Kitchen appliances
Kitchen appliances make food preparation and cooking easier. Some appliances are necessary in every kitchen, while others are more specialized. If you like to make a lot of your food from scratch, you'll want to consider them.
Must haves
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Microwave: A basic necessity for any kitchen, microwaves can mount over the stove or stay on the counter.
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Toaster: Choose from 2-slice, 4-slice, bagel or combination toasters.
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Blenders: Make smoothies, crush ice or puree foods; every kitchen needs a good blender.
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Stand mixer or hand mixer: If you are a dedicated cook, or you want to be, invest in a stand mixer. Several models do more than mixing with special attachments; hand mixers are ideal for lighter jobs and smaller quantities, and a hand mixer is a great complement to your stand mixer.
Nice to have
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Toaster oven: Available in several sizes, toaster ovens can make anything from toast to pizza.
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Coffee makers: Wake up to freshly brewed coffee each morning; coffee makers can be a vital addition to many kitchens.
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Food processor: Able to handle more than a blender, a food processor can chop, slice, grate and more.
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Juicers: Another perk appliance that can be a must, many juicers can handle more than citrus.
Tip: Don't forget the fun appliances: Ice cream makers, indoor grills, popcorn poppers, fondue pots, electric griddles and bread machines are great kitchen items.
Cookware and bakeware
You may love to cook, or you may not. Being equipped with the necessary cookware and bakeware items in your kitchen will encourage you to learn or perfect the recipes for your favorite cuisine. Highly specialized bakeware and cookware is great to have if you make certain items a lot more than others. If you only need the basics for your cooking, the necessities are few.
Must haves
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Pots and pans: Pots and pans come in many different sizes and styles. Choose from saut? pans; omelet/skillet pans in 8, 10 or 12-inch; and sauce pans in 1, 2, 3 or 4 quarts, along with other sizes that are very handy for soups, stews and pasta.
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Lasagna/baking pans: Even if you can't make lasagna like an Italian, having larger baking pans and deep dish lasagna pans works with other casseroles, too.
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Roasting pan: Be ready for special occasion dinners; no matter your size of bird or haunch, there is a perfect sized roasting pan.
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Cookie sheets: Use them to make cookies or place them under silicone bakeware or other baking pans to reduce oven clean-up; have at least two to four on hand.
Nice to have
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Cookware set: Invest in quality cookware sets, this way you'll have everything you need when you need it.
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Bread pans: Bake bread like Mother used to make. Bread loaf pans are great for more than bread; use them for dinner for two instead of larger baking pans.
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Cake pans: Round, rectangular, square or shaped, bundt, angel or fluted: Pick your favorite cake pans as well as two round or one large rectangle cake pan to have in you kitchen.
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Pizza stone or pan: A great perk to have, pizza stones and pans are fun for the whole family, even if you aren't making pizza from scratch.
Tip for bakers: Have at least two to four baking pans, cookie sheets and cake pans in your kitchen.
Tip for new cooks: Have at least two of each pan. This way you'll be able to practice without the fear of commitment.
Dinnerware
Don't let the sheer amount of dinnerware scare you. There are basic requirements for every kitchen, even if you aren't a fan of formal dinnerware.
Must haves
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Plates: The bare necessity is at least four dinner plates and four salad plates.
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Soup/cereal/pasta bowls: Soup bowls have a lip or ledge. Cereal bowls are without a lip, and pasta bowls are like deep plates.
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Serving pieces: Formal china serveware includes salt and pepper shakers, a sugar bowl and creamer, serving bowls, matching casserole dishes, platters, a matching teapot, and a gravy boat and stand.
Nice to have
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Dinnerware sets: You can purchase by the place setting or in a larger set. A place setting includes a dinner plate, salad plate, bread and butter plate, teacup and saucer. Or look for dinnerware sets with service for four, eight or 12 people.
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Accent plates: These dinnerware accessories are optional, but they sure make for a beautifully set table.
Tip: Don't be limited in your serveware. Look for pitchers, cake plates, serving bowls and trays in patterns you like. It's your kitchen; you can match your casual dinnerware with handcrafted serveware and or anything that suits your style.
Glasses and barware
Whether you decide to be formal or casual, are a drinker or non-drinker, you'll want to have a good selection of glasses on hand as well as the barware you'll need.
Must haves
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Stemware: Formal to match your fine china or casual to use during meals, stemware includes red wine glasses, white wine glasses, goblets, flutes and highballs; read our glassware buying guide for more information.
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Beverage glasses: These are your everyday glassware pieces; you can choose any style.
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Mugs: If you didn't purchase mugs along with your dinnerware, don't forget to pick some up; use them for coffee, cocoa or cider (as well as soup).
Nice to have
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Juice glasses: These are the perfect size for orange juice in the morning or for kids anytime.
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Barware: This includes the glassware you need to stock a bar, like brandy glasses, martini glasses, cordials, shot glasses, pilsner glasses/steins and more.
Tip for drinkers: You may want to consider having more barware glasses than your everyday glassware in case you have guests or cocktail parties.
Flatware
The basic idea here is to have enough silverware for everyone to have a knife, fork and spoon, and in some cases, a soup spoon and salad fork. Usually the only silverware you'll find for sale separately are teaspoons, since most of the silverware you'll find come in sets.
Must haves
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Place settings or flatware sets: You can buy flatware by the place setting, which includes a knife, dinner fork, salad fork, soup spoon and teaspoon; or buy a flatware set, with service for six, eight or 12.
Nice to have
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Serving sets: Serving sets, hostess sets and entertainment sets include the flatware you need to serve family and guests, like a serving spoon, serving fork, cake/pie server and butter knife.
Cutlery
The best investment you can make in your kitchen area is your cutlery. If you have a good knife set you will avoid a lot of headaches, and your food preparation will speed up. Nothing is worse than a dull knife, except a set of dull knives.
Must haves
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Individual knives: The knives you'll need and use most often are a paring knife, chef's knife, bread knife, cleaver, slicing knife and Santuko; there are several sizes of each so select the size that will best suit your needs
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Cutting boards: purchase two or three cutting boards and keep one for meat, one for vegetables and one for fruit; this will reduce possible cross contamination of foods. While wooden surfaces make for fast cutting and are excellent for use with fruits and vegetables, they're also difficult to clean thoroughly, which means using them to cut, say, raw poultry can be risky; use plastic or otherwise non-porous surfaces for cutting poultry or other meats that can harbor bacteria.
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Sharpening steel/stone: Keep your new knives honed between professional sharpenings, and you'll never have a dull-knife-induced headache (or worse, injury) in the kitchen.
Nice to have
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Cutlery sets: In a knife set you will have all of the knives that you are most likely to use; many knife sets come with knife blocks for storage.
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Steak knives: Love steak? Or chicken, or pork, or meat in general? Then you'll want to have steak knives; they come in sets of four, six, eight, 12 or more, as well as individually.
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Carving knife set: You will use your carving set for Thanksgiving, Easter, birthdays, rump roast Sundays--any time you serve meat that needs to be carved.
Kitchen and table linens
No kitchen would be complete without table and kitchen linens; they protect your table, clean up messes and dry hands.
Must haves
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Tablecloths: Protect your dining table surface with fancy, fun, simple and ornate tablecloths; select at least two to four tablecloths in any pattern, color or material you fancy.
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Kitchen towels: Clean up messes fast with soft absorbent kitchen towels. They come in many fun colors and patterns, so pick up more than you think you need; you will use them all
Nice to have
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Place mats: Place mats reduce spillage and help designate place settings, as well as add to your table's d?cor; select enough for the number of place settings you have.
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Napkins: Wipe fingers and mouths on renewable napkins. Cloth napkins always add a touch of class and permanence to any meal; purchase enough for one per place setting, and don't forget the napkin rings
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Table runners: These can be paired with a tablecloth or alone for decorative purposes. It's good to have at least two to four, but having more for seasonal use can be nice as well.
Tip: For more information on setting the perfect table, please refer to our table setting buying guide.
