Noah Kaufman, Food & Wine's Senior Digital Editor: "I’ve moved a lot—10 times—since leaving my parents’ house. And almost all of the places I’ve lived had one thing in common: crappy kitchens. Now I’m lucky enough to get to cook in here and over the course of those 10 moves I managed to assemble a collection of tools I’ve been told on more than one occasion is crazy. These are the ones I like the most (they are also all I could fit in the shot)."
Mac 8-Inch Hollow-Edge Chef’s Knife
I’ve been using the same Mac knife for seven years and it has been the best all-around workhorse I’ve ever had. Its long enough to handle heavier jobs but light and thin enough to do something like mince garlic or herbs. $145, amazon.com
New West Knife Works G-Fusion 9-Inch Chef’s Knife
OK, I’ve developed a bad habit of collecting knives. But this one from New West Knife Works in Wyoming pulls double duty as a chef’s knife that I’m pretty sure could cut through a rock if I needed it to and a great showpiece. The handle is a little longer than normal and the steel is pretty heavy, so it’s best suited to working with bigger cuts of meat or any hearty produce you need chopped coarsely. $271, newwestknifeworks.com
Oxo 4-Cup Angled Measuring Cup
I could not recommend getting an oversized measuring cup enough. Because I almost never need to fill it all the way up it cuts down on the mess I make considerably. And the way this one from OXO is angled and graded makes it incredibly easy to measure everything from 1/4 cup to 4 cups. $10, amazon.com
Bench scraper
Perhaps the best tool in my doodad drawer (you know, the one where you stick all the peelers and measuring spoons you somehow end up with). The bench scraper is great for everything from scraping every last piece of minced garlic off the cutting board to separating big balls of pizza dough. $10, surlatable.com
Chemex 10-Cup Coffee Brewer
What can I say? I’m a sucker for the clean cups of coffee that come out of a Chemex. Also it looks damn good on the counter. $70, amazon.com
Boos Block Maple 24-Inch Cutting Board
Do yourself a favor: Get a good cutting board—a real wooden one that will last a long time. I like this one from Boos because it’s so big I can prep four different ingredients on it without their coming into contact with one another. $105, amazon.com
OXO Conical Burr Coffee Grinder w/Integrated Scale
The scale in this grinder makes it such that I never need to weigh my grounds again and that’s all I can ask for when I’m bleary-eyed trying to make coffee early in the morning. $200, amazon.com
Kitchen Aid 4.5-Quart Stand Mixer
This is the first “nice” thing I ever bought for my kitchen, and it’s totally worth it. While it isn’t something I use every day, there are reasons this is the standard “let’s-see-if-we-can-get-our-richest-family-member-to-buy-this” item on every wedding registry: It mixes things faster, more cleanly and more completely than any of the cheap knock-off versions. $199, amazon.com
All-Clad Tri-Ply 3 Quart Sauté Pan
Between this and the Dutch oven I could get by without another pot or pan in the kitchen. This one has an incredible capacity to retain consistent heat for everything from a sear to a simmer. And I’ve had it for a decade, so it looks a little beat on the outside, but since I got it I’ve been scrubbing the inside with a bottle of this and couldn’t recommend it enough. $225, amazon.com
Le Creuset 5.5 Quart Dutch Oven
I got this as a birthday gift from my wife and have used it to the point that it’s tinged with turmeric yellow and chili powder red inside and black on the outside from the times I used it to bake bread at 485 degrees. It’s the single most versatile I’ve got in the kitchen. $330, amazon.com
Scanpan CTX 10.25-Inch Non-Stick Pan
I never liked non-stick pans—mostly because they didn’t work. This one turned me around on non-stick though. Now it’s my go-to for anything that is usually a pain to flip (I’m looking at you, omelets). $125, amazon.com
Joule Sous Vide Circulator
I’m a sous vide acolyte and the Joule from Chef Steps is the best combination of pro-level power and precision and user-friendly design I’ve found. And I’ve tried a lot of them at this point. $199, amazon.com
Rubbermaid 12-Quart Tub
You can cook sous vide in most any pot, but I’m usually using my big pot for another part of the dish at the same time, so having this tub lets me multi-task (especially if I’m cooking something like a brisket that needs to be in a water bath for 24 hours). $18, amazon.com
How to Cook Everything
There are few pages of my copy of Mark Bittman’s tome that are yellowed from too much exposure to an active and messy kitchen, but even though are entire chapters of this book I haven’t touched yet I just feel good having it around as an encyclopedic resource. $19, amazon.com
