I've kind of been lurking in the cooking side of YouTube and the internet as a whole in general, and I can’t help but notice something. There’s quite a few people who seem to think they can’t make good food just because they don’t own the equipment that a lot of these shows have, like a Kitchen Aid stand mixer or a dutch oven or even something like a crock pot, especially from younger people, teenagers and young adults just starting out.
That is, of course, utter horse shit, and you don’t need to spend an absolute metric fuck ton of money on cookware and bakeware. You can get so many good quality pots, pans, tins, and dishes for under $40 a piece, sometimes even under $20. I am very passionate about people learning to cook and want nothing standing in the way of that if they want to, so I’ve got a list of a whole bunch of cooking utensils for pretty cheap if you need it.
So in general, places like Home Goods, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, sometimes even IKEA have very good quality pans, skillets, and pots for not a whole lot of money, we’ll start with IKEA because they have cookware sets for young adults going off to college or moving out on their own. Keep in mind this is not an exhaustive list, it’s just a few examples to get you started.
Their cheapest is just $18 and comes with a pot, two sauce pans, and two lids.
If you need a frying pan, they’ve got a 6 piece set with one pot, one sauce pan, and a frying pan with lids for each for $50.
You can get a set of 4 bowls for $6.
Ramekins, $4 a pop and they’re cute as a button.
Home Goods is a little pricier, but they have things like;
Several drinking glass sets for $13
You can get a good set of knives for less than $30, they’ve even got ones that come with sharpeners for not much more.
Here’s an adorable baking utensil set that comes with a ceramic bowl for less than $15
Another set of cute bowls, $10. (Note, these are from Marshalls, but they’re owned by the same parent company as Home Goods)
If you don’t have an IKEA or Home Goods near you or just don’t want to pay shipping, Walmart’s got several different varieties of kitchen utensil sets and gadgets for pretty cheap.
Here’s a Farberware set for $30 that gives you everything you need to start out. Even includes a can opener, a veggie peeler, and a pair of kitchen scissors. And here’s a sieve for $8.
If you’re the type of person that likes to use precise measuring in the kitchen, here’s a scale for $10. I have this exact scale and it works perfectly.
Here’s a baking set for $25 that gives you mixing bowls, measuring cups and spoons, and storage bowls. If you need a hand mixer, here’s one for $20 that includes a whisk attachment, which is every bit as good as a stand mixer in my opinion, just with the drawback that you can’t walk away from what you’re mixing.
Colanders, three of ‘em in different sizes, $12.
A rice cooker for $20, and a slow cooker, 6 quarts, $22. If you treat these right, they last forever and are the easiest way to make so many things, from chili to hot chocolate to meatballs.
I’m not including Amazon in this, even if they are cheaper, because fuck them and everything they stand for, but they are an option if you live in an area where you don’t have easy access to any of the above stores, a lot of the things on there are extremely cheap, just take care to check the quality and be sure what you get is food safe. Always check the reviews, and look for pictures especially to get an idea of what you’re getting.