For those of you who are just starting to build your kitchen essentials, I remember how overwhelming it can be to figure out what you need now, what you can wait to buy later, and what is just worth borrowing from a friend or family member because you’ll only ever use it a couple of times before it makes it way to the back of your cupboard permanently.
I’m a big believer that it’s important to start with the basics, then slowly build and expand your collection as your cooking skills progress. That being said, I also think it’s important to remember that you don’t need to start with the most expensive high-end cookware; in fact for beginners I would say that you’re better off starting with good quality, mid-range items, which for the most part are great to use, easy to care for, and easily replaceable for the time you accidentally ruin one (it’s truly heartbreaking to ruin a $400+ pot, yes they can run that high…).
Once you’re more comfortable and familiar in the kitchen you’ll start figuring out what items you use more, want to upgrade and/or need to take you to the next level. More importantly once you know that you NEED these items you’ll appreciate them a lot more once you do get them and even more importantly you’ll know how to care for them.
I hope you enjoy this list, and please let me know in the comments if there’s anything you think I missed and share with your fellow readers why YOU think it’s a Kitchen essential when starting out!
