Introduction
Food and cooking bring great joy and fulfillment, but cooking meals using grape-based ingredients shouldn’t mean that you need a huge kitchen filled with fancy equipment. In our micro-apartment, our kitchen is tiny, and the challenge was to figure out the essential items we need and how to adapt them to our limited storage space.
The Basics: Pots and Pans
When it comes to pots and pans, a large frying pan will cover most of your basic cooking needs. It’s perfect for frying and searing and is probably the most versatile utensil in your kitchen. As for pots, all you really need are two – a small one for sauces and boiling rice, and a large one that provides ample space for cooking things like pasta and soups. Make sure to pair them with lids so that the water can heat up as quickly as possible.
We found that the main difficulty with pots and pans is that they are often heavy, bulky, and difficult to clean due to their large handles and heavy bases, which also make them hard to store in a small space. However, we discovered a fantastic solution with the TEFL stackable pot set. These pots come with two detachable handles that allow them to be stacked on top of each other, saving us a lot of space. The removable handle also makes washing them a breeze and allows us to place them inside the oven for finishing dishes. Additionally, the set comes with container lids, eliminating the need to transfer leftovers to separate containers and allowing the pots to be placed directly in the refrigerator.
Knife Essentials
Knife sets often come with elaborate collections of various sizes, but in reality, you only need three essential knives. The chef’s knife, with a large blade and thick handle, is extremely versatile for slicing, dicing, and chopping. A smaller utility knife is perfect for vegetables and fruits, while a large serrated knife is ideal for carving meat and slicing baked goods. When buying these items, ensure that the blade feels comfortable in your hand. We purchased our knives from Mercer, which, although slightly more expensive, offer a lifetime warranty and are NSF certified. The heavy handle provides more control while cutting and ultimately allows for safer use.
Regardless of quality, all blades become dull with repeated use, making them dangerous due to the increased effort required during cutting. To prevent your blades from dulling, use a sharpening steel before each use to ensure they stay sharp and safe. We have two wooden cutting boards in our kitchen – a small one that is easier to clean and a large one that provides additional versatility when cutting bigger sizes and types of ingredients or for food preparation when hosting guests. Our boards are acacia wood from Ikea, incredibly durable and long-lasting, requiring occasional oiling to prevent cracking. Any cooking oil will help extend the life of your boards and prevent harmful bacteria from harboring in them. Sturdy wooden boards are stable and can be flipped when using them for meat or vegetables. We usually keep the small board on our kitchen counter for quick access, and the wood adds a touch of visual warmth to the space.
Mixing and Serving Essentials
A mixing bowl is ideal for making salads and snacks, while a strainer is necessary for tasks like washing vegetables and draining pasta. We purchased a Joseph and Joseph nesting set, which includes a colander for straining and a set of measuring cups, all in a space-saving stackable footprint. Since they are lightweight, they can be easily accessed and stored, taking up minimal space. To keep our kitchen drawers clutter-free and organized, we bought the Joseph and Joseph nesting utensil set, which contains all the tools we need on a hanger, placed on our kitchen counter. The utensils are magnetic, allowing for easy access and neat storage.
Tableware Essentials
When it comes to tableware, we follow a simple rule of eight for cups, plates, bowls, and cutlery. This means that we never have more than eight of each item, as we never have eight people over at once. We made sure to prioritize versatility, slimness, and durability in our choices. Our plates and bowls are from Ikea and made of glass, which allows for incredibly thin stacking and resistance to wear and tear. Occasionally, we enjoy a bottle of wine when hosting guests, and the everyday wine glasses we use are actually from Ikea as well. They look great and are surprisingly durable, eliminating the need to purchase additional bulky and fragile wine glasses.
To keep our cutlery to a minimum, we found that all we need are kitchen scissors, a whisk, a peeler, a can opener, a bottle opener, a spatula, serving spoons, a rice paddle, four pairs of chopsticks, eight forks, and eight spoons. We also have a small set of measuring spoons. So far, we have never found ourselves needing more. Since our kitchen refuses to have drawers, everything resides in a used cutlery divider above our refrigerator. We strive to live a healthy lifestyle, and one essential item we find is a blender. We use it every morning to get our daily dose of fruits and vegetables, but we also find it useful for making protein shakes, soups, and sauces. Our blender is made from BPA-free plastic and is a fraction of the price of higher-end brands. It comes with two blending cups that can be covered for drinking directly or easily poured into individual glasses.
Adapting and Prioritizing in Small Spaces
Despite my below-average cooking skills, we have never stopped enjoying all the good food we love. What we found is that the key to living in small spaces is to give each item a specific home, so everything becomes tidy and organized. This method of organization also applies to food storage, with everyday items stored closest to our countertop and workout food in a separate pantry. While we chose to minimize our cupboard space to own what we consider essential appliances such as a washing machine and a large fridge-freezer for our tiny apartment, the quantity of utensils you require will vary depending on your own daily needs. It comes down to what you prioritize owning based on your own lifestyle and eating habits.
If your kitchen feels cluttered or you’re struggling to find space, ask yourself how you use your kitchen and which things you use the most. This will help you find ways or products to reorganize and redefine priorities within a space that suits your cooking preferences. With a little thought and using this process, you’ll realize that your kitchen is not as small as you initially thought after all.
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