First Kitchen Checklist: 5 Basics That Total Under $100

Cast iron is the pan you buy once. This 10.25-inch skillet arrives pre-seasoned, works on the stovetop, in the oven and over a campfire, and the surface gets better the more you cook in it. It sears steak, roasts vegetables, bakes cornbread and, once the seasoning builds, handles eggs. Made in the USA, with a teardrop handle that is easy to grip. The trade-off is weight and care: it is heavy, it should not go in the dishwasher, and it wants drying and a wipe of oil after washing. If that sounds like a chore you will skip, add a small nonstick pan later. For a first kitchen, this is the piece still in use in twenty years.

A serrated 10-inch blade is the most forgiving knife a beginner can own. It slices crusty bread without crushing it, but it also carves a roast chicken, cuts tomatoes cleanly and gets through a melon, all without needing the razor edge a chef's knife depends on. The blade is one piece of high-carbon Japanese steel, and the textured handle keeps its grip when wet. Hand wash and dry it right away. The trade-off: it does not dice an onion well, because the teeth tear rather than slice thin. Once you cook regularly, add an 8-inch chef's knife. Until then, this handles most of what you cut.

The 1-, 2- and 4-cup set does three jobs for the shelf space of one. You measure in it, with ounces and milliliters printed large enough to read at a glance and a curved spout that pours without dripping. You melt butter or warm milk in it, because the tempered glass is microwave safe. And the 4-cup one doubles as a small mixing bowl for pancake batter or whisking eggs. Freezer and dishwasher safe too. The trade-off is that glass chips if it takes a hard knock on the sink edge, and the three pieces do not nest flush, so they take a shelf rather than a drawer. Check the listing for the exact size of each cup.

An instant-read thermometer is the cheapest way to cook meat with confidence, and the difference between dry chicken and safe, juicy chicken is a few degrees you cannot see. This one reads in a second or two, has a backlit display for a dim stovetop, and carries an IP67 waterproof rating so you can rinse it under the tap. The probe folds away so it fits a drawer, and it covers everything from a steak to frying oil to candy. What it is not: a leave-in probe. It is for checking, not for monitoring a roast from the couch. It ships in a box, which also makes it an easy gift for anyone who just moved.

Nobody remembers the can opener until there is a can of beans and no way in. This one has a stainless steel cutting wheel that pierces cleanly, an oversized turning knob that needs very little grip strength, and soft handles wide enough to stay comfortable through a whole can of tomatoes. A bottle opener is built into the head, so that is one less thing in the drawer. The trade-off: it is a manual opener, and it is bulkier than a bare-bones model, so it takes real drawer room. It also leaves the standard cut with a sharp lid edge; if you want a smooth-edge safety cut, this is not that style.