Bittman addressed this recently in his Minimalist column in the NY Times.
I think his column has scrolled off into the Times' pay per view section
now, so I'll paste it here.
The Minimalist
A No-Frills Kitchen Still Cooks
By MARK BITTMAN
Published: May 9, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/di...tml?ref=dining
THE question I'm asked more often than any other is, "What kitchen
equipment should I buy?"
Like cookbooks, kitchen equipment is a talisman; people believe that
buying the right kind will make them good cooks. Yet some of the best
cooks I've known worked with a battered batterie de cuisine: dented pots
and pans scarred beyond recognition, an old steak knife turned into an
all-purpose tool, a pot lid held just so to strain pasta when the colander
was missing, a food processor with a busted switch. They didn't complain
and they didn't apologize; they just cooked.
But famous TV chefs use gorgeous name-brand equipment, you might say. And
you'd be right. But a.) they get much of that stuff free, the
manufacturers hoping that placing it in the hands of a well-known chef
will make you think it's essential; b.) they want their equipment to be
pretty, so you'll think they're important; and c.) see above: a costly
knife is not a talisman and you are not a TV chef.
Finally (and this is crucial), the best chefs may use the best-looking
equipment when they are in public view, but when it is time to buy
equipment for the people who actually prepare those $200 restaurant meals,
they go to a restaurant supply house to shop for the everyday cookware I
recommend to people all the time.
In fact, I contend that with a bit of savvy, patience and a willingness to
forgo steel-handle knives, copper pots and other extravagant items, $200
can equip a basic kitchen that will be adequate for just about any task,
and $300 can equip one quite well.
To prove my point I put together a list of everything needed for almost
any cooking task. I bought most of the equipment at Bowery Restaurant
Supply, 183 Bowery Street (Delancey Street), where the bill came to just
about $200. Throw in a few items the store didn't have and a few extras,
and the total would be about $300. (New York happens to have scores of
restaurant supply shops, but every metropolitan area has at least one.)
I started with an eight-inch, plastic-handle stainless alloy chef's knife
for $10. This is probably the most essential tool in the kitchen. People
not only obsess about knives (and write entire articles about them), but
you can easily spend over $100 on just one. Yet go into any restaurant
kitchen and you will see most of the cooks using this same plastic-handle
Dexter-Russell tool. (Go to the wrong store and you'll spend $20 or even
$30 on the same knife.)
I found an instant-read thermometer, a necessity for beginning cooks and
obsessive-compulsives, for $5. Three stainless steel bowls -- not
gorgeous and maybe a little thin -- set me back about $5. You are reading
that right. Sturdy tongs, an underappreciated tool: $3.50 (don't buy them
too long, make sure the spring is nice and tight, and don't shop for them
at a "culinary" store, where they'll cost four times as much).
For less than $6 I picked up a sturdy sheet pan. It's not an ideal cookie
sheet but it's useful for roasting and baking (not a bad tray, either, and
one of the more common items in restaurant kitchens). A plastic cutting
board was about the same price. For aesthetic purposes I'd rather have
wood, but plastic can go into the dishwasher.
At $3, a paring knife was so cheap I could replace it every year or two. I
splurged on a Japanese mandoline for $25. (It's not indispensable, but
since my knife skills are pathetic, I use mine whenever I want thin, even
slices or a real julienne.)
You, or the college graduate you are thinking of, might own some of the
things I bought: a $4 can opener; a vegetable peeler (I like the U-shaped
type, which cost me $3); a colander ($7, and I probably could've gotten
one cheaper).
You are thinking to yourself: "Humph. He's ignoring pots and pans, the
most expensive items of all." Au contraire, my friend; I bought five, and
I could live with four (though I'd rather have six): a small, medium and
large cast-aluminum saucepan (total: about $30); a medium nonstick cast
aluminum pan (10-inch; $13); and a large steep-sided, heavier duty steel
pan (14-inch; $25). I bought a single lid ($5; I often use plates or
whatever's handy for lids because I can never find the right one anyway).
I like cast iron, and I have used it in some kitchens for nearly
everything; but it can be more expensive than this quite decent cheap
stuff, and it's very heavy. What you don't want is the awful wafer thin
(and relatively more expensive) sets of stainless or aluminum ones sold in
big-box stores.
Other things, like the mandoline, are almost luxury items: a skimmer (I
like these for removing dumplings or gnocchi); a slotted spoon; a
heat-resistant rubber spatula (which can replace the classic wooden
spoon); a bread knife (good for crusty loaves and ripe tomatoes); and a
big whisk (which I might use three times a year).
You should also have a food processor (you want 12-cup capacity, and
Amazon.com, for example, has an adequate 14-cup Hamilton Beach for $60); a
salad spinner (the one at Bowery Restaurant Supply was as big as my
kitchen; you will find one for $15 somewhere); a Microplane grater (the
old box graters have been largely replaced by the food processor, but
you'll need something for cheese, nutmeg and your oft-used asafetida;
it'll set you back less than $10). A coffee and spice grinder is another
$10 item.
A blender is a bit more optional. An immersion one is nice, but standard
ones are more useful, and you can find them for as little as $15.
And, finally, something with which to keep those knives sharp. A whetstone
costs about $6, and if you use it, it will work fine; a decent steel is
expensive enough that you may as well graduate to an electric sharpener.
Though sharpeners take up counter space and cost at least $30, they work
well.
The point is not so much that you can equip a real kitchen without much
money, but that the fear of buying the wrong kind of equipment is
unfounded. It needs only to be functional, not prestigious, lavish or
expensive.
Keep that in mind, stay out of the fancy places and find a good restaurant
supply house. If you make a mistake -- something is the wrong size or of
such lousy quality you can't bear it -- you can spend 20 bucks more
another time. Meanwhile, you'll be cooking.
The Inessentials
YOU can live without these 10 kitchen items:
BREAD MACHINE You can buy mediocre bread easily enough, or make the real
thing without much practice.
MICROWAVE If you do a lot of reheating or fast (and damaging) defrosting,
you may want one. But essential? No. And think about that counter space!
STAND MIXER Unless you're a baking fanatic, it takes up too much room to
justify it. A good whisk or a crummy handheld mixer will do fine.
BONING/FILLETING KNIVES Really? You're a butcher now? Or a fishmonger? If
so, go ahead, by all means. But I haven't used my boning knife in years.
(It's pretty, though.)
WOK Counterproductive without a good wok station equipped with a
high-B.T.U. burner. (There's a nice setup at Bowery Restaurant Supply for
$1,400 if you have the cash and the space.)
STOCKPOT The pot you use for boiling pasta will suffice, until you start
making gallons of stock at a time.
PRESSURE COOKER It's useful, but do you need one? No.
ANYTHING MADE OF COPPER More trouble than it's worth, unless you have a
pine-paneled wall you want to decorate.
RICE COOKER Yes, if you eat rice twice daily. Otherwise, no.
COUNTERTOP CONVECTION OVEN, ROTISSERIE, OR "ROASTER" Only if you're a
sucker for late-night cooking infomercials.