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When you're learning to cook on your own — hello, twenty-somethings! — how do you know what equipment you should invest in at the start? Well, the kitchen basics you need first will depend on what you want to make, Rach says in answer to a viewer question. You'll likely start your cooking journey by learning to make your favorite dishes, right? So that should dictate whether you need a cast-iron skillet, a big pasta pot or something else entirely.
Q: "I'm in my twenties and just learning the basics of actually cooking something other than ramen. Any suggestions?"
A: "It should be exactly about what you like to eat," Rach says. She shares some examples of kitchen basics you might want to get, depending on what you plan to cook the most.
FOR MEAT & POTATOES: Cast-Iron Skillet
"If you're crazy for meat and potatoes, you need a cast-iron skillet so you can make proteins — steaks of any kind — often. You need a pot you can boil potatoes in," she says.
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CHICKEN CUTLETS: Big Frying Pan
"If you love chicken cutlets, then you need different equipment. You need a wide frying pan so you can make more than one cutlet at the same time."
PASTA & SAUCE: 6-8-Quart Pasta Pot
Is tomato basil sauce your fave? "You need a big pasta pot (6 to 8 quarts) so you can properly cook pasta. You need a colander to drain the pasta and you need a couple of midsize sauce pots or pans that you can put a lid on so you can heat garlic and olive oil, add tomatoes, basil, a pinch of salt."
"It really depends on what you like to eat the best, but those are some building blocks for you," Rachael says.