feel like chopsticks are more precise and versatile than tongs or a spatula. This one is more personal preference. (especially because they’re so easy to clean).
Corner Spoon: can’t use chopsticks for liquids so I picked a corner spoon which can double as a spoon and a spatula.
Cutting Board: probably one of the weaker picks, but I think it’s necessary to keep your countertops safe and also to keep your blade from dulling too much with use.
Food Scale: Another important one, you can’t recreate recipes accurately without measuring ingredients. Some scales have a liquid and solid option so you will be able to measure both volume and weight close enough to be accurate.
Immersion Blender: probably my weakest entry, but I feel like it’s necessary enough to include. You can’t make certain things without a blender and the immersion blender is more versatile than a countertop one.
Mixing Bowls: Essential for mise en place and separation of ingredients, for recipe and/or safety.
Mortar and Pestle Necesary for spices and ground ingredients that a chef’s knife would be too tedious to use (e.g. ground cumin). More versatile than just a spice grinder.
Thermometer: Essential for accurate cooking temps and food safety. You could technically do it all by feel, but to me especially in the context of baking and meats, accurate temperature is important.
Whisk: Another weaker entry, but you couldn’t make things like hollandaise or whipped cream without one. You could probably remove this one if you had a whisk attatchment on the immersion blender.
I did not include heat or cleaning stuff in this list which is technically also necessary. You need some form of heat (like a stovetop or campfire) and refridgeration to cook too, and some cleaning agents.
I’m curious what you all would add, remove, or swap to the list. What’s essential to you?
Cast iron. Second most essential piece?
Second cast iron.
My cast iron spurdle really comes in handy. It only weighs 4 pounds, can hardly tell it’s cast iron. So I gotta tell everyone. Dropped it on my tile floor once, turns out it’s really handy at getting up broken tile. I use it for everything!
We’ve got two which have been with us for years and are so fully seasoned even god couldn’t stick to them. And not gross, just, basically invisible.
I dont think I’ve ever seen a can opener that looks like your photo, and can’t really imagine how that is supposed to work.
It’s called a P-38 and was issued to American troops to open rations in WWII. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-38_can_opener
It’s funny that my top 10 (or 12) list would have stuff on it that I don’t actually use all that often, because when I’m not limited I use more specialized tools. For example, I’d pick an enameled cast iron dutch oven, but I more often use a Crock Pot or Instant Pot.
Anyway, my list:
- chef’s knife
- wooden cutting board
- enameled cast iron dutch oven
- silicone spoon with edge soft enough for scraping batters from the sides of a bowl
- metal spatula (maybe the regular kind or maybe a fish-turner)
- mixing bowl (isn’t “bowls” plural cheating, BTW? Actually, if I could only have one then I might pick a saucier for both mixing and cooking)
- kitchen towel (or oven mitts)
- whisk
- shredder/grater
- colander/strainer/sieve
If I could have the extra two items, they’d be:
- tri-ply stainless steel saute pan or a cast-iron skillet, not sure which
- food scale
My list doesn’t include a can opener. Rather than abusing my knife, I just wouldn’t use any canned ingredients, and I’m okay with that. (If this were a disaster scenario where ingredients were limited that answer would change, though.)
The mortar and pestle or blender didn’t make the list because if I really need to crush something, I can whack it with a heavy pan.
Essential? Chefs knife, cutting board, tongs, spoon, pot, pan, bowls. Stuff like a can opener or mortar and pestle are convenient but not essential, and stuff like scales and thermometers can be substituted with experience.
I feel like the choice of can opener is rage bait lol
Here is mine:
- wooden cutting board
- pairing knife
- chef knife
- immersion blender
- kitchen towels (to handle hot things)
- spatula
- slotted spoon
- deep oven dish
- deep pot with lid
- metal mesh strainer
- tongs
- can opener with bottle opener
If I could have another it would be a peeler. I hate using a knife to peel.
I guess my line of thinking was that a can opener isn’t the most important investment out of all the tools. I tried to pick the cheapest possible things without sacrificing cooking quality; P38s are like 50¢ and they work well enough and last forever so that’s where my mind went
I thought about a peeler too, but I only really use them for carrots and potatoes. I’m one of the weirdos that likes the skin on potatoes and I can peel a carrot easily enough with a knife.
I didn’t think about kitchen towels for heat though, that’s definitely an essential
I am just teasing! I’ve got one in my backpacking mess kit. Not sure why because cans are too heavy lol. It migrated from my car camping kit, I think.
I’m surprised multiple people have immersion blender in their top 10. I wonder if I’m missing something. I don’t deny it’s a very nice tool to have but I feel like it’s not essential for most meals. For some things, the dish might taste worse though. I’ve definitely made pasta sauce and indian curry without one and you will end up with a chunkier pasta sauce or curry but it’s still totally edible and tasty.
No, I don’t think there is anything profound. Maybe I wouldn’t have had it if op didn’t include it in theirs, tbh. I do use it a lot but I also make a lot of soup/smooth sauces. It’s also handy for emulsions.
A pair of solid flat tongs. A decent pair has outlived half my kitchens.
click click
Yes Yeas That’s the exact noise! Mine have a triangle loop at the end, not round. I have to be careful as my kids have their eyes on them
Don’t overlook the humble bowl/bench scraper. It’s not just for baking. They have a duty in everything from prep work to washing up. I even recently found small plastic scrapers that are so hard, they can sheer carbon fused to a stainless steel pan.
Definitely agree, it didn’t make my top ten but I use my scraper all the time. It’s so easy to just scoop things up after you cut them, or even for cleaning too
Here’s what I use…
Stainless steel pan and pot. One single plate, bowl, mug, spoon, fork, butter knife, chop sticks, and a mini cleaver. (I have more plates and utensils in storage from buying as a set but I only get them out for guests)
A mini fridge, chest freezer, a portable induction hob, a microwave, a toaster oven, and an air fryer. I also have a food scale and spoon/cup measurement.
You’d be surprised with what you can do with so little.
… The microwave and toaster oven are kind of optional, to be honest. An airfryer is just a strong convection oven and works fine to reheat/toast things if you know how. Fork can be used to wisk but I wouldn’t mind losing it and keeping the chopsticks. The pot could double as a bowl, and often does…
Anyways, you’ve certainly beaten me.
That’s how I cooked in a dorm. But my hotplate was actually ass. Induction hotplates were way out of my budget then. I feel like the toaster oven and air fryer fill the same niche. There are also combination microwaves and air fryers.
How would you prepare a lasagne or anything pizza-like with those utensils? I think i’d need a spatula and a casserole, just because half the things i cook require them. Also I truly need a dedicated spatula, i have chickens and flipping eggs with chopsticks sounds painful.
Casserole-dishes could be done by swapping out the wok for a deep pot but that is not as versatile.
Also i think i’d drop the thermometer since i rarely prepare meat and instead of the immersion blender i’d pick a thermomix, just because it’s so much easier to prepare sauces with it. Bechamel in 6min is just something i can’t do by hand. This can also be used for shredded cheeses, which otherwise would have to be done with the chefs knife. Additionally this frees up the mortar and pestle spot, it’s not exactly the same texture for some asian recipes but most western uses for the mortar and pestle can be substituted by this.
I guess the 80/20 rule would apply. I could probably make 80% of most dishes with these tools, but I wouldn’t be able to make anything that needs special equipment (like madeline pans, pizza peels, etc.). Calzone would probably be on the table since you can move it by hand, but pizza would be a hard one without a way to get it in the oven. Maybe you could par-cook the crust so it’s stable enough to handle and top?
Eggs are a good point too. Scrambled and sunnyside would be easy in the wok, but over easy, etc. would definitely be harder. It would definitely take some finesse to flip it in a wok.
Edit: TIL about a Thermomix. Definitely more versatile than an immersion blender
- Corner Spoon
- Mixing Bowl
- Chefs Knife
- Food Scale
- Spatula
- Cutting Board
- Can Opener
- Thermomix
- Deep Pot (can double as Casserole in a Pinch)
- Deep Cast Iron Pan (can double as Casserole in a Pinch depends on the Dish)
I think i’d be able to cook most of my staples with this (except for some traditional german/french meats that require special prep) but as you said 80/20 applies
enamelled cast iron dutch oven 💯
Can Opener
Cast Iron Skillet with Vented Lid
Kershaw Pocket Knife
Flat Short Spatula (Metal)
Rice Cooker
Single Burner -> Wall Outlet
I was homeless for a few years, found a roach motel that would take me, thats the list of what fed me for about 1.5 years at said roach motel while I recovered from all the injuries incurred from homelessness.
The Wok is nice, but a flat skillet has more flat surface area, you can fry up a larger cut of meat, an omellete, a pancake, or a grilled sandwich, etc.
Rice Cooker will boil rice or pasta or heat up a sauce or soup… and of course will just boil water, which ia better than nothing if your water quality sucks and you ain’t got filters.
I found that goddamned pocket knife in a parking lot, around 2 years ago now, cleaned it up, and I still havent needed to get an actual chef knife yet, I just cleaned the knife after any and every food prep, its still pretty sharp.
Luxury post-homeless living:
Throw on a Teapot with an infuser and you can make loose leaf tea or instant coffee in it.
If you want better coffee, French Press + Grinder.
Missing a set of tongs and a big grilling spatula, big skillet (cast iron ideally), big lidded saucepan (stainless steel), steamer, baking sheet
I might count chopsticks as a ‘free’ item, unless you’re also counting other basic utensils. Also if a set of bowls can be one item, a set of utensils should be.
Tongs ta-tong tong Tooooonnnggggssss
Essential, as in cannot cook the majority of things without:
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Mixing bowl
- Colander
- Spatula
- Pan
- Pot
- Baking sheet
- Tongs
- Thermometer
Lets me prep and cook 99% of the solid and liquid things that I make.
