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Having the right set of tools and prep space really is key. A good chefs knife, a cast iron pan, a fry pan, a pot, and cutting board is all you need. Learning

Having the right set of tools and prep space really is key. A good chefs knife, a cast iron pan, a fry pan, a pot, and cutting board is all you need. Learning good knife skills and having a good chef knife drastically speeds up prep time by 2-3x. For example take dicing an onion. If you didn't know this technique it'd likely take you more than 30secs to dice an onion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuebC0CfD8E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuebC0CfD8E

hansvm 4y ago
If anyone here is new to cooking and wanting to start on a budget, you can easily get away with a cheap knife, cheap set of diamond stones, a cutting board, and an enameled dutch oven. $60-$100 after shipping and tax, and you'll be able to cook basically everything. The knife being sharp is much more important than it being high quality (being sharp is also not essential, but it makes a big difference). If you want to splurge, I also like a few bamboo spoons.
- jasonwatkinspdx 4y ago
  Honestly for someone starting out I'd just tell them to get a fibrox and a pull through sharpener. $50 and you'll be good to go for years.
  - hansvm 4y ago
    The $60-$100 counted the pot and cutting board. Totally agree that fibrox or something is plenty fine enough. What's the argument for the pull-through sharpener? A decent enough set of stones is tiny, costs $15 after shipping, and isn't that hard to use. Are we just making sharpening as easy as possible so they don't give up?
    - jasonwatkinspdx 4y ago
      Yes. I find the enthusiasm for wet stone sharpening to be overblown for beginners. It's so far down the list of things that will matter when cooking vs using an inexpensive knife and pull through. If you like the process that's fine, I just don't like it being turned around into a "you're doing it wrong if you use a pull through" expectation, when the root problem is 99% getting people to sharpen period.

hansvm 4y ago

If anyone here is new to cooking and wanting to start on a budget, you can easily get away with a cheap knife, cheap set of diamond stones, a cutting board, and an enameled dutch oven. $60-$100 after shipping and tax, and you'll be able to cook basically everything. The knife being sharp is much more important than it being high quality (being sharp is also not essential, but it makes a big difference). If you want to splurge, I also like a few bamboo spoons.

jasonwatkinspdx 4y ago
Honestly for someone starting out I'd just tell them to get a fibrox and a pull through sharpener. $50 and you'll be good to go for years.
- hansvm 4y ago
  The $60-$100 counted the pot and cutting board. Totally agree that fibrox or something is plenty fine enough. What's the argument for the pull-through sharpener? A decent enough set of stones is tiny, costs $15 after shipping, and isn't that hard to use. Are we just making sharpening as easy as possible so they don't give up?
  - jasonwatkinspdx 4y ago
    Yes. I find the enthusiasm for wet stone sharpening to be overblown for beginners. It's so far down the list of things that will matter when cooking vs using an inexpensive knife and pull through. If you like the process that's fine, I just don't like it being turned around into a "you're doing it wrong if you use a pull through" expectation, when the root problem is 99% getting people to sharpen period.