Hi, I am Cigdem for those who are new to my blog. I am a chef, traveller and an animal lover!
I love sharing recipes, talking about great food and cooking for hours.
Lately, we had to spend so much time at home because of COVID-19, some of us worked from home, some read more than ever, some spent more time in the kitchen, maybe for the first time!
Cooking can be one of the best therapies for most of us.
You may already have fancy stuff in your kitchen or you may be new at your cooking journey. It is so easy to buy expensive kitchen gadgets even if we don’t need. If you are a new chef in your kitchen or you spend a limited amount of time to cook simple food, you may not know where to start or simply how to upgrade.
First of all, we got to take a brief look at basics. Setting up your kitchen can be easily affordable and it is so much easier with online shopping in these days.
My basics are as follows;
CHEF’S KNIVES
Really lovely set of knives, super sharp, good balanced and a great weight. For the price, five star product.Well made and keep their edge. The handle is soft so not too rough on the hands. I bought this set almost a year ago. I love it. https://amzn.to/2N2zMvP
If you don’t want to spend too much money on your knives this will be a great choice for you. Lightweight and easy to use. Excellent value for money. These knives may not stay sharp for a long time. https://amzn.to/2YqA1WB
If you will like to spend the money ones and buy the quality products to use long term Global knives will be one of the best options https://amzn.to/2AiZ85Y
Cutting board
APRON
I love my aprons. People always asked me where i get them
For cat lovers pvc https://amzn.to/3dVmw7V
Who dosent like sloths pvc https://amzn.to/2MN6MrR
If you ever been to my kitchen, you know I always have my spare pvc rooster apron https://amzn.to/3cTUPLx
Dog lovers cotton apron https://amzn.to/2YuWzpe
Kitchen towels
Silicon utensils
Can opener (if you don’t want to use your sharp knives like MacGyver)
Bottle opener (that is the rule of a kitchen, to have a glass of your favorite drink, sometimes)
Vegetable peeler
Wooden spoon
Whisk
Grater
Knife sharpener
Mixing bowl
Colander
Potholder (I love my silicon holders)
Measuring cups or kitchen scale
FOR YOUR COOKING
Different size of pots
Sautee pan
Dutch oven (Sometimes called French ovens) or Casserole dish
This is a brilliant pot, it’s cast iron and enamelled inside and out https://amzn.to/3cQsHsM
There are similar products to Le Creuset that in general do a decent job, but none can truly match the real thing. https://amzn.to/3hczXTb
Frying pan
A couple of different types of oven tray
Cast iron skillets
MY FAVOURITE PART: BAKING!
Embossing Rolling Pin https://amzn.to/3iwXJcW
Pastry brush
Kitchen scissors
Rolling pin
Fine-mesh Sieve
Cake tins (Any sizes and shapes)
Muffin tin
Cookie sheets
Parchment paper
BASIC KITCHEN ELECTRONICS
HAND MIXER (if possible, get 300-400 Watts)
The perfect tool for everyday use in the kitchen. A couple of options for a different price. These products last longer than most of the other brands
300 W https://amzn.to/3dT0nHt
400 W https://amzn.to/3dWoK7g
FOOD MIXER
There is couple of options you can buy
If you are looking into buying a kitchen mixer and you are not sure what to buy? This mixer not only looks great in your kitchen, will make your life so much easier.
This is very compact to use from mixing cream to making bread dough, slicing your vegetables to cutting your pasta.
This one is a mini stand mixer 3.3 lt, it will be perfect fit for home kitchen
If you like to have a higher capacity, 4.3 lt will be a little bit bigger but still great size for your home kitchen
If you are one of those people like to use your machines more often and spend more time in the kitchen I suggest you should go for higher capacity
FOOD PROCESSOR
If you don’t want to spend more money, just looking in to buy a multi-purpose food processor there is a couple of options, these gadgets will be your best friend in your kitchen. You can use for chopping to mixing or it is great for making your morning smoothies
Or you can go for a simple food processor
KITCHEN SCALE
This is the one that I have been using it for many years and I never had any problems
MICROWAVE
When it comes to microwaves, I love my Panasonic products. I have been using this one in many kitchens i worked. Good size and very functional
GRILL
You can do so much with your grill. If you don’t have one, this may be the time to get one for your kitchen
It may seem like an exhausting list but you don’t need to get everything in one go. Make a list, get your most important gadgets for your use, then you can get everything else later on, when you have the chance.
PRO TIP: When buying kitchen gadgets, sometimes it is best to wait and save a little bit of more money to get a better quality to use for the long term. Like hand mixers for example.
There are many different options for lower powers to buy. Most of them will be fine for a while, if you only want to use it for light mixing like cream or ice cream. If you choose to go with the higher watts, the machine will do more of the work so your wrists will not get exhausted. Besides, your machine lasts much longer if you are planning to use it for heavy work. If you are into baking and love the idea of making your own dough, pasta, pizza, cakes hence you will need to mix products like cakes and bread dough, you should definitely choose a kitchen appliance with higher watts.
I will be sharing a lot more information in my upcoming blogs about becoming a better chef in your kitchen. Please stay tuned and share your ideas or ask for any information you need in between.
Stay safe