I have a friend who has what is basically a small diner sized kitchen. It has a commercial oven and broiler along with a commercial vent hood above it. A small commercial gas deep fryer, two full size refrigerators, two prep counters, a small pizza oven, and numerous shelves, and stainless steel racks.

Talking with him he told me that he just didn’t have all the proper cookware, gadgets, etc., to cook properly. I looked at him with surprise and said that I could only wish to have a kitchen like that.

He was worried that his knives were not the best, his food processor was 10 years old, etc.. I asked him if he thought great cooking was invented after electricity. He got my point pretty quick after that.

There is nothing wrong with having all of the latest greatest equipment while you practice your art form, but it is not a prerequisite! For the longest time, for whatever reason, I never had a real bread knife. I just got so used to using an old beat up Ginsu knife left over from my college days, it never occurred to me. You know what? It did not affect the flavor, texture or size of my bread. When I did finally purchase one, the only difference was that cutting the bread was easier. The end result was the same.

I used to mince garlic by hand. Then I got one of those little electric mini choppers and haven’t minced garlic by hand in ages. Does the garlic taste better with the new machine? No it tastes just the same. The time it takes to prepare the garlic is seriously reduced, saving me time.

The idea that you need all of the latest equipment to prepare good food is yet another myth that only benefits marketers, not your cooking.

Don’t let the fact that you may not have the most up to date equipment stop you. It may take a little more effort but some times, the more you put into something, the bigger the reward.