Outfitting an enduring kitchen

The kitchen is the heart of the home, but if you’re new to home cooking, fear not – you don’t have to be an expert or spend a bajillion dollars setting up a supercharged kitchen. All you’re trying to achieve is a way to cook and feed yourself, family and friends that optimises the amount of time and money spent, and allows food to become the heart of your home.

You can thrive on the simplest and most natural meals, made with the minimum of fuss and based on fresh vegetables and fruit, nuts, meats, simple salads and desserts. It’s sometimes fun, however, to mix up your meals so you don’t get bored. You want to be able to create situations where you can derive pleasure and fulfilment from your food as well as nourishment.

The first step towards an enduring supercharged kitchen is to ensure you have at your disposal the food preparation options you need. The following is a list of the kitchen equipment I use most when creating my dishes at home. Depending on your lifestyle and financial position, you may not require them all – just pick and choose what will work for you. When it comes to outfitting, aim for a minimalist kitchen where less is more.

Spiraliser

The spiraliser is an inexpensive tool that can add variety to your meals, turning basic vegetable into oodles of noodles. Don’t think of these as just for the carb-conscious or healthy chefs; everyone from home cooks to kids is spiralising and eating up their vegetables in the process. Pick a firm peeled or unpeeled vegie – zucchinis and carrots work well – and watch as it’s transformed into a pile of extra-long, gently curled noodles or ribbons you can enjoy as a fun dish.

High-speed blender

A high-speed blender will perhaps be one of the more expensive items you invest in, but this one sturdy and versatile central piece of kitchen equipment is worth every penny. High-speed blenders can perform certain tasks that ‘regular’ blenders can’t, such as making nut butters and milks, whipping up instant ‘ice creams’, grinding coffee beans, and creating extremely smooth drinks. It’s time to say goodbye to ‘sip and chew’ green smoothies. If you gravitate towards eating raw food, a high-speed blender will enable you to extract all the fibre and juice from your fresh produce (there’s no pulp residue), which means better value when it comes to ingredient budgeting and less waste. You’ll notice that high-speed blenders vary dramatically in price. Rather than pay a premium for a brand name, I’d recommend purchasing a blender with a good warranty, as you want it to be a long-lasting investment.

Food processor

A food processor is your ally when it comes to reducing your kitchen preparation work. I use mine for a number of tasks, from shredding and chopping vegetables to creating pesto sauces and bliss balls, blending sauces and salsas, making crusts and doughs, and chopping nuts and grinding them into flours. My advice would be to choose a model that’s easy to clean and has a strong processing speed. If you’re tossing up whether to invest in a high-speed blender or food processor, they both have their distinct advantages, so look at what your kitchen needs and what you do most, then work back from there.

Dehydrator

While definitely not an essential item – an oven on low heat can essentially perform the same function – a dehydrator is a worthwhile investment if you intend to create ready-to-go foods such as crackers, biscuits, vegetable and fruit straps, and vegetable chips. It can also help you cut down on food wastage by drying herbs and fruits for later use.

Dehydrated food will keep for much longer, so you can dehydrate an assembly line of produce over the weekend when you have some spare time. Dehydrating typically takes between four and 12 hours depending on the kind of ingredients you’re using. I store my dehydrated foods in airtight jars and containers. Home food dehydrators fall into two categories: those with stackable trays, and those consisting of a rigid box with removable shelves. Size is a factor; most fit on a benchtop, but larger models are free-standing and require more space.

Cast-iron pans

These may seem a bit on the old-fashioned side, but they’re a must in a supercharged kitchen: they conduct heat beautifully, dance from stovetop to oven with no issues, and last for decades. The sheen on cast-iron cookware renders it virtually non-stick, allowing you to use less oil in your dishes.

Roasting tins

Although a variety of tins may be suitable for roasting, roasting tins are particularly useful for cooking large pieces of meat to feed the whole family. The bottoms and sides of these tins will radiate and intensify an oven’s heat, browning the outside of your food quickly while keeping the inside moist. The pan itself will catch and brown any cooking liquids for later use in a gravy or marinade. Enamelled cast-iron roasters are the best as they provide steady, even heat. Look for one that’s heavily enamelled, as thin coatings can chip or crack and have a shorter lifespan.

Chargrill pans and woks

Chargrill pans and woks, preferably enamelled cast-iron versions, are fantastic when preparing Asian-style dishes. I like to get the most out of mine by using them to reheat food – they yield a more delicious result than a microwave.

Wooden spoons and spatulas

Wooden spoons are the ideal mixing tool. They’re strong, won’t scratch the finish of your cookware, are insulated (and thus won’t cause sudden temperature changes in your food), have a high heat tolerance and are eco-friendly. Avoid plastics and silicone. Although they’re more flexible, it’s best to stay away from them, largely for environmental reasons but also for health reasons, especially around hot liquids. I’d suggest using metal spatulas and slotted spoons, metal-tipped tongs and wooden spoons. But don’t throw out perfectly serviceable cookware unless you think it poses a genuine health risk. It’s greener to keep old utensils than replace them with new ones.

Top three knives

The only three knives you really need in your kitchen are a 20 cm (8 inch) chef’s knife for chopping vegies and herbs, slicing meat and whacking hard shells such as coconuts; a sharp paring knife for peeling fruit and vegies; and a bread knife for slicing bread and tomatoes, and levelling cakes and bakes.

Mixing bowls and measuring cups and spoons

With the planet in mind, choose wooden, bamboo or metal vessels rather than plastic ones. These will make your recipe-creation experience much easier and will also last much longer.

Sieves, strainers and colanders

Sieves are great for creating ultra-light baked goods – simply sift any flours before mixing them in. With colanders, choose metal rather than plastic. I have a large colander for straining larger items such as steamed vegies and pastas, and a finer-meshed strainer for smaller items such as rice.

Scales

A good set of kitchen scales will make following recipes much easier. We’ve all been guilty of over- or underestimating the weight of our meats, only to burn them to a crisp or serve them half-raw!

Citrus juicer

You may be able to get away without one, but the extra juice you’ll be able to extract from your citrus fruits will definitely make up for the investment, and will mean less wastage. You might find that your food processor has an attachment for this.

Grater

When choosing a grater, be sure to select one that’s firm, with a strong steady base, so that it won’t slide as you grate your food. Most food processors have a grating function and, depending on the intended use of the grated food, the job it does might be adequate for your needs.

Now you’re armed with all the necessary ideas for utensils, your only challenge will be choosing which delicious meal to prepare first. But before you start deciding which recipes you want to try, make sure you read on. I want to demystify any misconceptions you may have about true flavour, and explain the art of flavour cultivation.