Home
Log in / Sign Up
    Private Messages   Advanced Search   Rules   New User Guide   FAQ   Advertise   Contact Us  
Forum -> Yom Tov / Holidays -> Pesach
First time making Pesach



Post new topic   Reply to topic View latest: 24h 48h 72h

amother
Indigo


 

Post Wed, Dec 19 2018, 9:38 am
I'm hoping to stay home for Pesach for the first time this year, and I'd like to spread out my expenses over the next few months. What do you think is important for me to buy? I'm ok with not having everything the first year.

Thanks!

Anon because I've mentioned this to people IRL lately.
Back to top

bestme




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 19 2018, 9:43 am
Food processor, Cutlery, Peeler ,Knives
Ladles, Pots,Bowls and seder table items.
Good luck!
Back to top

mom!




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 19 2018, 11:17 am
Tablecloth, dish/hand towels mixer if you plan to bake
Back to top

SmileNow




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 19 2018, 11:20 am
can you give an overview of your minhagim:
Kitnios?
Gebrachtz?
processed/prepackaged products?
Do you have a separate cooking/freezer space area for pesach available?
about how old are your kids ( what can/can't they help with?)
Do you go out for meals on Pesach ( in general)?
Back to top

ra_mom




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 19 2018, 11:21 am
Will you be kashering your oven and stovetop for pesach or need new cooking appliances?
Back to top

groovy1224




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 19 2018, 11:26 am
Go through the foods you think you will likely made (say, for example, roasts, potato kugel, meatballs, soup, fish, etc) and think about the utensils you need to make them

roast- cutting board and knife to slice onions, mixing bowl for sauce (or for a simpler recipe, just a disposable 9x13)

meatballs- pot, mixing bowl, spoon if you use one

kugel- food processor (or grater if you want to do by hand), bowl, mixing spoon

etc, etc. See which items you can live with using disposable, and go from there.

probably the main items you will need are pots, bowls, mixing spoons, cutting board and knife. Depending on your budget, you can get away without a food processor,mixer, or immersion blender but will of course be harder. Best way for you to know is over the next week, note what you reach for the most and write it down.

Good luck!
Back to top

amother
Indigo


 

Post Wed, Dec 19 2018, 10:03 pm
Some really great responses, thank you all!

As far as minhagim goes: no kitniyos, probably no gebrochts (slightly unclear minhagim), processed foods are mainly ingredients- so not much. I will not go out for meals (possibly to a sibling, but I'm not sure).

My kids are under 10 years old but are starting to do simple cooking and baking tasks. I don't have a separate cooking area- so I guess I need racks and burners for my oven for Pesach.
Back to top

cm




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 19 2018, 10:25 pm
amother wrote:
Some really great responses, thank you all!

As far as minhagim goes: no kitniyos, probably no gebrochts (slightly unclear minhagim), processed foods are mainly ingredients- so not much. I will not go out for meals (possibly to a sibling, but I'm not sure).

My kids are under 10 years old but are starting to do simple cooking and baking tasks. I don't have a separate cooking area- so I guess I need racks and burners for my oven for Pesach.


I guess it depends on your community standards, but I find oven racks and stove burners to be easy to kasher.

For cooking, I got an inexpensive but reasonably good quality set of non-stick pots and pans at a discount outlet. I don't use a lot of processed foods on Pesach, so a lemon squeezer, a garlic press and a good knife for chopping onions are invaluable, as I make a lot of simple recipes that call for these seasonings. As a previous poster pointed out, think about what you need for how you cook. If you're making charoset or doing chopped recipes in larger quantities, a food processor really helps (I hardly use it for just my small family, but when we have a crowd I appreciate it). For soup - an immersion blender is nice to have but you can live without it. Resist the temptation to get only cheapy things - Pesach is labor-intensive, and having good quality (but not necessarily expensive) equipment makes it less aggravating.
Back to top

Frumwithallergies




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 19 2018, 11:13 pm
All the advice above is right on the mark!

I totally agree that buying a few, good quality items is better than cheap, disposable items.

My best-kept secret to staying sane is Mrs. Duby's Pessach Guide for Frazzled women. It has helped me stay organized from year to year. I don't think she published her guide last year. I hope that's she's reading this and let's us know if she's publishing it this year.

In addition to the excellent advice about writing down all the items you reach for most in the upcoming week, although plan your meals : there are the meals for yom tovs and c'h, as well as the days leading up to pessach (depends when you change over your kitchen). Think of what you need to prepare these meals. Also think of who you plan on hosting.

In my case, my immediate family is 'relatively small' by frum family standards, but for I host a lot for pessach (25-30 people plus kids per yom tov meals). Because of this, I didn't buy a 'refular' pot set. I bought two massive pots (think summer camp size) and two 'regular' large pots. That way I could make at least one soup, meatballs, boil potatoes etc all at the same time. For pesach dairy, I make mostly meals in pans (eggs etc).
Back to top

erm




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Dec 20 2018, 12:05 am
After peach I write a list of how many potato starches, sugar, eggs, oil, matzah and potatoes I used. I also write what temperature I left my crock pot on, since it is a different one from the one I use all yr. I store the paper with my pesach things. I also mark down what cake recipes and other items I bought (like crackers, cookies snacks) were a hit and miss. It is hard to remember year to year.
Back to top

amother
Scarlet


 

Post Thu, Dec 20 2018, 3:26 am
Good for you for starting early! Start a Pesach notebook. Ask your rav how to kasher for pesach and get clarification on what products/ hechsherim you can eat. Keep these notes from year to year. Ask if you need to cover your counters and faucets and if so, with what. you can start buying those items or making a plan of what you’d like to use. Also write down your menus, what foods people liked, and HOW MUCH of everything you bought, anything you would do differently the following year, any utensils you would like to add to your collection the following year. This will help you create a master shopping list for the future.

As for what to buy now:
I love the idea of making a list of every utensil that you use in a week! As said above, pesach is labor intensive and the cooking/preparations are more time consuming than most people expect. Before you buy anything, make sure you have dedicated space to put it. Tovel everything right away. The lines at the keilim Mikveh are crazy before pesach. I also agree with getting good quality stuff. You think, “it’s only 8 days, what’s the big deal?” But it really is.
I think a food processor is a must.
If you use Pyrex, non disposable containers, and metal baking sheets during the year and were thinking of buying those, I think disposable makes more sense for pesach. I use a lot of the above during the year, but it’s very hard to clean well without a dishwasher. I find these items tend to yellow and smell sitting a whole year unused. They take up a lot of space and it’s just one more thing to wash. Keep in mind that if you are used to the conveniences of a microwave and dishwasher during the year, that you won’t have these for pesach.
- good set of pots
-extra large pot for soup
-pot/pan for pareve items
-knives
-peelers
-flexible cutting boards
-can opener
-measuring cups and spoons
-ladle
-spatula
-mixing spoons
-oven mitts
-tea ketttle to boil water for kashering (my rav prefers this to a pot because the stream is more direct.)
-food processor
-crock pot (I have a larger one for pesach than during the year because I tend to have more guests)
-dairy/meat/pareve labels- don’t expect to remember the next year
-a storage box for the utensils
-a sharpie marker to label things
-kitchen scissors
-sink racks
-drain board for drying pots and dishes- try find a collapsible one
-dish bin to soak dishes


If you have the space to store it, you can start buying non food items such as heavy duty aluminum foil (if you will use it for covering) regular aluminum foil, garbage bags, ziploc bags, dish soap, sponges, foil pans, containers, dishwashing gloves (I use these much more on pesach than during the year) cooking gloves
Back to top

SS6099




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Dec 20 2018, 6:05 am
This is a good thread to follow 😀 It’s daunting but SO worth it!

https://www.imamother.com/foru.....64424
Back to top

imasinger




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Dec 20 2018, 7:15 am
A few more ideas:

- If you really want to spread out costs, have some freezer space, and live in an area with a decent sized Jewish population, watch the store flyers like a hawk and pick up the meat that you want when it goes on sale. Meat is usually KLP year round. If you can get a good deal on chicken or brisket, calculate now how much you will need, and then be ready to pounce when you can. It could be worth $200 or more in savings. Also look for sales on paper and plastic. I'm normally pretty environmentally conscious, but post Seder dishwashing takes a large toll on my health and sanity, so I'll buy pretty plastic plates.

- There is expense in chometzdik food being thrown away because it wasn't used up in time before Pesach. (Obviously, this depends on your minhag of what you sell.) If needed, keep a close eye on what you have. Anything that you have too much of, start thinking now about using it up.

- The other large expense tends to come from buying processed foods. The more you can do on your own, the better. That's why it's cheaper in the long run to own a set of great knives and cutting boards, etc, rather than buy prepared stuff.

- Keep asking around for what's worth it and what's not. I have a stick blender with a small food processor attachment, it's all I need in addition to my knives, and I love it. I also really like my juicer, as I do a lot with lemon juice in desserts at Pesach time. However, the hand nut grinder was a waste, because we found commercially ground or chopped nuts were not more expensive than buying whole nuts. Ditto the wok someone gave me once; a frying pan works fine.

Hatzlacha! I hope you'll come back periodically and report on your progress!
Back to top

zaq




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Dec 20 2018, 9:11 am
First find out how to kasher. You may not need to buy new burners or oven racks. Yes, the mfr says to take out the racks when self cleaning the oven but I leave mine in and they’re fine.

You should probably not invest in a food processor unless you have a LOT of storage space. A hand held mixer is a must, though, if you plan to bake from scratch, because so many recipes call for stiffly beaten egg whites.

Tablecloths and kitchen towels can be kashered by laundering in hot water. You may eventually want to have special ones for Pesach but if you want to limit your first-year investment you can kasher and buy new another year. Again you must consider how much storage space you have.

All-metal Silverware can all be kashered if it can be thoroughly cleaned. So can a lot of cookware. Again, you may eventually want to have dedicated stuff for Pesach but it may be hard to buy it all your first year.

Look for nonperishables that are KLP year round and start buying them in advance. Lots of canned good, for example, and some instant coffees. Don’t buy coffee many months in advance, though, as it won’t be fresh. Check expiration dates.
Back to top

sky




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Dec 20 2018, 10:20 am
As other posters said for sure a pesach notebook.
I keep a list of kitchen inventory, hits and misses each year, menus, chol hamoed ideas, shopping lists, food that was saved, amounts of items that were purchased (wine, marror, matzah, meat, counter covers, etc), cleaning schedule, Sheilos that were asked, how we kasher, minhagim (setting up ke’ara).

If you plan on shopping in frum stores for kitchen supplies shop very very very earlier. It will be less crazy, they will help you more.
Back to top

Ema of 5




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Dec 20 2018, 10:23 am
groovy1224 wrote:
Go through the foods you think you will likely made (say, for example, roasts, potato kugel, meatballs, soup, fish, etc) and think about the utensils you need to make them

roast- cutting board and knife to slice onions, mixing bowl for sauce (or for a simpler recipe, just a disposable 9x13)

meatballs- pot, mixing bowl, spoon if you use one

kugel- food processor (or grater if you want to do by hand), bowl, mixing spoon

etc, etc. See which items you can live with using disposable, and go from there.

probably the main items you will need are pots, bowls, mixing spoons, cutting board and knife. Depending on your budget, you can get away without a food processor,mixer, or immersion blender but will of course be harder. Best way for you to know is over the next week, note what you reach for the most and write it down.

Good luck!

I wish someone had told me this my first year making pesach, such a good idea!! Working backwards is great.
Back to top

Ema of 5




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Dec 20 2018, 10:26 am
Also, I know you didn’t ask about after, but here’s a tip I got from my mom.

Write down what you put away, and also mark each box. I have each box numbered, and I have a notebook with a list of what’s in each box.

Make a list of what you need more of (as in, what you had to buy more of on pesach, cuz you didn’t buy enough) and what you bought too much of.

Make a note of what things you made that were a hit and what things you made that weren’t. I know for myself, I don’t remember from year to year.
Back to top

levlongnprosper




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Dec 20 2018, 1:17 pm
I don't have much to add that hasn't already been said but IKEA and IKEA sales have been lifesavers for cheap but attractive and reusable kitchen and servingware.

I cook a lot and I love their big chefs knives.

Things you can't get at IKEA but might want to have: immersion blender, food processor, large soup pot, crockpot, George Foreman grill, lemon squeezer. A lot depends on what you and your family like to eat though.
Back to top

zaq




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Dec 20 2018, 1:47 pm
Ema of 4 wrote:
I have each box numbered, and I have a notebook with a list of what’s in each box.

.
Now THIS is a great idea I plan to adopt! In three-plus decades of making Pesach I never thought to number my boxes. Many are marked generically "milchik" "fleishik" and the like, mostly so in case I'm ch"V out of commission no one trefs up the works, but I don't have a list of exactly what is in which box. That is going to change bli neder this year.
Back to top

amother
Indigo


 

Post Thu, Dec 20 2018, 8:47 pm
WOW! This is why I love Imamother- such great, down-to-earth, well-tested advice! There are so many things here that I didn't even think of!

I actually started buying things about a year ago, and I have a food processor, a hand mixer, 2 pots, maybe a crockpot (I have to check) and a lot of the small-but-add-up stuff: ladles, knives, peelers, pastry brush, measuring cups and spoons, nutcrackers, etc.

I also did not think of stocking up on paper goods and food beforehand, thank you so much for the tip! And the idea of keeping track of what I use most is great!

Thank you Imas!
Back to top
Page 1 of 1 Recent Topics




Post new topic   Reply to topic    Forum -> Yom Tov / Holidays -> Pesach

Related Topics Replies Last Post
What decor do you get to enhance your pesach table?
by hodeez
18 Today at 12:57 am View last post
My first girl - earrings
by amother
3 Yesterday at 8:56 pm View last post
House rental for Pesach. 5 Yesterday at 8:47 pm View last post
Pesach out-of-town tips
by amother
7 Yesterday at 8:26 pm View last post
Anyone know when ami whisk pesach recipes coming out?
by amother
1 Yesterday at 4:09 pm View last post