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What should I purchase for a decent tiny kitchen experience?

Metalhead

Metalhead

Video game and movie addict. All for gay pride.
V.I.P Member
I have a tiny kitchen in my tiny house. I have very little shelf and cabinet space. Yet I want to cook myself gourmet meals and teach myself to be a decent home chef.

I already got better knives and a whetstone. I got a small cutting board. I got decent pans and a couple of great skillets.

What else should I consider essential in such a setup?
 
Adding a second plastic or glass cutting board (for easy cleaning) for raw protein prep is a smart thing to have to avoid potential contamination.

A decent baking sheet. Roasted veggies are awesome and easy. A colander, heat resistant utensils (bamboo or silicone work well), a set of glass or plastic prep bowls (set of 3). A decent set of measuring cups, a glass liquid measuring cup, and measuring spoons.

I don't cook a lot, but these are the baseline tools I have in the kitchen and having the tools I need make all the difference in the world. It takes cooking from a chore to something I actually enjoy.
 
It depends a lot on what, or who, you want to cook for too. Are you just cooking for yourself or do you want to entertain? There's some great cheats for when you're just cooking for yourself.

I like a nice porterhouse steak, and the best way to cook it is in a flat bed sandwich toaster like the one in the picture. This makes a lot less mess than a fry pan and does a better steak.

VST049-01-4.jpg
 
Panni makers are a really nice splurge. I like the one that has a ridge. Also extra counter space top on wheels, origami brand has one for $118.00. I took a small cart and actually turned it into a kitchen island to sell the house. I just put a bigger top on it.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2346060283...oc:2&msclkid=d78a5bd880e1151377793842e6667e16
Anything to provide more space to assemble your culinary edibles. Sometimes it helps to decide what makes you tired? Chopping small things, buy a small food processor. Trying to mix with a huge mixer, buy the small handheld one that you can use right on the stove. Baking for one? I have a seriously cute mini oven that does great, cuts down on electricity, easy to clean, heats up fast and fits a 9 inch pizza. A stone board can be used in the oven and make pizza or bread crispy. Bread makers work and are fun to use. So it depends on what you like to cook. I have seen those upside down taco makers, you just put tortillas on it, pop it in the oven, and you have perfect crispy taco shells. I need to upgrade my air fryer, there are some really nice models that crisp up food, with minimal oil or calories. These get very hot, so caution is required.

What is on your wish list?
 
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If You ask me for advise... I would get my mum in the kitchen, she cooks amazing.
Last thing I would consider would be the guy from hell's kitchen.
Cheers
 
I would look for a small toaster oven / air fryer combo. We just got one that replaces our toaster and air fryer. It's pretty small and can bake, air fry, toast, and do several other things that all involve heating food in some specific way.
 
IMHO, no kitchen is complete without a heavy cast iron skillet with a lid. Enameled cast iron is great, too but expensive. Wooden spoons of various sizes and shapes and a fish turner spatula are worth their weight in gold.
 
Metalhead said:
What else should I consider essential in such a setup?
Click to expand...
A tiny spice rack.

A tiny fan you can mount on the cabinet near a window, to help keep you cool as you cook in your tiny kitchen.

A set of storage containers for at least two. You can’t always cook only for yourself—you’ve got to invite company over sometime!

Ziplocks, freezer bags, to help save space when storing food in your tiny fridge & freezer. (They mold their shape better to what’s there than the storage containers. Just keep in mind they leak when filled with liquid, so it’s not a complete replacement of the storage containers.)

A lot of love. Food made with just love tastes better. I think that’s where the art comes in, from the love of cooking and the love of sharing what you’ve cooked with family and friends.

Anything that can serve double-duty. For example, a pair of long handled tongs serves not only to lift corn out of a boiling pot of water, they’re also useful for flipping food on the grill. We don’t own any grilling utensils. We just expect our kitchen utensils to fill the gap.

A crockpot. Get a small one. You’ll appreciate it on days you don’t feel like cooking but still want a good warm meal for supper.

Hope these ideas help!
 
A couple years ago we bought a 10-in-1 Ninja pressure cooker and we can make lots of different things in it. Like, you name it and it can cook it, minus like pizza and such. But we've made roasts, meatloaf, soups, baked potatoes just to name a few things. It also dehydrates, steams, and air fries. The slow-cooker feature sucks though, dunno why, so I pressure cook that stuff instead. We can pressure cook frozen stuff in like a half an hour. The best part is you set the controls and it babysits itself, shutting off without me having to think about it. The accessories do take up space and it's kinda tall with the lid, but we really like it.

Our microwave died and we didn't replace it, opting for a tea kettle instead to boil water in. Anything else gets cooked in the oven, stove top, or the Ninja. Haven't ever missed the microwave or the space it took up.

Also YouTube roux and bechamel. These are simple bases to lots of impressive dishes.
 
You can cook almost anything in an electric skillet and it makes perfect French toast, as well.
Williams-Sonoma has the perfect tongs for small things. It is about a foot long and about 1/2 inch wide. It is pricey, but well worth it. I have 2 because I am always using them. The are almost a multi-use tool.
Good luck.
I have a very tiny kitchen as well, and I have to store most appliances (read: toaster and hand mixer) in the lanai. I also put a narrow bookshelf from Levenger to give me extra storage because it uses more vertical height on the wall.
 
Oh, and that picture is a ladle and is critical for soups, gravies, chili, and stews.
 
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