They say the kitchen is the most utilized room in any house! And yet, its usually the least “furnished.” Upon moving into your new home, you’ve got to make sure that you have the kitchen essentials. Read on to find out which items you must buy!

Saucepans
Don’t let the name fool you. While you can make sauces in these pans, their use goes far beyond that. From simmering soups to making quinoa, a saucepan will quickly become one of your most-used items (if it isn’t already).

Spatula
From scrambling eggs to flipping pancakes to stirring sauces, spatulas are surprisingly flexible. Tip: Buy a silicone model for extra heat resistance.

Sauté Pan
Not to be confused with a skillet (a sauté pan has straight sides), these pans are perfect for braising meat and cooking lots of leafy greens. And thanks to those higher sides, you’ll be less likely to spill sauce all over.

Skillet
One of the most versatile stovetop tools, you can cook nearly anything in a skillet. Nonstick varieties are inexpensive and make it easy to cook foods without needing to add much butter or oil to coat the pan. Cast-iron versions can go from the stove to the oven to make one-pan meals a snap, and while they are more of an initial investment, with proper care they can last a lifetime.

Baking Sheet
Even if baking cookies isn’t your thing, these sheets are super-handy. Use them to roast veggies, make homemade fries, cook chicken, or bake bacon. For easy cleanup, cover the surface in aluminum foil and spritz

with cooking spray. When the food is done, just ditch the aluminum foil…no washing necessary.

Oven Mitts
Not everyone has handy mitts lying around, but they should. Use these to protect both you and your kitchen from the wrath of a hot oven. Tip: They can also serve as hot plates at dinner parties.

Roasting Pan
Intended as a tool for roasting meat, this pan produces juicy, flavorful results and requires little kitchen prep. Its size also means it’s great for making large quantities of food such as meatloaves, lasagna, casseroles, and more.

Dutch Oven
Dutch ovens are actually a great tool for making one-pot, slow-cooked meals like stews, pot roasts, and soups. A six-quart version should be large enough to make most meals.

Cooling Rack
Cooling racks help ensure cookies and other baked goods cool quickly and evenly. A quality rack is also great for getting the perfect crisp on breaded meats by eliminating sogginess.

Flatware
If opting for a stainless steel set, go gentle on the dishwasher detergent; too much can cause silverware to rust.

Plates
Make delivery pizza feel gourmet by putting it on a plate instead of eating it out of the box. Plates also come in handy for trimming portion sizes.

Bowls
Bowls are a necessary ingredient for any kind of food. They also work as makeshift mixing bowls if sticking to small portions like salad dressings or scrambled eggs for one.

Glasses
It’s a more civilized way of drinking beverages.

Mugs
While mugs may conjure up visions of sipping coffee, they serve more purposes than that. When the dishwasher or sink is full, they make great stand-in glasses, and they’re perfect for concocting quick and easy mug cakes.

One Thought on “Need to Stock Your Kitchenware? Read Here to Find Out What’s Essential, and What’s Not Before You Go Shopping

  1. henry on August 8, 2017 at 9:46 pm said:

    Great article. I love the part about using mugs as glasses when all the glasses are dirty. In my opinion, thats what mugs are for 🙂

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