/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>18359403
Okay serious advice for a change:
Step 1: Have the basic equipment. By that I mean 1 decent knife (that does not mean expensive), 1 cutting board, 1 pot, 1 pan, 1 spoon or spatula (spatula is more versatile), 1 big bowl and 1 sieve, 1 whisk. With those things you can already make most dishes, if you lack the equipment for something, improvise or buy more. You may eventually want a microplaner or someshit, but get those as you need them.
Step 2: Stock up on pantry essentials. These will depend on what cuisine you like to cook and eat the most. I'd argue you can reasonably have the stuff for 2, maybe 3 cuisines in your pantry at once max. For other cuisines you will need to buy those ingredients manually, but that's fine. This means mostly herbs and spices, as well as dried goods. For mediterranean cuisine you may want rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, while for chinese cooking you will want specific fermented sauces, while for indian food you may want chickpea flour and for middle eastern food cumin. You probably don't really know what these are yet, and that's fine. Start with a few recipes, get the herbs as you cook and you will quickly notice specific herbs popping up again and again - those are the ones you should have in your kitchen at all times. It'll be a little bothersome at first to get new herbs for every meal, but eventually you will find your favorites.
Picrel are some spices I had for quick access a while back, some have been replaced but mostly it's still the same (german labels because I am german, but you should be able to guess anyways). Fermented sauces are on another shelf.
Stuff you should have in your pantry no matter the cuisine includes: rice, wheat flour, baking powder, salt, pepper. Maybe add MSG, baking soda, cinnamon, paprika and chili, but those aren't a must yet. Also get at least one cooking fat/oil that can handle heat (so no olive oil). Olive oil is good too though, since it's used a lot. (cont)

>>18207421
picrel is mine, or was mine a while ago, though except for cleaning it up a little it hasn't changed much. Easy to access, over the place where I do the cutting and work.
I store most of the spices in a cupboard, away from UV light, then I fill them into those glass containers when they deplete for easy access.
Spices are in german, but should be easy to guess. The macha has since been replaced with garlic powder, I just keep the macha in the cupboard, the UV damages it too quickly.
As I said before, easy to access, not in the way so it saves space. Perfect for my kitchen.

>>18034954
Picrel is from march this year, but not too much has changed since then. This are the ones that I have in instant gripping range while cooking, I have more in cabinets.
From left to right, ignorning the spice and salt and pepper of the top row:
* Basil
* Chili flakes
* Curry
* Fennel seeds
* Green cardamom
* A homemade curry mixture by a relative, somewhere between curry and raz el hanout, but fruitier
* coriander
* cumin
* curcuma
* matcha (lost its color from sun exposure, I now store it in the cupboard insteadand use that glass for dried bay leaf
* MSG
* Sumach
* On top of the sumach container some java long pepper
Next row:
* nutmeg
* cloves
* oregano
* paprika
* pepper, whole
* tasmanian mountain pepper
* Raz el hanout
* star anise
* szechuan pepper
* thyme
* cinnamon
* Baharat
* allspice
That's all you see in the picture, apart from that:
In the cupboard:
* whole chilies
* ginger powder
* whole cinnamon
* matcha (not really a spice, but whatever)
* sesame (more of a seed imo, but OP pic claims it's a spice)
* caraway seeds
* lemongrass
* garlic powder
As for fresh herbs:
In those palstic containers that they come in from the store (I go through basil quickly so it's not worth planting):
* fresh basil
* fresh parsley
In proper pots on the balcony:
* mint
* rosemary
* chilies
* thyme
* laurel
* sage, but mine died at the moment, so I have to replant it
Lastly I get thai basil and cilantro fresh from the store, with roots, but don't bother planting them. I keep them in a glass of water so they keep longer until I used them up.