Why you need good stuff in the kitchen

When you're young and poor, you might find yourself drinking nasty tap water out of platic souvenier cups, and eating overpriced frozen junk off heavy, ugly, scratched up plates. You might be paying more to eat Eggos and bagged popcorn and frozen dinners. When you do go to cook, your heavy ceramic bowls want to fall out of your hand and crack into a lot of pieces, and they don't fit in your dishwasher. So they sit in your sink along with the balloon whisk that fights against you when you're trying to stir batter, and again when you want to clean it.

Don't buy ceramic bowls

Good kitchen gear pays for itself, and makes cooking and eating much cheaper, easier, faster, and more enjoyable. Here are some things that have worked for me so far:

Water

Zero Filter ★★★★ Water Filter ZeroWater's filter ★★★★ is great, and far better than the Britta filter ★★★ that I used for years. It comes with a dissolved solids meter that proves it's actually taking out contaminants, although you may not need it since it tastes so much better that you can clearly tell when it's time for a new filter.
soda maker Soda Maker: Sodastream's Fizzi ★★★ seemed like a way to reduce plastic waste and avoid having to lug more expensive soda from the store. However, it has been having issues reliably carbonating, and there may be a leak. Friends swear by theirs, but they may have a slightly different model.

Cooking Tools

silicone spatulas ★★★★ Silicone Spatulas: Di Oro Silicone cleans easily, safer in food, has a squeegee effect to clean sides of bowls, jars, containers. Will not melt on hot surfaces, can leave in pot or pan when cooking. These have been great.
Quilted Cotton Oven Mitts ★ Quilted Cotton Oven Mitts: Their main purpose is to keep your hands from getting uncomfortably hot, but they always have spots that get hot. Not only do they not move, they make it hard to grip anything. God help you if they get wet because hot liquids like soups or stews go straight through and then taking them off isn't even the easiest. Unless you're doing a photoshoot for a 1950s era cookbook, throw them out and get something better, like:
Silicone oven mitts ★★★★ Silicone Oven Mitts:Ikea These are a straight upgrade on standard oven mitts. Better insulation, better grip, more flexible, a better gripping angle, easier to clean, and keeps hot oils and liquids from messing you up too. bcotton can get wet, or hot oil can seriously burn. Better angle than regular oven mitts.
stainless steel mixing bowls ★★★★ Volrath Economy Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls: stainless are lighter, easier to clean and grab and work with than glass or ceramic. Don't have to worry about breaking, will last the rest of your life. This set is recommended by Cooks Illustrated, and they've been fantastic so far, easy to hold, use, wash, and stack, with a mirror finish. Since these are not microwavable, I also have a few big Pyrex bowls as well.
bad ceramic mixing bowls ★ Ceramic Mixing Bowls: There is a time when these are the best option. That time was the 1700s. These are fragile yet heavy, decorative yet ugly, slippery and awkward. They are not good at the one thing they do. Pyrex or steel are better in every way.
Danish whisk: ★★★★ Danish Whisk: Got mine from King Arthur ★★★★, easier to use and clean when mixing doughs, whether cookies, pancakes, or bread. The wooden handle makes a it a little more difficult to clean but just take 45 seconds and do it by hand as soon as you're done using it.
Balloon whisk ★★★ Regular Whisk: These are ok for liquids and gels, for instance scrambling eggs or merangues or whatever. However, since these are so big and often tricky to clean, I've found that just about everything these do is better done by a fork, a Danish whisk, a stand mixer, or a blender.
popcorn maker Microwave Popcorn Maker: Actually easier, faster, and better than the stuff that comes in bags. Just get a big thing of popcorn in bulk, and one of these, and get huge bowls of hot popcorn quick. From Salbree ★★★★
Stainless steel steamer Steamer Basket: Cheap one from Ikea ★★★★ Incredibly easy and fast way to cook veggies and dumplings, supposedly healthier than boiling for not letting vitamins out.

Pots and Pans

Stainless steel pan Stainless Steel Pots and Pans: Stainless pots and pans: Mine is from Cuisinart ★★★★ , and I'm particularly fond of the 3.5 qt saute pan (which is halfway between a frying pan and a pot). Equally good for frying, pasta, or steaming. Unlike nonstick pots, will last longer than me.
Glass and silicone pot lid Glass and Silicone Pot Lid: easier to see what's happening, small hole makes it less likely to boil over. Handle won't get hot, can actually see what's happening. Sometimes a little steam will bubble up through and over when cooking something starchy, like rice.
Cast iron frying pan: Cast Iron Frying Pan: with oil and care, lasts forever, but are somewhat heavy. Lodge's square pan ★★★ has been good, but not without drawbacks. It's heavy, maybe too large, but good for things like french toast that might be too cramped in a round pan. With frequent oiling, rust and sticking isn't a problem. Again, will last for more than a lifetime if maintained. Non-stick pans may be less work to clean, but there's concerning research that the surface may not be good to have next to your food. In contrast, a cast iron pan can only add iron to your diet, an essential mineral.
Silicone Bread Pan Silicone Bread Pans: easier to clean, easier to pop out bread when done Trudeau Structure Loaf Pan Silicone Bakeware, 8.5″ x 4.5″ ★★★ . Starting to break after using multiple times a week for more than a year.

Kitchen Appliances

Pic Rating Review
Instant Pot Pro Pressure Cooker ★★★★ Pressure Cooker Recently upgraded to the Instant Pot pro 8 quart from the Harvest Cookware Pressure Pro ★★★ It has a steel pot instead of teflon, multiple settings including slow cooking, a more powerful heating element, and can easily hold a whole chicken. I use it a lot for pulled chicken and stews. For the recipes that can use them, pressure cookers cook faster and use less energy than just about anything else. Be careful with stovetop pressure cookers, older models will have a single vent and a weighted valve. If the valve becomes blocked, they can explode. Modern pressure cookers have relief valves to prevent that.
Rice Cooker Toshiba Rice Cooker I make rice a few times a week, so this makes life so much easier, and reduces the amount of burned on rice water around my stove. Also has a quick mode.
Crockpot Slow Cooker Slow Cooker Crock Pot is the name that a lot of people know these by, and has a good product. I have the Smart Pot ★★★ model. Depending on what you're going to cook, you may want to pick one that is big enough to fit a whole chicken.
stand mixer ★★★★ Stand Mixer: Kitchenaid has been good, but has been quite loud. Starting to hear some grinding noises, but such things can be repaired. Lots of kneeding for dough, especially with back pains. Also for some recipes to whip things.
Kitchen Scale ★★★★ Oxo Kitchen Scale Scale has worked really well. Easy to clean, accurate, good on battery life.
waffle maker Waffle Maker: Presto Flipsider flipping action gets waffles well covered, consistent temperature and pretty fast. Easy to store and keep in the kitchen, ceramic vs. nonstick coatings. seems to clean easy. Cooks illustrated top pick. Better than frozen waffles, cheaper than 2 decent breakfasts or 10 boxes of waffles. Haven't had long, so it's unclear how durable it is.

Serving and Storage

Pic Rating Review
drinking glasses ★★★★ Glasses: Ikea 365+ are stupid cheap and durable things to drink from. Nothing fancy, but they get the job done. I've dropped them on the floor and they've survived.
flatware ★★★★ Flatware: Oneida Colonial Boston Everyday Flatware . Looked a lot of stuff that was trying to be trendy or super fancy, and most of it felt really weird. Some have rounded handles that spin around in your hand, or pointy ends that randomly poke. These are pretty much a design that hasn't changed much in hundreds of years, because it just works. They look fine for company, but most importantly they fit in your hand and you don't ever need to think about them ever again.
plate ★★★★ Plates/bowls: I haven't had much luck with plates, but the feldspar porcelain in Ikea's 365+ plates is a big step up from the stoneware Ikea Vardagen plates . Porcelain is more durable and lighter, which makes a difference when lifting a stack of plates out of the dishwasher and onto the shelf. The shape is better too, as more of it is flat and the edge is more pronounced, while the Vardagen has a smaller workspace and is easier for food to escape when balancing.
bowl ★★★★★ Deep plates/Bowls: Ikea's VÄRDERA Deep plate/bowls are fantastic for eating just about anything, particularly stuff that can move around like pasta, stews, and soups, or even big bowls of cereal or a banana split. It still fits well in the dishwasher.
glass food storage cubes ★★★★★ Food Storage: Ikea 365 cubes . Indestructable borosilicate glass, incredibly affordable, with seperate sealing lids. Their shape also allows you to freeze in each one. Each is a perfect meal sized portion, so just spoon up chili or jumbalaya or soup or whatever in each one, then toss in the fridge or freezer. I've tried marking the tops with numbers using sharpies Ikea 365, we've dropped them on the floor and rarely break, just plain glasses.

Cleaning Stuff

Pic Rating Why it's better
dish soap ★★★ Dish soap Seventh Generation dish soap has been really good, don't go with antibacterial because its just unecessary, and spurs resistant bacteria. Dawn and other soaps often too greasy, require too much water to get rid of. Wegmans has a similar version that works fine too.
Barkeepers friend ★★★★ Bar Keepers Friend Barkeepers Friend great for cleaning steel cookware, removes stains. Doesn't scratch, but will if mixed with the copper wool.
copper wool ★★★ Copper wool aggressively removes baked on junk on stainless steel cookware. Use with soap.

Stuff and Things to Avoid

What not to get:

  • plastic or thin glass drinking glasses
  • cotton hot pads
  • plastic, metal, or wood spatulas and spoons
  • plastic food storage containers
  • plastic cups, plates, or bowls
  • ceramic mixing bowls