Australian_House_&_Garden_2016_12

HGADVICE

KITCHEN ESSENTIALS

We all want efficient weekday mealtimes. Here, we serve p

the essential tools for fss-free cooking, writesGeorgia Madden.

Smart shopper

C

ooking trends come and go, but

there are essential items no

kitchen should be without. These

are the staples everyone needs: a set of

quality saucepans, good knives and a

sturdy chopping board, for starters.

“Always missing the tool that would

be ‘great to have’ doesn’t encourage a

relaxed cooking experience, so make

sure you’re well-equipped,” says Maggie

Beer, restaurateur, providore and

beloved TV cook. “That said, a kitchen

should have a soul, not just be a

functional space. It’s important to

allow the practical aspect to be equal

to the parts of your kitchen that

are sentimental.”

Contrary to what some retailers would

have you believe, you don’t need to fill

your kitchen with every new gadget. The

key is to own a handful of top-quality

items that suit the way you cook.

“In my opinion, a 20cm chef’s knife

and a 10cm paring knife are essential,”

says Karina Kealy, product manager at

Zwilling JA Henckels. While knife sets

may appear to be good value, she says

it’s preferable to purchase knives

individually so they suit your specific

cooking needs.

Japanese knives are a kitchen

must-have among chefs and it’s easy

to see why, says Roger Seamark,

marketing manager at Sheldon and

Hammond. “When they’re made in the

Samurai tradition, using Cromova 18

stainless steel, the knives are hard

enough to hold their cutting edge

for some time, but soft enough that