apartment kitchens
Basic equipment, utensils, and quick meal needs for your apartment (that hopefully has a working stove, oven and refrigerator).
help yourself
healthier
together
cookware, equipment, gadgets
Bare Minimum:
- Chef's knife
- Paring knife
- Cutting board
- Silicone spatula
- Turner spatula
- Tongs
- Wooden spoon
- 1 frying pan - at least 8-inch, non-stick
- 1 pot - 3-quart, for things like pasta
- 9 x 13 glass baking dish
- 2 oven mitts/pot holders
- Strainer/sieve
- Measuring cups and spoons
- 2 mixing bowls
- Can opener
- Corkscrew/bottle opener
- Blender
- Microwave
- Plastic storage containers
More than Minimum:
- 9 x 9 square baking pan
- Containers for flour and sugar
- Coffee maker
- George Foreman™ grill
- Hand-held mixer
- Pepper grinder
- Toaster-oven
plates, silverware, etc.
Bare Minimum:
- Bowls - big or small portions of soup, salad, ice cream or other foods
- Dinner forks
- Dinner plates
- Glasses - pint glasses are cheap and the right size
- Mugs
- Pepper grinder/salt shaker
- Soup spoons
- Table knives
- Teaspoons
More than Minimum:
- Salad/dessert forks
- Serving spoon, fork, dishes
- Small plates
- Wine glasses
healthy kitchen
Basic Inventory - Whole Grains:
- 9-Grain Cereal
- Brown rice (long or short grain)
- Bulgur Rolled oats
- Millet
- Oat bran
- Quinoa
- Steel-cut oats
- Wheat bran
- Whole grain or high-quality pastas
Basic Inventory - Dried and/or Canned Beans:
- Dried lentils (red, brown, and/or French)
- Split peas
- Black beans
- Chick peas
- Pinto beans
- Kidney beans
- White beans
- Soy beans
Basic Inventory - Nuts and Seeds:
- Peanuts
- Walnuts
- Pecans
- Almonds
- Cashews
- Pistachios
- Sunflower seeds
- Pumpkin seeds
- (Nut or seed butters made from any of the above)
Basic Inventory - Oils:
- Olive oil
- Canola oil
- Nut oils
Basic Inventory - Odds and Ends:
- Dried fruit of all kinds
- Vinegars (cider, wine, sherry, rice, raspberry, balsamic)
- Lemons and limes
- Jars and cans of high-quality tomato products - plus a few esoteric, fancy imported items
- Several boxes of vegetable broth
- Dried herbs - variety (not too old - buy them frequently!)
- Fresh herbs stored in water, like bouquets (or planted in flower pots)
Basic Inventory - Larder:
Note: Keep onions and potatoes separate! When stored together, they cause mutual rot.
- Onions
- Garlic
- Sweet Potatoes
- Potatoes
Basic Inventory - Refrigerator:
- Milk
- A few really good cheeses
- Plain whole milk yogurt
- Cottage cheese
- Unsalted butter
- Eggs
- Tofu
- Fresh, in-season fruit and vegetables (as many as will fit!)
- Olives
- Pickles, and marinated vegetables (preferably unsweetened)
Basic Inventory - Freezer:
- Corn
- Peas
- Chopped spinach
- Artichoke hearts
- Unsweetened berries
- Homemade Granola
Information reproduced with permission from Harvard University.
