OK everyone, this is it! The big push to get your kitchen clean, organized, and well-equipped before we turn and start in on the cooking part of the Kitchen Cure next week. We're going to give you lots more cleaning resources and inspiration during the rest of the week, but first: as you cleaned and organized your cupboards, is there anything you discovered you're missing?
Maybe you threw out a couple battered and useless pots and now you need just one good heavy stockpot. Or maybe you don't have any good knives worth speaking of. Or you realized you don't have a mixing bowl big enough for a batch of bread?
Usually we talk about paring down and decluttering. But sometimes we find that we have gaps in our equipment that genuinely trip us up. It's good to wait and see how often we find ourselves missing something, and if it occurs frequently, then it's time to get it!
For me personally that thing was a big stockpot. I didn't have a pot over 6 quarts, and boiling more than one pound of pasta or cooking corn on the cob were problematic. I kept finding myself with overflowing pots while cooking for a crowd or making meals for the week. So on my last trip to IKEA I bought a heavy 11-quart pot that will do just fine for now.
• IKEA 365+ Stock pot with lid, $35 at IKEA USA
Don't get hung up on it if you can't afford your dream set of All-Clad or Japanese knives. If you're missing an essential, go hunt at Amazon.com or TJ Maxx, find a bargain, bring it home, and start cooking!
What are you missing? Tell us here and maybe your fellow readers can help point you towards a good deal.
Related: Good Question: Help Us Find a Really Good Cheap Knife
(Image: IKEA USA)
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I'm not missing anything I need to COOK. But I am seriously deficient in the china/flatware/glasses dept. It gets very irritating and has me resorting to rather odd off-label uses for what I do have.
I really need to decide on a food processor. I had a Cuisinart Miniprep that died - which I used all the time. I need something bigger, but budgets being what they are I am having a hard time deciding which larger food processor to go with. ARGH! I am leaning towards the Cuisinart 11 cup. Probably. Maybe. I do also have a KitchenAid stand mixer.
You know, between the kitchen cure and the spring cure, I found that I needed a few things...
1. My Ikea Silverware from six years ago was down to three forks, two spoons, and eight butter knives, meaning I had to constantly rewash everything.
2. My glasses were down to the few dollar store ones I had picked up because they were 'cute'... a total of three. I'm sure I bought four to begin with, but who knows where #4 went?
3. Knives - I was down to my LAST butcher knife from the ikea set from about six years ago, and although it has done a fantastic job, I find it doesn't cut bread or fruit as well as I'd like.
I replaced all three over the course of these cures!
Baby needs a new slow cooker, and I let someone borrow my turkey roaster, and when I finally got around to using it again, the PAN was missing, and the person I'd loaned it to had moved! So I want a new turkey roaster too.
need a new large, 6 qt or so pot. I have a big saucepan but the handle is really loose, and i'm afraid one day it'll lead to a boiling water accident! I also need a butcher's knife- I usually make it work with the largest knife I own for now, but it would be handy to have one.
i totally agree with checking out tj maxx/homegoods stores. i bought a lot of discounted kitchen gadgets/odds and ends from good name brands. i like ikea for some things, but i'm wary of their pots. I picked up a bunch of cuisinart frying pans (non stick and in fun colors!) from tx maxx for under 15 dollars each. you can also score some le crueset baking pans, casseroles, and ramekins from their poterie line.
I would love a slow cooker, but I'll wait until the fall to buy one.
In the meantime, I decided that it is time to bite the bullet and buy a microplane rasp. Definitely a new must have.
I'm in the market for one of those magnetic strips to store my knives. I know a local CookWares store has them, but I need to comparison shop before buying. It's not a "need", but it is a want that would clear up some more counter space. Right now I have my knives in a storage block on the counter beside my stove.
There is a site which sells "irregular" All Clad cookware. Irregular in that there are visual imperfections which make cookware ineligible for regular sale.
Here's a link.
I can save almost $125 dollars by ordering pieces from Cookware & More instead of a kit from Amazon.com
I'm looking for a zester. So many recipes call for zest!
I think I have cookware down pretty well, though I'd love some more Falk copper pans. And another good knife or two.
Glasses? Hm. I drink out of jelly glasses. Yes, I know that's eccentric lol but I do NOT like commercial glassware that much, most of it seems lame to me. Falk culinair and canning jars....muwahhh!!! yep, that's me.
ps thanks to people who commented about tj maxx- that's a good tip. I've found interesting things at Ross, too, like good English teas not widely available even in the English tea shops (I cleaned out their supply of Taylor's of harrogate Yorkshire Red :-D)
I need a new, big wood cutting board. I want something hefty. My little cheap one isn't cutting it anymore.